Matt Leger

Graphic Designer, Illustrator, Web Designer and Wordsmith

Graphic designer with experience in design for print and Web advertising, new business, sales promotion, package design, corporate identity. Expertise in color and type design, layout and production. Hard worker, independently or as part of a team, who goes the extra mile to ensure quality and timeliness. Expert in Macintosh and Windows graphics programs as well as traditional board skills. Greatly enjoys being the solution to others' design and production problems.

MISSION
To make the most of my experience and creative talents to help employers and freelance clients realize their ideas and fulfill their needs.

Work Experience

Freelance

Visual Designer/Content Creator

• Atlanta, GA, 3/2003 to 6/2013
• Mbabane, eSwatini, 6/2013 to 2/2017
• Atlanta, 2/17 to 1/20, 5/20 to present
Provided design, illustration and production services for contract work and freelance clients in the metro Atlanta area part-time and full-time. Previously worked in Africa and remotely for clients in in the US and United Kingdom. Also performed temporary assignments for Atlanta-area staffing agencies and my own clients.
*** Major Accomplishments: ***
- Designed investor handout and slide deck for launch of aviation company based in the Bahamas
- Created visual communications materials for Africa-based HIV/AIDS program (brochure, banner, letterhead, web pages)
- Worked as editor of U.S. Embassy newsletter, wrote articles and edited text/image submissions
- Created and produced full-color brochures for remote freelance clients in U.S., Ireland and the UK
- Designed T-shirt and CD artwork, E-book covers for freelance clients
August 2011 - Georgia, United States

Production Specialist

Worked full-time on site for major religious organization providing global health, disaster relief, education and other services around the world. Processed and shipped orders from local and regional conferences for shipments of brochures, stationery, swag items and other collateral. Oversaw bidding, selection and production processes for several vendors producing these materials as well as other items. Added/tagged images for agency asset storage.
*** Significant Deliverables: ***
- Redesigned collateral/swag processing system for improved efficiency
- Created internal photo archive and designed structure for categorizing and tagging images
- Designed and built agency Standard Operating Procedure document template and wrote 1st document
- Redesigned online collateral ordering form for updated products, easier use and processing
- Designed and drafted ordering procedure document for annual General Conference
January 2020 - May 2020 Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Prepress Designer/Platesetter

Worked as production designer, prepress operator and later platesetter for major Atlanta printing company before and after it was acquired by a Florida-based competitor in April 2018. Created and edited designs for clients including printed material, banners, die-cut wall signage and promotional items.
*** Principal Achievements: ***
- Designed promotional package for employer, including glossy die-cut box, inserts & 4-pg. brochure
- Reorganized accounting records room & designed numerical-range markers to improve efficiency
- Checked & plated large sets of warehouse-club pull cards for 3rd-party client on tight deadline
- Produced complex press layouts with Kodak Prinergy/Preps and SmartStream imposition software
- Created online schedule and labels for plates to improve communication and efficiency in production
January 2018 - October 2019 Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Minuteman Press

Pre-Press/Shop Assistant

Provided design, production and bindery services as well as assistance with customer database and shop duties for recently relocated franchise printing shop through change in ownership.
*** Major accomplishments include: ***
- Created and produced original 13-month store calendar for marketing distribution to clients
- Oversaw design and production of products for several weddings, including invitations and mailings using variable data printing, as well as table signage and program cards
- Designed/produced print brochures, presentation folders, web pages and vehicle signage
- Built HTML-based e-mail layouts for direct mailings with hand-coding and Adobe Creative Cloud software

Information on jobs held prior to 2012 available upon request.
February 2012 - February 2013 Atlanta, Georgia, United States

Education

Louisiana State University

Bachelor of Fine Arts/Graphic Design

Complete curriculum in illustration, graphics, typesetting, advertising design, photography and mechanical drawing. Minor in English with advanced placement.
June 1981 - May 1985 Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States

Languages

Spanish (Beginner),
English (Native),
French (Conversational),

Skills

Adobe Creative Suite, Charts, Copy Editing, Copywriting, Creative Writing, CS4, CS5, CSS, Drawing, Dreamweaver, Dreamweaver, Freehand, FrontPage, Ftp, Graphs, HTML, Illustrator, Image Editing, Indesign, JavaScript, Logo Design, Mac OS X, Macintosh, Microsoft Office, Microsoft Publisher, Pagemaker , PageMill, Photoshop, Powerpoint, Proofreading, QuarkXpress, Software Installation, Troubleshooting, Windows 7 , Windows VISTA, Windows XP, Word,