About Justin Merrell
My name is Justin Merrell and being creative is my passion. I started my professional career over 12 years ago, after leaving Clemson University. I decided to jump in head first to learn as much as I could as quickly as I could.
Palmetto Graphics kindly took me under their wing and taught me everything they could about pre-press, color correction, graphic design, file management and printing. PG taught me a ton and after 3 years, I felt I had gained enough knowledge to move into advertising.
As a kid growing up I somehow knew advertising was what I wanted to do. I used to collect Absolut ads to wallpaper my bedroom wall and that is what inspired me to get into advertising. I wanted to create eye-catching, creative ads that would grab the attention of the readers like it did me.
So after 3 years at Palmetto Graphics, I got the opportunity to go to work for the largest advertising agency in South Carolina, Erwin Penland (now a part of Hill | Holliday). It was there that I got the opportunity to get into print production management. With my experience at PG, I learned that there are many designers out there that do not create quality, printable art. While it would look good on the screen, it would almost always have to be recreated in order to be printed correctly. With my opportunity at EP, and my training from PG, it was my goal to really learn how to become a good and successful designer. So I dug in and I dug in hard. I got to work with clients like Verizon Wireless, BMW, Wachovia and many more. I learned about what it takes to manage large projects and about client expectations. It was here that I also learned 3D design. Using Google Sketchup, I learned to create full 3-Dimensional rendering of event spaces or tradeshow booths. This proved to be very successful with our clients, helping them actually visualize what their dollars were buying. At this point, after 6 years with EP, I was swimming in professional lessons and absorbing as much as I possibly could.
In late 2007 and with 9 years now under my belt, an opportunity showed up that I could not refuse. A smaller boutique design shop by the name of Fuel Creative offered me the chance to run the production department as the Senior Production Manager. It was interesting going from a 150+ person agency to one with just 11 (counting me), but I really enjoyed the closeness and the flexibility of a smaller shop. At Fuel I got to work with some very high end real estate clients, bringing my production experience and dimensional design to the table. That was quite nice. This is also when I started my interest in web design. Unfortunately though, the market down-turn in 2008 marked the end of Fuel Creative and obviously my job.
On to the next, as they say - right? Fortunately, after only a month off, I was able to land a job with another local agency by the name of Jackson-Dawson (now Jackson Marketing Group). Working in the production department I got to work with some new clients like Michelin Earthmover and Michelin Truck Tires. This was a whole new experience, and exciting was an understatement. But it was here at JMG that my interest in web design really took off. I started my freelance career as a web designer and developer learning as much as I could from the extremely talented interactive group. My strong interest in the web world then lead to my current position as an interactive project manager.
So this is me in a wordy nutshell. Passionate about being creative and determined to learn as much as I can as often as I can. I really like the expression, "If you're not moving forward then you're just standing still", and I try to shape my career around it.