James Smith

About James Smith

Most people know the date they retired. Most people know that date years prior to that date. I thought mine was never going to arrive. That was my choice. I founded the business, so there was no one to push me out. But I had now two partners. Females. Relatives. Wife and daughter. We are now a woman owned business. A positive in today’s business market. A positive in ANY business market.Laraine, my first partner, brought an energy to Smith Design unmatched to this day. Jenna, my second partner, brought years of schooling and degrees, experience in technology and management from Cisco and McAfee. More to follow.

Experience

1. Owner

   Smith Design

   Sep 1978 — Present

   Founding partner of an award-winning brand design firm formally located in Glen Ridge, and now Morristown, NJ as well as Carmel, CA. and Ft.Lauderdale, FL. Expertise of brand identity, package design & promotional design for leading consumer brands & companies, including: Unilever, Disney, Popsicle, Bic, Hormel, B&G, Hain, Skippy, Pfizer. Smith\'s work has been featured in Brandweek, USA Today, The Washington Post, Packaging Digest, HOW, Brand Packaging, Dairy Foods, NJ Business, New Products Magazine, Food & Drug Packaging, The Toy Book, among others. Design awards include American Graphic Design, Creativity, LIMA Jasper Gold, Smart Marketing, NJPEC Gold, Visual Impact, Davey, ADCNJ, American Corporate Identity,AIGA, IOPP and an International Award: The WorldStar/World Packaging. A poster design was also selected for the permanent collection of the US Library of Congress. 2-term past President of the ADCNJ, and a member the ADC, Type Director’s Club, DMI, AIGA, the International Type Association, MarCom, and is a Hall of Fame member of the New Jersey Packaging Executives Club and Hall of Fame member of the NJAd Club.James is on the advisory board of Morris County Community College. For the past 15 years, he is the sole sponsor of two Academic Scholarships benefiting Package DesignStudents (one through the New Jersey Packaging Executives Club and the other through the Art Directors Club of New Jersey). In addition, Smith Design has supported many causes and professional and charitable organizations through pro-bono work, including: Hearts of Gold-NYC, The Park Avenue Club, NJ Packaging Executives Club, Kean University\'s Shadow Program, YMCA, NY City Parks, Glen Ridge Schools, Suburban Essex Chamber of Commerce, Christ Church Nursery School, Middleton Early Learning Center, Tropical Clinics and the Glen Ridge Historical Society.

Education

• NY Phoenix School of Design

  Certificate, Advertising

  1965 — 1967

Skills

• Packaging
• User Experience
• Visual Communication
• Print Production
• Stationery
• Book Design
• Corporate Identity
• Digital Illustration
• Creative Services
• Image Manipulation
• Collateral
• Team Leadership
• Art
• Catalogs
• Interaction Design
• Brand Development
• Graphics
• Typography
• Brochures
• Quarkxpress
• Business Cards
• Creative Strategy
• Leadership
• Product Development
• Indesign
• Visual Identity
• Advertising
• Magazines
• Creative Direction
• Vector Illustration
• Layout
• Corporate Branding
• Marketing Communications
• Dreamweaver
• Illustrator
• Direct Mail
• Creative Problem Solving
• Illustration
• Invitations
• Marketing