Director and lead designer, James Armstrong.
James Armstrong
James Armstrong is the lead designer and design manager for every project. When required, additional capacity (or specialised technical skills) are provided by trusted collaborators.
James’s creative skills have been recognised by industry peers with 23 design and advertising awards. Clients are happy too.
James is a Member of the Design Institute of Australia (Australia’s peak industry body for professional design) and a Professional Member of the Australian Graphic Design Association (the peak national organisation representing the Australian communication design industry).
Download James Armstrong’s full CV as a PDF here.
Qualifications
Australasian Writers and Art Directors School (AWARD School) Masterclass
> Professional craft and creative advertising course, Australasian Writers and Art Directors (AWARD)
Australasian Writers and Art Directors School (AWARD School)
> ‘Top Ten’ graduate (also known as the ‘Super Group’)
> A selective and highly reputable creative development course, these qualifications are internationally respected within the advertising industry
> Coursework was judged by creative leaders as one of the ten best graduates from the 300+ student year
Marketing Certificate
> North Sydney College of TAFE
Graphic Design Certificate
> Randwick College of TAFE (course moved to The Design Centre Enmore in 1993)
> The most selective/reputable technical- and skills-based graphic design course offered in NSW, with nationally respected qualifications
Graphic Design Diploma and Computer Based Design Certificate
> KvB College of Visual Communication
Professional development
> ‘Managing Brand Projects’, ‘Managing Website Projects’ professional practice workshops, Australian Graphic Design Association
> ‘Copyright for Advertising, Digital and Media Agencies’ and ‘Artists and Copyright’ educational seminars, Australian Copyright Council
> ‘Building Digital Presence’ professional practice workshop, Australian Graphic Design Association
> ‘Business Model Canvas’ professional practice workshop, Creative Industries Innovation Centre
> ‘Copyright Permissions and Clearances’, ‘Copyright for Businesses’ and ‘Copyright for Websites, Blogs and Social Media’ educational seminars, Australian Copyright Council
> ‘Advanced InDesign and InDesign Production’, Alpha Computer Consultants
Employment
Director, Armstrong Communication Design (1999–present)
Key clients (government)
> Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care
> Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
> Australian Energy Regulator
> Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade)
> Council of Australian Therapeutic Advisory Groups (CATAG)
> Private Health Insurance Ombudsman
> Private Health Insurance Administration Council
> Australian Aged Care Quality Agency
> Independent Hospital Pricing Authority
> Wine Australia
> Screen NSW
> Landcom (formerly UrbanGrowth NSW)
> Waverley Council
Key clients (private sector)
> Qantas Airways
> Boronia Capital
> The Intelligent Investor
Client agencies (freelance contracts)
> M&C Saatchi Sydney
> Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney
> The Campaign Palace Sydney
> Whybin Lawrence TBWA Sydney
> George Patterson Bates Healthcare
Art Director, McCann-Erickson Advertising Sydney (1994–1998)
Key clients
> Coca-Cola (incl. Powerade, Sprite and Lift)
> Nestlé (incl. Milo, Nescafé and Nesquik)
> Telstra Share Float (Tranche 1)
> Levi’s
> Hoyts Cinemas
> Cathay Pacific Airways
Graphic Designer, Gallaher + Associates (1994)
Success as a 'top ten' graduate at AWARD School 1994 led to a full-time Art Director position at McCann-Erickson Advertising Sydney requiring (reluctantly) leaving G+A that same year.
Other (1992–1995)
> Computer Graphics lecturer, The Design Centre Enmore
> Junior Graphic Designer, Kathy Wong Creative Design
> Junior Graphic Designer, Pierce McDowell Design
Awards
James Armstrong has won 23 peer-review awards for creativity in graphic design and advertising.
See the detailed list on the Awards page.
Highlights
> 20 international and 3 local peer-reviewed awards for creativity in graphic design and advertising
> Lead Jury Member, Graphis Endeavor Graphic Design Competition (2021)
> Design of the National Financial Literacy Strategy for the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (2015–2018)
> Award Judge, Australasian Reporting Awards for excellence in annual reports (2018)
> NSW Councillor, Australian Graphic Design Association (2011–2012)
> Communications strategy for the redevelopment of the Bondi Junction precinct (2013)
> Brand implementation for Qantas Airways (2006–2013)
> Design implementation of the Qantas Frequent Flyer (QFF) loyalty program relaunch for M&C Saatchi Sydney (2001)
> Hoyts Cinemas $4 million account win for McCann-Erickson Advertising Sydney (1997)
> Telstra Share Float $15 million account win for McCann-Erickson Advertising Sydney (1997)
Capabilities
Management skills
> Government tendering
> Contract management and policy compliance
> Brand assets management (including external and internal brands and loyalty programs)
> Copyright and intellectual property management
> Communications strategy workshops
> Project and production management of large publication design projects
> Managing small- to mid-sized creative and production teams and supplier chains
Technical expertise
> Adobe InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator software (including use of best practice techniques, automated features, high productivity/capacity)
> Advanced digital publishing (including client–designer workflows for web-and-print output, XML mapping, WCAG2.1-compliant artwork, accessible and interactive PDFs, file-size optimisation for web
Professional associations
> Member of the Design Institute of Australia (Australia’s peak industry body for professional design)
> Professional Member of the Australian Graphic Design Association (Australia’s largest representative association of professional communication designers)