Working with a designer who believes in you, understands your industry, and has a shared language makes all the difference in a project running smoothly.

About

James Monroe has breadth of experience and diverse influences and interests which enhance the outcomes of the projects he chooses to undertake. His consistent focus on impact and working with clients who are good people making the world a better place means that every project is personally as important to him as it is to his clients.

Career

James has been a professional designer in New York City for 20 years, first as an in-house employee and later as an independent contractor. On teams, James designed communications for The New School, a university with eight colleges, and played an integral part of growing the successful startup, Skip Hop, before its sale to private equity then publicly traded. Since 2012 under his own name, James has helped dozens of artists, foundations, and nonprofits raise hundreds of millions of dollars, communicate with stakeholders, and raise their profile, as well as providing branding and rebranding to small businesses which positioned them for growth and acquisition.

Influences

James’ first job was at the New York State Historic Site Olana, home of landscape painter Frederic Edwin Church, where he learned to see and describe beautiful architecture, interiors, and landscapes. At the same time, he had his first freelance design job working under an early pioneer of marketing for American Airlines/American Express and philanthropist, Walter Mathews, to create fundraising materials for a nonprofit benefitting the local town hall. During college he freelanced for arts organizations in New York City and designed marketing materials for the Neuberger Museum of Art at Purchase College. In Design Issues & Community Design courses, and with the renowned designer/author Warren Lehrer as his advisor, he was reminded about using the power of design for good, and collaborated with The Hudson River Museum first as a student and later as a client. Nearly two decades after graduating, he would return to redesign the print edition of Proof, the Purchase College magazine. At the same time, he began being mentored by arts administrator and former NYC cultural affairs commissioner Randy Bourscheidt, who for over two decades encouraged him how to connect the dots between it all to build a career based on principles. He is grateful to all the people who saw something in him and nurtured his talents, interests, and commitments.

Interests

• Architecture & Landscape Design
• Community Building
  • Land Preservation
  • Urban Planning
• Fine Art
  • Painting
  • Photography
  • Printmaking
• Furniture Restoration
• Open-Source Software
  • Open-Source Local LLMs
  • Open-Source Contributions
  • Data Liberation
  • WordPress
• Secondary Marketplaces