About Amber

Amber Helsel is a graphic designer, UX/UI designer, illustrator, marketing specialist, and generally creative person based in Mississippi. As a designer and illustrator, she loves solving problems and playing around with shapes, colors, and typography. She loves to use her UX/UI, web design, and marketing skills to help small businesses, organizations, and creatives get ahead in their respective fields.

Her photography and writing have been published in magazines such as the Jackson Free Press, BOOM Jackson, and Innovate Mississippi’s yearly publication, and she has also had her photography and art on covers for JFP and BOOM. She has won Associated Press and Society of Professional Journalism awards for her writing and editing. As the former managing editor of JFP and BOOM Jackson, she developed experience and knowledge around editorial design, writing, editing, and photography. As the director of communications for Teen Health Mississippi, she has gained experience in social media marketing and management, editorial/publication design, content management systems, marketing design, and more. In 2022, she completed a graphic design course from the New York Institute of Art and Design and is currently working on a course in UX/UI (web) design. When not working or doing something creative, you can usually find her at practice or competing with the Mississippi Fencing Club, watching anime, finding a new hobby, or annoying her cats.

Client Work

Fencing Database website redesign
2023

Jackson Women for Good logo
2023

Mississippi Fencing Club logo, branding, collateral
2021-2023

Curriculum Vitae

Experience

Teen Health Mississippi
Director of Communications
2019-current

Jackson Free Press
Managing Editor
2013-2019

Education

New York Institute of Art and Design
UX/UI Design
August 2022-current

New York Institute of Art and Design
Graphic Design certificate
April 2020-July 2022

University of Mississippi
B.A. in Journalism
August 2009-December 2011

Hinds Community College
A.A. in Journalism
August 2007-May 2009

Skills

General

  • Graphic Design

  • Social Media Design/Marketing

  • Copywriting

  • Copyediting

  • Marketing Strategy

  • Illustration

  • UX/UI Design

  • Web Design

  • Photography

  • Photo Editing

  • Content Creation

Software

Adobe Creative Cloud
Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, Premiere Pro, Lightroom, Audition, Acrobat, XD, Express

Microsoft Office
Word, Powerpoint, Excel

Figma

Serif Affinity
Design, Photo, Publisher

Canva

Content Management Systems/
Drag-and-Drop Website Building

Wordpress, Squarespace, Wix, Weebly, Elementor