James graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in graphic design from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. After beginning his career designing catalogs and collateral, he worked as a full-time instructor for a training center and subsequently become an Adobe Certified Design Master. Today he is the Content Manager of Design at lynda.com. James has spoken at variety of conferences and groups including: the InDesign Secrets Print & Electronic Publishing Conference, Mogo-Media, AIGA, and multiple InDesign user groups.