About
Designer who
ships.
I'm Mike Watson — a multimedia designer and digital marketer in Denton, Texas, who also builds the websites, tools and interactive pieces my designs live in.
For three years at Higginbotham I designed benefit guides, enrollment campaigns, executive decks, email and motion for employers and public-sector programs — and built and maintained WordPress sites, landing pages and internal web tools like request forms, automated quote generators and a branded flyer-delivery tool. Before that I designed for Sally Beauty and TCU on contract, built small-business sites at The Crouch Group, and I've run my own freelance practice and e-commerce shop since 2020.
On my own time I build Starlight X, an independent platform for my art, music and browser games. It's where I push interaction, audio and generative visuals — and where I've learned to direct AI tools the way a creative director directs a team: clear intent, fast iteration, and final judgment kept firmly human.
What I'm looking for: a team that needs someone who can carry an idea from concept to a finished, working product — multidisciplinary design, creative development, digital experience or marketing technology.
- Based
- Denton, TX · DFW
- Work style
- Remote · DFW area
- Education
- BA, UNT — Art & Design / Marketing
- Since
- 2019
- Status
- Open to full-time & contract roles
Capability map
How the skills
connect.
No proficiency bars. Select a domain to see its tools, the bridges to the others, and the projects that prove it.
Design
Layout, typography, information design and brand systems — the foundation everything else stands on. Years of benefit guides, enrollment materials, executive decks and large-format print taught me to make dense information feel simple.
Bridges · Figma → live site / Campaign creative / Motion · art direction
Build
WordPress sites and landing pages, internal web tools and small apps. I write and read HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP, use Python where it helps, and use AI-assisted development to prototype quickly — then debug, test and ship it myself.
Bridges · Figma → live site / Landing pages · quote tools / Games · AV web
Market
A marketing degree and real campaigns: email to thousands of recipients, social content, SEO-minded ad campaigns, product listings and copy for my own shop. I design with the conversion in mind, not just the look.
Bridges · Landing pages · quote tools / Campaign creative / Social video · email
Experience
Motion graphics, video editing and interactive pieces — from testimonial edits and training videos to browser games and audio-reactive experiments. This is where design and code turn into something people play with.
Bridges · Motion · art direction / Games · AV web / Social video · email
Experience
Where I've
done it.
- 2020 — NowMike Watson DesignFreelance designer / web developerWebsites, logos and marketing graphics for DFW businesses, including txmorristeam.com and lonestarblondie.com.
- 2022 — 2025HigginbothamMultimedia designer / digital marketing specialistBenefits print and digital, a rebrand rollout, email to thousands, motion and video, WordPress and internal web tools.
- 2020 — NowActive Gear ShopE-commerce ownerOriginal t-shirt graphics, listings, copy and fulfillment — 2,850+ sales.
- 2021TCUGraphic designer (contract)Campus flyers and production design for the faculty & staff directory.
- 2019 — 2020Sally BeautyGraphic designer (contract)In-store display graphics, email, photo editing and digital asset management.
- 2019The Crouch GroupWeb developer / graphic designerSmall-business WordPress sites and SEO-minded ad campaigns.