I am James Lanning, a creative advertising and marketing specialist and graduate of Appalachian State University. I am a passionate and driven advertiser dedicated to finding creative and efficient business solutions for companies and individuals.

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Raised in Western North Carolina near Asheville, I grew up in the mountains and was shaped by the rolling hills and verdant pastures of my home. I had an interest in art, both visual art and music, from a young age. As I grew up I sought out what was beautiful in this world and tried to figure out how to create it. As a teenager I spent time working in the family business of home construction which taught me a lot about the importance of hard work, time management, and the value of a good team.

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After graduating high school, I attended Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. Originally I specialized in Journalism and got some real world experience with content creation as I conducted interviews and wrote an article for the Mountaineer newspaper in my hometown. Eventually I realized that work on the Advertising side of things was more appealing to me so I majored in creative Advertising with a minor in Psychology. This has given me the skills I need to create sleek and stunning visual art and written content, as well as the perspective needed to reach people and communicate in an impactful and meaningful way. 

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While in college, I expanded my non-academic work from residential home construction to real estate investment as some family members and I formed a real estate investment company. As I helped to form our website and manage our social media, I learned a lot about branding and how to build a company from the ground up. This allowed me to tie in my experience with construction into my Advertising education as I took my first steps into the professional world. From brand building, to website construction, to direct mail marketing, I did it all and learned a lot from the experience. 

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Now the time has come for me to finish up here at Appalchian State and make my way in the professional world. I am eager to get out there and make things happen. In the near future, you'll be able to find me in either Raleigh or Asheville, NC. Always ready and willing to help with advertising or marketing related assignments. Contact me anytime at Lanningjd@appstate.edu or on my twitter page at @_JLanning.

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Specialties include:

-Graphic Design (Adobe Suite/Photoshop/Illustrator)

-Music Production

-Digital Marketing/Social Media

-Copywriting/Content Creation

-Customer Service

-Project Management