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Whether it’s through graphic design, photography, music, film, sound design, or just about anything else creative I can get my hands on, I try to push myself more each day to become more creative, proficient, and unique. While I love expression through each of these mediums, above all I’m a designer. Mobile design, web design, graphic design, and front-end development are my biggest passions and I’m always looking to improve my skills in those areas.

I’m proficient in Illustrator, Photoshop, InDesign, as well as familiar with the rest of the Adobe Creative Cloud apps. I am also knowledgable in Mac OS and Windows, with experience in Keynote, Sketch, and PaintCode. In development, I’m proficient in HTML5, CSS3, Sass, Bootstrap3, WordPress, and have worked in Xcode, Android Studio, Parse, Javascript, and many other dev programs and languages.

You can see a lot of my work around the site, but I’ve tried to consolidate some of the best stuff below…

Want me to make stuff for you?

Let me know:

EMAIL LINKED IN PHONE

While my passion is design as a whole, my specialty is audio design. I’ve loved music since I was a child, recorded a few bands in high school, ran a recording studio out of my dorm room in college. Since then I have continued to write, mix, edit, and even record foley every now and again.

Here are a few recent projects I’ve worked on recently:

The Giving Keys

I worked with the talented Chadwick Trentham on this project for The Giving Keys–an extraordinary organization focused on getting people back on their feet again. 

When The Saints

I was lucky enough to work on the mix and create the foley for this short film by Dominic Laing. It made the rounds at a few festivals, and even won a few awards as well. Very powerful short film.

Duke Energy

I did the sound mix for this video as well. It’s always fun to mix in some subtle foley here and there like I was able to in this project. Another Chadwick Trentham production.

Radiation Detection

This project required significant audio repair and removal of reverb throughout. I love working on audio that needs work like that. In the end, I think it turned out pretty great. Check it out…

Mixing & Repairing

I love being a part of the collborative process of filmmaking, and if you’re a filmmaker in need of audio work, I’d love to help you bring your project to fruition.  I specialize in improving and repairing audio as well, so if your audio doesn’t sound consistent throughout, if there is any annoying reverb in your VOs, or if you aren’t quite happy with your score, I can help you out.

Below are the main three packages I offer that cover most film projects.

If you want to hire me, or have any questions about any of the pricing or options, please email me at benhelms@gmail.com.

email me

(All packages include mastering to specific type of medium (i.e. phone, tv, theater) and delivery of finished product in any desired format)

Small Project
$99.99
(Most 1-3 minute films, with minimal add-ons and revisions)
• Mix all voice over, music, & sound fx
• EQ and improvement of all audio
• Can add foley/sfx upon request
• Max of three iterations
Average Project
$99.99
(Most 3-5 minute films, or those requiring a little more time/repair)
• Everything from Short Project included
• Repair audio: remove static, clean up audio, minimize reverb
• Can create custom foley and sound fx
Custom Package
$99.99
(Longer films, or those requiring significantly more time/repair)
• Everything from Average Project included
• Can create custom scoring/music for project
• Unlimited back-and-forth with client

scoring and music

I don’t only do audio for film, but I also enjoy audio mixing music. Here are a few bumps I’ve recorded for several commercials projects and podcasts. If you’re interested in background music for a commercial, a full song for any type of project, an endless loop for an event, or just about any type of jingle, I’m interested in working with you. (More examples available upon request.)

From painting and drawing as a child, to graphic design and architecture as I grew older, my obsession with the visual aesthetic has never stopped growing. Creating visual art has always been a hobby of mine, and in every job I’ve ever had, I’ve been able to bring that along side me, whether it was creating t-shirts and album covers, or making even posters and websites in college. No matter what I did, I had to design.

I’ve had a few careers already, but I finally realized that this was the thing I was meant to do in life. I started working for a mobile app development company a few years ago, and that transformed into learning UX design and web development. Fortunately for me, there are still many other facets of graphic design that I take part in all the time. Below are a few examples of some of my favorites, from logos and beer labels to concept art and even a few device mockups.

Web & Desktop

Mobile apps are one thing but most people today still view websites on their laptops, on screens that are much larger than the ones in their pockets. Because of this, much of my background has been in designing for the web–for screens larger than 1200px wide. In all of these projects I’ve focused on using the screen real estate as efficiently as possible. You won’t find wasted space or superfluous margins in these designs. Along with this, when these large resolution designs are scaled down to the mobile level, you won’t find any loss at all…

Responsively Designed

While mobile and desktop design are vastly different, one of my main priorities in all of my web design projects is to keep them consistent. Nothing’s more annoying than going to the mobile version of a website and not being able to find options you know are available on the desktop version of the site. Because of this, I put a lot of energy on keeping the same functionality on both the desktop and mobile screen sizes. Whether you’re on a tiny, 3-year-old phone, or a 5K high-resolution 27″ retina screen, you’ll find the same designs, options, and usability.

Development

Not only have I focused on web design throughout my career, but also on web development. Here are a few examples of websites I’ve developed, but the site you’re looking at is a customized site I designed–and am constantly changing, updating and re-designing. I’m always looking out for the latest best-practices and trying to learn as much as possible to keep my websites modern, sleek, and functional.

Designing for Mobile

My focus on designing specifically for mobile screens began when I started working for Surf Shack Interactive in early 2014. In my work with them I was able to work on designs and create assets for companies like Associated Press, Hilton, Comcast, and other movers and shakers who’ve stumbled upon our small company.

Lucky for me–and for the company–they happened to like the work we produced for them, and they not only kept coming back for more, but also told their friends about us! Throughout my time at Surf Shack, I focused primarily on UI and UX design, with occasional forays into the development side of things.

Here you’ll see some of my designs for the apps we produced for companies like P.C. Richard & Son, FileThis, LISI, ALM, Acumen, InDeZo, & Ballet Society. I’ll make sure to keep this section up to date to convey my latest mobile designs.