Jim Webb
Jim is a web designer and photographer.
Jim lives in Washington, DC and works as a freelance photographer and as Technical Design Manager for National Geographic Digital Media. His team at National Geographic oversees visual branding, user interface, and interactive multimedia design, as well as technical implementation using X/HTML, CSS, JavaScript, AJAX, and Flash.
In 2007, Jim oversaw National Geographic's site-wide visual redesign, which included site launches in photography, science and space, the environment, podcasts, widgets and a new video site, helping drive a 25% increase in unique visitors. He designed a global navigation scheme which decreased site-wide exit rates 14% and lowered bounce rates 36%. He directed co-branded designs with YouTube, iTunes, MySpace, and Joost, and managed a staff of seven designers and coders.
During his tenure at National Geographic, he has directed three site-wide redesigns, designed or redesigned dozens of site sections, shot and edited news videos, directed a usability testing lab, and built multimedia interactives. Before National Geographic, Jim designed infographics for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Jim's commercial photography is represented by the National Geographic Image Collection and Getty Images. He also shoots documentary style family portraits and would be happy to do so for you. Jim regularly teaches photography with National Geographic Photo Camp, providing inner-city teenagers digital cameras and having them tell their own stories, with the help of professional photographers and editors.
Jim studied photojournalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His speaking engagements include the Society for News Design, for NPR and PBS, and UNITY: Journalists of Color.
For fun, Jim likes to rock climb, play ultimate frisbee, and show movies on his rooftop. He also shoots skeet, grows mustaches, follows trivia, and jumps around. He's not related to the senator, the reverend, or the writer of MacArthur Park, but might be a distant cousin of the former head of NASA.
Get in touch!
Jim would love to hear from you.
“Jim is a gifted teacher, helping students, teaching assistants and other staff to understand the process of our photography workshops. He has developed systems and taught them to others in a professional and creative manner.”
Kirsten Elstner, Executive Director, VisionWorkshops
“Jim literally did it all, taking interviews with me and creating a site that fulfilled the goals I presented him. Not his goals, but mine. He created a site that attracted traffic, and we are talking 2001… amazingly michaelnicknichols.com is still contemporary and functions without all the things that bother me in photographer sites.”
Nick Nichols, National Geographic Photographer
“Jim put all our family and guests at ease so we got great pictures with happy smiling faces on even those usually camera-shy. Everything felt very natural and the photos captured the energy and fun of our wedding, rather than stiff cliché poses.”
Jeff Peters, Wedding Photography Client