From a very young age, C.J. Barrette had taken an interest in media production, dabbling in some of the earliest versions of Photoshop and Final Cut Pro. In the early days of the internet, he got his first experience in graphic design, making signatures for email and forum users and creating his own bulletin boards (forums) for video game communities.

In present day — C.J. Barrette is an award-winning, multi-faceted creative — specializing in web design, graphic design, video editing, voice overs, and strategic marketing. Currently employed at High Five Media, one of Oklahoma City's most recognized advertising agencies, C.J. is gaining production and hands-on experience helping Oklahoma businesses market themselves and grow.

High Five Media, 2019 — Present

Since starting High Five in 2019, C.J. has created over 60+ websites for Oklahoma businesses, ranging from small mom-and-pop restaurants to large corporations. In addition to frequently building websites, he has also provided voice overs, video editing, photography, and completed numerous graphic design projects including (but not limited to) billboards, brochures, logos, signage, magazines, look-books, print advertisements, digital display ads (+animated), social media graphics, motion graphics, visual tutorials, infographics, packaging design and more.

Paul Mitchell the School — 2017-2019

Before working for High Five Media, C.J. worked for Paul Mitchell the School as a media manager for 2 years, and had started the position shortly before completing his bachelor's degree at the University of Oklahoma. The position at Paul Mitchell mostly focused on developing content for social media and print, providing on-site photography for promotions and events, graphic and web design for lead generation — including building and maintaining landing pages on Wordpress, and generating reports for administrative review. "Wearing multiple hats" was the name of the game at Paul Mitchell — but the ultimate goal was bringing in leads for the education program.

Below are some statements about various larger and more important freelance/passion projects that C.J. Barrette has participated in.

Normanfood.com, 2021 - Present

"Normanfood.com is a recent passion project in which I created a free directory of all the restaurants and bars in Norman."

Respond Flow, 2019-2020

"My first start-up experience was with Respond Flow, a text message automation software company. I was contracted for 1 year with a 5% profit share. The responsibilities became everything from creating the initial mockup of then Respond Flow app (using Adobe XD), designing the logo and branding assets. And then when the software had launched, my role shifted to creating marketing material, tutorials, their first website, and other assets that played into brand awareness.

That time frame offered a lot of experience and discovery moments in how to market a SaaS company, what we thought would work and didn't, and vice-versus. It was a completely bootstrapped start-up, so it had it's challenges. Not long after my contract expired in 2020, the company received some investment and has since rebranded to become Volt, running out of Tulsa, Oklahoma."

Subculty, 2018 — Present

"This is a company I built in 2018. Ultimately, it's become something I lean into when I'm feeling creatively dispirited.