What's up! I'm Elijah "Eli" Heatley, a 24-year-old creative designer and photographer who loves telling the story of and branding athletic programs. I love the challenge of exploring new ways to keep content relevant, consistent, and strong!
I was born and raised in Columbia, South Carolina, where I was the youngest of three siblings with two loving parents. I started my creative career journey when I was a senior in high school. I was pursuing a career in cyber security when I found a new love for graphic design. After a small taste in the world of design, I began to teach myself how to design on YouTube.
After high school, I got a summer internship with the minor league baseball team Columbia Fireflies as a Design Intern. This internship was the start of my career. I then went on to school at the University of South Carolina to study Visual Communications. During my time at South Carolina, I worked as a Graphic Design Intern for Gamecock Football learning the industry and honing my skills.
After graduating with a Bachelor's Degree, I was blessed to have job offers from a few schools, but in the end, I decided to accept the job at Louisiana State University as a Creative Content Producer for Football. At LSU I was able to grow significantly as a designer, employee, and human. I was able to manage and adjust to all the different projects that would come in every day, learning to work on the fly and be efficient. I was able to see how an elite program is run, which gave me the knowledge and skillset to manage a creative department.
I spent one season at LSU and then moved on to my current job at the University of Miami as the Associate Director of Football Creative Services, earning a higher position in my career. At Miami, I oversee and manage the photography department as well as assist our Senior Designer with day-to-day graphic needs.
I'm grateful for the position that I am in today as it will continue to help me elevate my career. My goal is to one day run a creative department and move into freelance photography and design.
Feel free to contact me with any inquiries! Let's do something special!
Elijah Heatley
