Macario OverZealous James is a self-described designer: of images and of words. He does not consider himself a poet, but a writer; one with calculated diction, ambiguous at times yet keen. An astute reader and stickler of the English language, he began writing at a young age, having published his first articles in teen magazine New Youth Connections (NYC). Often remarked as having “a way with words,” he continues to foster his love for the written form.

As a designer Macario practices what he calls “visual sampling,” a graphic and image version of the ubiquitous musical technique. Akin to a gumbo, he mixes an assortment of digital ingredients, delectably tasteful to the aesthetic palate, to produce his unique designs. As is true for many “creatives” or artists, he is meticulous  and eschews potboiling due to the love for his craft.

As a youngster Macario studied art briefly at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, NY. Frustrated after failing to see desired results, he quickly became disinterested in the arts, choosing to focus solely on computers and the burgeoning Internet realm. As a teen earning IT certifications he was introduced to HTML/CSS and Photoshop, becoming a quasi-prodigal son to the art world, home to his mother, an interior architect, and brother, graf writer.

In addition to being the newly appointed in-house designer for AMP | Indelible, Macario is currently cooking up his first design book, viSuAlMPLING, to be served sometime in 2010. He is also writing but you’re not Black, a collection of essays and poems describing his life’s experiences as a Black-Cherokee-Filipino male raised by his single African American mother.

Macario’s writings, thoughts, designs and other assorted ephemera can be viewed at his sites: Mental Ephemera and creative_dust+ashes.