Jim Royal

Jim Royal

Technical Writer at Micrium Inc.

Montreal, Canada Area

Current
Past
  • Webmaster at STC Montreal
  • Information Architect at Twist Image
  • Owner at Digital Wind
  • QA Lead - Autodesk Cleaner at Autodesk
  • President at STC Montreal
  • Web Developer at eNGENUITY Technologies
  • Education Tools Developer at Softimage
  • Senior Technical Writer at Eicon Technology
Education
  • Concordia University
  • Vanier College
Connections
107 connections
Industry
Computer Software
Websites

Jim Royal’s Summary

My life's work is about communication.

I'm a information architect, technical writer, designer, webmaster, and photographer. I'm a former journalist. I was president of the Montreal chapter of the Society for Technical Communication.

Learning and variety and creating things excite me, and I look for work that allows me to flex as many different kinds of creative muscles as possible.

Jim Royal’s Specialties:

Writing complex material for a lay audience; Confident and engaging public speaking; Elegant web design; Technical illustration; Video encoding; An uncanny knack to remember dialogue from Babylon 5.


Jim Royal’s Experience

  • Technical Writer

    Micrium Inc.

    (Computer Software industry)

    September 2009Present (4 months)

    I handle the book publishing workflow, from the design of templates, to editing, to prepress. I also am developing multimedia training modules for our clients.

  • Webmaster

    STC Montreal

    (Writing and Editing industry)

    January 2008September 2009 (1 year 9 months)

    Volunteer position. I designed and rebuilt the web site for the Montreal chapter of the Society for Technical Communication, and helped reshape the chapter's marketing strategy. The STC is a worldwide organization for the professional development of technical writers.

  • Information Architect

    Twist Image

    (Privately Held; Marketing and Advertising industry)

    June 2007June 2009 (2 years 1 month)

    An IA's job is to make sure that web sites work. I defined the organization of information, findability, usability, and functionality; I touched upon everything that affects how people interact with and use information.

  • Owner

    Digital Wind

    (Privately Held; Myself Only; Graphic Design industry)

    January 2003June 2007 (4 years 6 months)

    Digital Wind is my own company, specializing in elegant web and print design, technical writing and editing, and corporate photography. The company is on hiatus.

  • QA Lead - Autodesk Cleaner

    Autodesk

    (Public Company; 501-1000 employees; ADSK; Computer Software industry)

    June 2005March 2007 (1 year 10 months)

    (Recurring contract) I was lead tester for Autodesk Cleaner, a Windows and Macintosh application for processing video for CD, DVD, and the web. I traveled to India to work with the development team in Bangalore.

  • President

    STC Montreal

    (Non-Profit; Computer Software industry)

    20042005 (1 year )

    The Society for Technical Communication is a worldwide organization for the professional development of technical writers. I served as vice-president, then as president, and as a frequent workshop and lecture speaker.

  • Web Developer

    eNGENUITY Technologies

    (Public Company; 51-200 employees; EGY; Computer Software industry)

    April 2001August 2002 (1 year 5 months)

    Although hired as a technical writer, I quickly grew into a broader role, creating five corporate web sites and a truckload of corporate communication material. I won an award for the design of the company's 2001 annual report.

  • Education Tools Developer

    Softimage

    (Public Company; 51-200 employees; Computer Software industry)

    September 1999April 2001 (1 year 8 months)

    I designed and produced innovative video-based training modules for Softimage products. I designed PDF-based tutorials and created numerous technical illustrations for several product manuals. In addition, I wrote three training course workbooks for Softimage products.

  • Senior Technical Writer

    Eicon Technology

    (Public Company; 201-500 employees; EIC; Computer Networking industry)

    September 1993September 1999 (6 years 1 month)

    I started at Eicon as a junior technical writer and left as a senior writer and group leader. I wrote, designed, and illustrated over three dozen complex technical manuals and online help systems on tight deadlines.


Jim Royal’s Education

  • Concordia University

    B.A. , Specialization in Journalism and Communications , 19891991

  • Vanier College

    D.E.C. , Pure and Applied Science , 19851988

    Activities and Societies:
    Student journalism; news editor for Alternative, and founder of Phoenix.

Additional Information

Jim Royal’s Websites:

Jim Royal’s Interests:

Photography, new technologies, Macintosh, 3D modeling, public speaking.

Jim Royal’s Groups:

Society for Technical Communication, Montreal chapter (President, 2004-2005)

  •    Canada
  •    Ex-Eicon Technology Alumni
  •    Friends of FrameMaker

Jim Royal’s Honors:

Received Platinum Award from the League of American Communications Professionals in their competition of the Top 100 Annual Reports for 2001 (annual report designed for eNGENUITY Technologies).


Jim Royal’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

  • career opportunities
  • expertise requests
  • reference requests
  • getting back in touch

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