Melissa de Klerk of Melissa Helen Co.

Meet Melissa

Melissa is a multi-disciplinary marketer.

I have spent long periods of time going deep into a subject field, learning and exploring, applying what I learn and then letting that interest lead me organically onto the next subject field.

In so doing, I have developed skills in graphic design, web design and development, email marketing, business system and process building, and strategic marketing communication.

I am focused on

Marketing with meaning based on strategic decisions.

My studies & career path

2008 — 2011: Bachelor of Arts – Media, Communication and Culture degree at the Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Major subjects: English and Graphic Design.

My primary interests were design and writing, and the combination of the two disciplines. Even more interesting to me was how to combine these interests with technology.

2013: Bachelor of Arts Honours in Media Studies majoring in Corporate Communication, also from the Nelson Mandela University in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

After university

December 2013 — December 2014: Nelson Mandela University Business School in Port Elizabeth, South Africa.

2015 and 2016: worked at 2 different marketing agencies in Port Elizabeth.

June 2016: started my own business in web design and social media marketing.

December 2019: moved from South Africa to Germany.

2020: English teacher at Berlitz and the Volkshochschule in Wolfsburg.

August 2020 — August 2024: Digital Media Designer at the MSCG in Wolfsburg.

Further qualifications

German A1 (2019), and German B1 (2022) — Goethe Institute.

2022: Introduction to Coding — SheCodes.
View my graduate profile, here:

Stats

10

Years of work experience

8

of those 10 have been freelancing

5

out of 10 years working at marketing agencies

100 +

Clients served in my freelance practice

200 +

Different software tools tested & worked with

Contact

I am reachable by email at hello@melissahelen.com.

Portfolio

My portfolio focuses on website design and brand design projects that I have worked on for the last 6 years. This is a selection of my best work, and includes both my freelance clients, as well as agency clients.

Cadera

Regional bakery chain

My roles:
– Discussion with client to determine scope and requirements
– Brand look and feel reconception, including brand mood, image style, font selection and colour palette selection
– Website screen design
– Presentation to client of project and receiving approval and feedback
– Building the website with WordPress and Gutenberg
– Continuing content maintenance

ProCon X-Ray

Building of X-Ray equipment for research & industry

My roles:
– Discussion with client to determine scope and requirements
– Writing English text
– Website screen design
– Presentation to client of project and receiving approval and feedback
– Building the website with Contentful

Begamis

Logistics company focusing on business and private clients

My roles:
– Writing the text in English so that it could be translated to German
– Website screen design
– Presentation to client of project and receiving approval and feedback
– Building the website with Gatsby

ilios Betreuung

Home care and social care provider

My roles:
– Discussion with client to determine scope and requirements
– Redesign of the brand look and feel, including brand mood, image style, font selection and colour palette
– Website screen design
– Presentation to client of project and receiving approval and feedback
– Building the website with WordPress and Gutenberg

Stadt-Apotheke Elze & Katharinen-Apotheke Duingen

Two sister pharmacies in Lower Saxony

My roles:
– Brand conceptualisation
– Font and colour palette selection, differentiating the 2 pharmacies by creating 2 separate colour palettes, while keeping a unified look and feel for the rest of the branding.
– Structure and conceptualisation of the websites
– Website screen designs
– Presentation to client of project and receiving approval and feedback
– Building the websites with WordPress & Gutenberg
– Continuing content maintenance

Kulturquartier Wolfsburg

Cultural cooperation project with various institutions in the city of Wolfsburg

My roles:
– Website design and build with WordPress and Divi
– Continuing content maintenance

GRABAND Career Portal

A railway infrastructure planning and project management company

My roles:
– Structure and conceptualisation while taking the recruitment process into account
– Website screen design
– Presentation to client of project and receiving approval and feedback
– Building the website with WordPress and Gutenberg

Kristine T. G. Hardeberg

Art historian with a podcast who sells courses, lectures and books

My roles:
– Discussion with client to determine scope and requirements
– Website design and build with WordPress and Divi
– Project management
– Presentation to client of project and receiving approval and feedback
– Continuing content maintenance

Concept Afrika

Communication agency focusing on brand and marketing strategy

My roles:
– Discussion with client to determine scope and requirements
– Website design and build with WordPress and Divi
– Project management
– Presentation to client of project and receiving approval and feedback
– Continuing content maintenance

Software I work with

Website building

WordPress with Gutenberg
WordPress with Divi
WordPress with WooCommerce
WPML (for website translations)
Contentful
Figma
Framer

Adobe

Adobe XD
Adobe InDesign
Adobe Illustrator
Adobe Acrobat Pro

Social Media

Facebook
Instagram
LinkedIn
YouTube
Facebook Business
Facebook Ads Manager
Meta Business Suite (Native Facebook Business content scheduling tool)
Buffer (Social Media Scheduler)
Later (Social Media Scheduler)
Hootsuite (Social Media Scheduler)
Planoly (Social Media Scheduler)
Missinglettr (Social Media Scheduler)
Canva (Designing social media post templates)

General office software

MS Word
MS PowerPoint
MS Excel
MS Outlook
MS Teams

Email Marketing

MailerLite
Mailchimp
ConvertKit
Flodesk

Other Software

Podia (Creating an online academy for training material)
Teachable
Google Analytics
Hotjar
Trello
Asana
Slack
Discord
Stripe
Calendly
Book like a Boss
Cal.com

Skills

Website building using page builders
Screen design
Blog article writing (in English)
Social Media content writing (in English)

PowerPoint Master design
PowerPoint presentation design

Colour palette selection
Font combination selection

Understanding client requirements
Understanding business requirements that influence a business decision
Teaching colleagues new software
Learning new software
Following up with clients
Client communication over the phone
Relationship building with clients 

I taught myself German well enough to pass the German B1 exam without attending any lessons.

I am self-motivated and very keen to learn new things – especially software that is related to my existing skillset.

I understand where my strengths are and can communicate them clearly.

I desire clear communication and am happy to ask questions until I have enough information to work with.

I have contributed to projects significantly by doing research into world trends and patterns. I am also skilled at doing design research, and can take inspiration from various places and integrate them into my work.

I place a high value on teamwork, as I know that it is impossible for one person to be brilliant at many things. I thus support my team members and gladly receive support, advice and guidance from my team and management.

Testimonials

Melissa is a creative and technically savvy whizz.

I tasked Melissa with the creation of my luxe travel website (the second she’s created for me) and I’ve been completely blown away by Melissa’s ability to focus on the end goal big-picture impact of the end product as well as being on top of the minutiae.

I absolutely love this website, and most of all the relationship I have with Melissa knowing that we can bounce ideas and problem solve to ensure the website remains a living and productive tool for converting clients and delivering my service to the highest standard.

Thank you Melissa!

Sharon Schneider

Founder | The Phoenix Journey

Melissa ist die wohl beeindruckendste Kollegin, mit der ich jemals das Vergnügen hatte, zusammen zu arbeiten.

Immer voller Lust und Leidenschaft für das, was sie tut und aktuell bearbeitet.

Besonderes Augenmerk liegt bei Melissa auf dem Bereich „Corporate“ - ob Design, Identity, Architecture usw. Melissa jongliert immer wieder ungewöhnlich gekonnt und dabei messerscharf präzise mit gern ungesehenen Farb- und Schriftkombinationen - immer perfekt zum jeweiligen Kunden passend.

Aber auch das Spiel mit Bild und Texten im Netz beherrscht Melissa, wie kaum eine Zweite - wohlgemerkt auf Deutsch und natürlich auch auf Englisch.

Die sozialen Medien orchestriert Melissa ebenfalls sensationell und scheut sich hier auch nicht die jeweiligen Programme des Kunden mit Mustervorlagen und Mastern zu bespielen.

Dazu kann sie ihre Arbeiten immer schlagkräftig argumentieren und ist somit überaus überzeugend - gern auch im direkten Kundenkontakt.

Melissa ist damit nicht nur ein Gewinn für jede Kreation, sondern auch für jeden Arbeitgeber im inneren und auch im äußeren Kontakt.

Liebe Melissa, es hat mich sehr gefreut, mit Dir arbeiten zu dürfen, Dein Herangehen an teils sehr komplexe Aufgabenstellungen zu erleben und wünsche Dir für die Zukunft weiterhin so viel Spaß, wie Du es bei uns in der Agentur an Deiner Arbeit für all unsere Kunden immer hattes.

Romek Muller

Creative Director | MSCG

Melissa helped me tremendously with my sales pages (in Spanish and English!). She understood my needs and put them into design, all of it so quickly and efficient! She was very open during the process, answering all my doubt and questions, and listening to my suggestions. I’m very grateful to have contacted her and I would recommend her services any time!

Gabriela Encina

Gabriela Encina: Psychologist | Expat Coach

You are extraordinarily talented, you built my site in less than a week. I mean goodness, I gave you flat designs on COB Wednesday and by Friday my site was done!

You're amazing and so talented, you are an incredible problem solver, nothing was a “no”, it was a "let me research it". Which is such an incredible way of looking at things. You also always added in your own touch, which I love! You added in so much extra, that didn't go by unnoticed, like the SEO, the extra copy and you pushed the design to become the magnificent beast that it is today.

Thank you so much for the time, effort, skill and talent you poured into my small business. It warms my heart to know that there are good people like you, good people with passion, drive, skill and talent who can whip up a beautiful site in less than a week, with only a smile, positive attitude and confidence in your ability.

You are incredible. You are talented. You are beautiful.

And I am so thankful, I really cannot express my gratitude and thanks properly. I get all finger tied.

THANK YOU!

Willow Tucker

Founder & Director, The Willow Tucker Creative Studio

Working with Melissa was a dream! She always communicated clearly what she needed from me, and advised me on what would work best on my site. I really appreciate her attention to detail, often picking up things that I had overlooked. She was also a huge help in setting up my website policies, as I had no clue where to start! Thank you, Melissa!

Paula Jones

Owner & Founder, It's Me, Paula

There is no doubting Melissa’s talented creative enthusiasm. This combined with a focused, entrepreneurial outlook to her craft is why we utilise her specialist skills which have become an integrated component of our marketing strategy.

Melissa displays a flair for design which is aligned to an informed understanding of our business environment and target market. Always being ready to make suggestions and being open to alternative ideas adds value to our engagement.

Melissa brings an element of commercial professionalism sometimes lacking in the creative space in meeting deadline commitments and staying within budget guidelines.

With her energetic and insightful approach to assignments we look forward to continuing our productive and rewarding relationship.

Stuart Wood

Director, Vanguard Fire & Safety Cape

I love working with Mel.  She just gets it, does everything right and has helped me grow my profile and business exponentially.

Elizabeth Campbell

EC Writing Services

Consistently thoughtful and creative.  We appreciate the consideration Melissa has brought to every project.
Andrew Keaveney

Art of Living Retreat Center, Boone, North Carolina

Working with Melissa has been an absolute pleasure. Her attention to detail is unmatched, and she consistently delivers a quick turnaround without compromising on quality. Melissa’s open and clear communication made the entire process seamless, and her professionalism truly stood out. Highly recommend!
Nazareen Ebrahim

CEO: Naz Consulting International and speaker

Melissas Unterstützung und Einfallsreichtum sind in allen Bereichen unserer gemeinsamen Zusammenarbeit eine Bereicherung. Vom Brainstorming zu Marketingkampagnen oder dem Aufbau einer Webseite hin zu digitalen und analogen Marketingmaßnahmen bietet Melissa ein breites Spektrum an Wissen und Kreativität.

Tom Schmidt

IT Teamleiter | MSCG

I’m an action taker. When ideas come to me, I need to get them from paper into reality as soon as possible. Don’t like waiting. Don’t like frustration. Of course, that’s almost impossible to avoid when you have an online business.

When I realised that people needed to have a taste of what I do before they buy from me it suddenly hit me! I needed to put out a freebie ASAP. So I had 2 choices: invest my precious time in learning the tech behind it or invest in someone to do it for me. It was a no brainer. I called Melissa.

She stepped in and I immediately felt relief. She was patient, understanding and a great collaborator (I hate thinking that I hire people, I’m more of a let’s work together and that’s exactly how Melissa is). She knew exactly how to solve all little issues that come with integrating websites and emails and all the words that I dislike.

Plus, and trust me, being a learning designer this is the biggest reason why I work with her, I learned along the way! So now not only do I have everything set up to share my freebie with everyone, I also understand how the systems work and it doesn’t scare me anymore. I feel empowered to handle the behind-the-scenes tech and take care of that side of my business (though, let’s be honest, I’ll keep working with Melissa cause she rocks).

Mariana Peña

Mariana Peña

We are so pleased we made the decision to work with Melissa!

When I initially reached out to her, I was overwhelmed as we approached a big product launch. Getting our website and online shop in order was a priority, and at first I thought I could do it myself. But I quickly realized I had enough to do without adding such a big task to my plate!

Choosing to work with Melissa gave us so much peace of mind. She was helpful, friendly and responsive from our first conversation right up until launch day. We were able to rest assured that our website was in good hands, and this gave us the ability to focus on other aspects of the business.

Thanks to Melissa's talents and dedication, our website came together beautifully and our customers were able to have a great experience when we launched our product.

Carrie Mallon & Annie Ruygt

Creators, The Spacious Tarot

I enjoyed Melissa's approach. There was a clear process, but that structure created a framework for the design. It especially facilitated the story around the business and the visuals that made it come alive.

I am constantly learning more from working with Melissa. Websites are evolving and she uses video tutorials that are easy to apply. I am especially happy with the way the platforms are now working together across the website, blog and social media

Melissa took what was a big, important goal for me and helped to achieve that really well, and on time. She did this through a structured approach, bringing my business ethos and offering to life in the site.

Keryn House

Owner, Houseway Consulting

I needed a beautiful online presence that was user friendly and interactive. You have been so patient and so helpful... and I have learnt so much from you during the process!

You are a strategic thinker (not just a window dresser), you are patient, you give sound advice and hold yourself to high ethical standards. The fact that you are super witty and entertaining is an added bonus.

I am so proud to be able to fluff my online feathers!!!

Vicky Du Toit

Owner, Kiekie Communication

It has been a great pleasure having you do our site and we are very happy with the results!

The content is amazing and you have done an amazing job.

Thank you very much.

John d'Oliveira & Steven Kelly

Wild World Tours

I needed a good website that would attract clientele and better indicate our expertise.

You are warm, bright, and go the extra mile to understand the discipline and problems at hand.

Loved the pace we set, each recognising and respecting the other's schedules, loved your energy, enthusiasm, passion and determination to grasp me and my brand.

Julie Rathbone

Owner, Qualitative Quarter