When most people think of a designer, they think of someone who makes things look good. But design—and development—is more than aesthetics. It’s about function, clarity, and experience. That’s why I transitioned from graphic design into front-end development: to create, elevate and enhance digital experiences that are both visually compelling and technically sound.
My name is Michael Gragg, and I’m a front-end web developer with a strong foundation in design. I hold a Bachelor's of Science in Visual Communication Technology from Bowling Green State University and a Full Stack Web Development Certificate from Case Western Reserve University.
I have a deep appreciation for strong brands and intuitive user experiences, and I’m passionate about being the one who brings them to life. Whether I’m writing clean, maintainable code, optimizing performance, or refining a UI for better engagement, I approach every project with a blend of technical precision and creative problem-solving.
For the past three years, I’ve worked as a web developer at Mills James, where I build web pages for high-profile streaming events, develop internal applications to optimize company processes, and maintain the main company website. Before that, I spent five years at Precision Metalforming Association as a web and graphic designer, honing my ability to craft strong visual identities and seamless digital experiences.
Web development is constantly evolving, and I embrace that challenge. I’m always learning new technologies, exploring modern frameworks, and refining my approach to build better, faster, and more accessible experiences.
If you're looking for a developer who blends technical expertise with an eye for design, let’s talk.
Match and Win Game
Online Cookbook
Website
Web Application
Social Media App
Web Application
Branding
Web Application
GOAL FOR THE PROJECT: Develop a game for The Ohio Lottery's 50th Anniversary that can be quickly played at events and trade shows, allowing large groups to participate and win.
OUTCOME: A web-based game where players click a button to shuffle both sides of a game board, aiming to reveal a match. If no match is found, players can either save one selection and reshuffle the other or reshuffle both sides.
Built with React and Next.js, the app includes a password-protected configuration page with real-time updates via WebSockets, ensuring immediate reflection of changes. Data persistence is handled through local storage and JSON files.
Shuffling Algorithm: To ensure true randomness and fairness, the Fisher-Yates algorithm is implemented, generating a random permutation of a finite sequence. This guarantees that each shuffle is equally probable.
GOAL FOR THE PROJECT: Create a centralized way to store and manage recipes.
OUTCOME: Developed a web application using React and Next.js, integrated with Google Cloud and Firestore for secure recipe storage and real-time updates. The platform allows users to add, edit, search and manage recipes efficiently.
GOAL FOR THE PROJECT: Re-design websites of 2 publication to improve search engine optimization (SEO) and transition into digital first.
OUTCOME: Collaborated with magazine staff to come up with a layout that is designed to be date-driven. The most current articles, videos, podcasts will always appear on top of the webpage and move through the site as more current items are posted.
Designed 25 different layouts for 60+ pages of website content, turning a desktop-only website into a fully responsive site, while also including descriptive titles, image names, and meta tags for improving SEO.
Each element is also tagged with links to the type of category, the date it was published, and the author, for the user to find similar articles they want to read.
MetalForming Website | 3D Metal Printing Website
GOAL FOR THE PROJECT: Have a Budget Tracker with functionality to allow offline access.
OUTCOME: Application that allows the user to keep track of there their budget whether they're online or offline. The user is able to enter the name and amount of a tranaction and then add or subtract the funds. If offline, the transation will be saved and kept when the page is reloaded and back online.
GitHub Repository
GOAL FOR THE PROJECT: Group project to create a full stack application with Reactjs as the front end, a Node and Express Web Server, a MySQL or MongoDB database, a Sequelize or Mongoose ORM, both GET and POST routes for retrieving and adding new data, and deployed using Heroku.
OUTCOME: A social traveling app that allows users from around the world to meet and talk about locations to travel to, talk about locations to travel to, and even plan trips together! Using React, Material UI, MongoDB, Express, Mongoose, Axios the MVP allows users to create an account and post to a main feed that all users can see and respond to!
GOAL FOR THE PROJECT: Use the OpenWeather API to retrieve weather data for different cities and use `localStorage` to store any persistent data.
OUTCOME: Created an application using Open Weather API, allowing users to search for a city to see current weather information, including the current temperature, humidity, wind speed, and UV index, (the background around the UV index changes colors based on how severe the conditions are). as well as forecasts for the next 5 days.
Weather Dashboard | GitHub Repository
GOAL FOR THE PROJECT: Create new branding concept for new-to-market METALFORM EDU training software.
OUTCOME: Designed marketing materials to advertise and promote new software. Brochures, postcards, and flyers were made to improve selling of software and to be distributed at trade shows and conferences to create awareness. Designed a 214-page catalog to explain descriptions of more than 550 courses. Materials were also created in Spanish for the annual FABTECH Mexico trade show.
GOAL FOR THE PROJECT: Create a burger logger to keep track of burgers to eat and have already eaten (or devoured).
OUTCOME: An application using MySQL, Node, Express, and Handlebars to allow users to add burgers, to be "eaten later" or "devoured". With options to "eat now" or "delete" any burger in the waiting to be devoured box and options to "eat again" or "delete" any burger in the devoured burgers box.
