Marcell Le Grange Smit
* digital experience connoisseur * storyteller * problem solver * consumer centric advocate
* digital experience connoisseur * storyteller * problem solver * consumer centric advocate
Marcell’s career story
As a 2008 communication graduate specialising in video production, Smit started her career as a freelancer, assistant director, and video editor at Home Brew Productions, MK, and Blixem Productions. Here she helped produce television programs such as Sound Check, Jukebox, and Proesstraat.
In 2009, she moved to the research agency TNS, focusing on market research for the leading South African video entertainment and internet company MultiChoice. This inspired Smit to continue with an MA in documentary film in 2011, at the same time accepting a position as a digital media developer at d-Media, a division at the North-West University (NWU) that offers digital media products and services to internal and external clients. Her documentary, Bouvalle met stories, on the derelict buildings of Putsonderwater, was selected for screening at the kykNET Silver Screen Film Festival in 2014.
Her passion for design and visual problem solving guided her to complete two years of a Graphic design degree between 2015 and 2016. She was then appointed as a lecturer in communication at the NWU between 2016 - 2023. She is currently busy with her Ph.D. titled: Exploring story bursts as a social media branding tool applied to Generation Z. Her Ph.D. research sparked an interest in user experience and user interface design with a strong motivation to solve digital design problems prioritizing a user centred approach.
She recently started a business, Spanspek Tech with the mission to solve communication problems following a stakeholder centric approach, aiming for positive digital experiences.
Marcell aims at working in the digital and tech policy sector focusing to safeguard human experiences.
Education
Enrolled for a PhD in corporate communication, with a focus on social media & brand touchpoint experience, 2026
Professional diploma in UX design, from the UX Design Institute Ireland 2024
B.A. Graphic design 2015 – 2016 (encouraged by school director and research entity to start with PhD studies)
MA. Documentary Video Production 2011 - 2013 (Cum Laude)
B.A. Hons in Communication studies with corporate communication subjects and documentary video 2008
B.A. Communication Studies with Political Science Studies 2005 – 2007
Career journey
SpanSpekTech | Remote
2024– Current
Founder Spanspek Tech. | Explore, create, smile
Crafting positive digital communication solutions through a stakeholder centric approach
Duties
Conduct stakeholder research to identify communication obstacles. Craft communication solutions based on context and identified problem. Apply solution. Return to research to determine the success of the communication solution and adapt accordingly.
Creating communication strategies for different contexts.
Creating content strategies.
Crafting content through storytelling.
Cultivating positive stakeholder experiences.
Building mutually beneficial relationships.
School for Communication Studies | North West University | Potchefstroom
2016 – 2023
Lecturer visual communication, branding, corporate communication at North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus
Duties
Research and lecturing pre and post graduate students to think and create strategically in the following disciplines: video creation, DTP (desktop publishing), website creations, visual communication, and integrated marketing campaigns.
Lectured the following modules:
Introduction to communication contexts,
introduction to visual communication,
media and corporate writing,
organisational media management and web design,
integrated organisation media management,
journalism in practice - video content creation,
advanced corporate communication.
Postgraduate dissertation supervisor themes:
Content creation for Gen Z,
web design,
app design,
social media,
storytelling and
branding.
d-Media | North West University | Potchefstroom
2011 - 2016
Senior digital media designer at North-West University d-Media, academic support services
Duties
Instructional design and creating interactive study content & other products for internal (lecturers) and external audiences via Adobe software (Illustrator, InDesign, Photoshop, Premiere Pro, After Effects) with multimedia components from idea generation to execution and adaption according to client and audience preferences.
Assistant data analyst at TNS market research surveys | Johannesburg
2010
Duties
DSTV-i project : Capturing of viewer ratings for television channels and programs, creating user manual for Infosys, extracting data from Infosys
Video editor at Blixem productions | Johannesburg
2010
Duties
Producing, directing, filming and editing video content for Kyknet
Video freelancer | Cape Town
2009
Freelancing for Homebrew films, Lisba Vosloo, 3 Minutes Media Productions, Frans Marx Films, Neethling & Nolte Productions.
Duties
Producing, directing, video editing, logging and capturing footage
Short courses
Television Presenter Course 2009
Flash: Introduction to Actionscript 3 2012
The Future of Storytelling: MOOC Online Course: University of Applied Sciences Potsdam, Germany 2013
Microsoft Project Management 2014
Introductory course to Adobe Edge Animate 2014
Online course: Introduction to creating online learning platforms 2014
Introductory course to Adobe Illustrator 2015
Introductory course to Adobe Muse 2015
Online learning consortium – Exploring digital storytelling 2017
Post graduate supervision training workshop, Dr. Hofstee 2019
Skills
Work examples
d-Media 2011 - 2016
Showreel for work done at dMedia for clients at the North West University.
Masters in Documentary film 2013
The story is about a railway station and a surrounding settlement that became a ghost town after the demise of the South African railway network. Putsonderwater (which means well without water) lies on the eastern border of Bushmanland. It belonged to the Connan family, People who lived and worked there tell how it was in the good old days. The genre is cultural history. Masters in Communication studies project.
Tuinverse project 2016
Part of the Tuinverse project where visitors would navigate through the botanical gardens at the North West University and scan QR codes to watch and listen to poems inspired by nature.
School for communication studies 2020
An orientation video for first year students to navigate around the school for communication studies and find their lecturers.
Marketing material for postgraduate open day for School of Communication studies at the NWU | 2019
Ivanplats mine | Pulse Magazine | 2024
A quarterly magazine informing internal as well as external stakeholders about important matter at the min and surrounding communities.
Gen Z and Instagram stories | PhD research | Infographic | 2024
The advent of the Internet has fundamentally transformed the way in which individuals perceive and interpret the world. For younger generations, such as Generation Z, who have never known a world without digital connectivity, reality is understood in ways that differ from those of older generations. Generation Z now stands on the threshold of entering the workforce, with many already doing so. As the future income generators and, in the South African context, forming most of the national youth population, this cohort holds considerable socio-economic significance. It is therefore essential to recognise their preferences and to account for the ways in which global environments and consumer behaviours are evolving, to secure sustained brand support.
