Coming up with a logo for a business that is unique to the individual owning that business is no small feat. I listen to my client’s wishes and think of things like color, layout of lettering, what kind of graphics represent them as a person — and as a business owner of their particular business?
How will this logo translate to promotional items such as business cards, signage, vehicle graphics, tee shirts, etc? How will that design speak to that person’s client base? It’s important to think of all of these things when branding someone’s passion.

When designing banners or large format signs, I try to keep in mind many factors- that I put in just the right amount of information, that the layout looks good and makes sense, and size DOES matter- can the potential client see your banner from a distance? How/where will you hang it? Can that be changed according to venue? Because if you’re going to spend money on advertising your business… you want that advertisement to ‘throw it’s voice’ in just the right tone to attract those clients, right?

When designing banners for social media, such as Facebook, I try to make sure that the design within the space attracts the viewer and gets them excited to go to the event that is being promoted.

I first stepped into the sweets and snacks world in 2017, and what a fun ride it’s been ever since! I currently design sweets and snacks labels for a company based in Scottsdale, Arizona that has accounts with companies such as TJ Maxx, Marshalls, HomeGoods and ROSS Dress for Less.

What I show on this page is the (often) final concept mocked up on a photograph of the item before sending to the printers, paired with the end result in real life. Once in a while, one or two elements may change at the very last minute, and that’s fairly typical. One thing I’ve learned with being a graphic designer is that change is neverending. And I’m GOOD with that! Keeps me on my toes.

Having a background in the print industry has helped me tremendously when trying to figure out what kind of label will work for what type of product, what colors will print best, and dimensions become very, very important when you’re working with smaller items. The slightest miscalculation of layout can wreck the whole design, so checking, double checking and re-checking everything- the layout, the font and readability of the design, the colors, all of that- is so important.

The end product will be just one item on a shelf in a sea of other items competing for the consumer’s attention- and it’s my job to make sure the design catches the customer’s eye.

Another type of design I’ve done a lot of since working in the sweets and snack industry is corporate gifting label design. Corporate gifting, especially during the holidays, is a great way to show customer appreciation. I have a lot of fun with those designs as well.

Photos of end result items courtesy of Jody Britton of Sweet Tooth Snacks, Rock Island, IL.

I’ve been lucky enough to learn how to not only design vehicle graphics, but to understand the application process as well, which helps so much when creating the design for the client. I’ve applied and removed vehicle graphics, and it’s SUPER FUN. Truly!

Like any other design, it’s all about listening to the client’s wishes and making that a reality to the very best of my ability. Depending on what they want, I have to keep in mind things like, how long will that type of vinyl last? Depending on the type of vinyl, it may last anywhere from 1-5 years on average. How much money does the client wish to spend on the design? What kind of impact will the design make when tooling down the road? When creating a moving advertisement, it’s important to keep all sorts of questions like those in mind.

I designed these graphics while working for a local sign company. I took the photos of the finished designs.

Once in a while, I get a chance to create something REALLY special. In the case of a local elementary school, I did literally everything but install the actual pieces myself- I communicated with the principal of the school to find out what he wanted, and from there I researched the companies that physically make the acrylic signs he needed for this project- and to do that, I had to know dimensions, create the designs and keep the colors PMS (Pantone Matching System colors) so it would translate from screen to print without much difference; I had to work with the supplier and figure out the quote and time frame for the project; once the items came in, it was up to me to review the items created by the supplier and verify that everything was correct (it WASN’T, and I recall at the time I had to send out for some items to be fixed/replaced); I designed and laid out, cut, weeded and masked the vinyl, and prepped it all for the installer to take with him and apply to the wall, as shown in the photo. That was definitely a labor of love.

What clients have to say….

-Other works I’ve done, including garment design-

In some cases I’ve designed shirts for direct-to-garment transfer, but mostly I’ve designed for either commercial heat press or screen printing, up to 6 colors. With screen printing, you have to figure out how you’re going to lay out the colors on the shirt, how those colors will work together on the shirt and how to separate the colors so they don’t cause messy problems with the end result.