Informal Introduction
I'm a graphic designer, a full-blown coffee addict, and a VERY proud dog mom to my two dogs:
Simba (Belgian Malinois) & Max (Miniature Schnauzer).
I started designing 12 years ago but not strategically until ~2018.
It's been 6 years, and after a long-awaited-but-very-much-procrastinated amount of time, I'm taking my work past just a Google Drive and word-of-mouth. It's getting serious.
Simba (Belgian Malinois) & Max (Miniature Schnauzer).
I started designing 12 years ago but not strategically until ~2018.
It's been 6 years, and after a long-awaited-but-very-much-procrastinated amount of time, I'm taking my work past just a Google Drive and word-of-mouth. It's getting serious.
My Design Journey
As everyone says during their Oscar speeches... I wouldn't be here without my mother!
But seriously, she was an INSANELY artistic person from birth.
No matter what she was doing or what was going on in her personal life, she found time to stay creative.
That was our favorite pastime while I was growing up, and it still is to this day.
But seriously, she was an INSANELY artistic person from birth.
No matter what she was doing or what was going on in her personal life, she found time to stay creative.
That was our favorite pastime while I was growing up, and it still is to this day.
She never missed the chance to make me an outline to color-in at daycare, or a personalized note in my lunch box (different EVERY TIME), or to make our friends & family cards every holiday, birthday, or event with her signature retro-style, in-your-face, fun designs.
Most of our family has one or two of her keepsakes.
She's my best friend and a massive inspiration in my life and work.
She's my best friend and a massive inspiration in my life and work.
Speed up to 2012...
Aaliyah was 15 living with every artist's nightmare -- she had the vision, but couldn't draw to save her life.
Out of pure serendipity, my high school opened a new class -- Graphic Design.
My favorite teacher was lined up to teach it, and she recommended I try it when class selection time rolled around.
Out of pure serendipity, my high school opened a new class -- Graphic Design.
My favorite teacher was lined up to teach it, and she recommended I try it when class selection time rolled around.
I IMMEDIATELY fell in love.
Our first project was a series we called "R Good" -- to stand for the Rochester Good -- in honor of local businesses doing good things for their local community. I made a poster for a vegan restaurant called The Owl House.
A couple of weeks later, the owner called to tell my teacher and I that his foot traffic had gone up significantly since the posters went up!
The happiness I heard in his voice was when I knew this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
It was the first piece of work I did that felt important, and it actually made a difference in someone's life. Getting ready for college, I spent hours looking at where I could do this full-time. The answer?
Our first project was a series we called "R Good" -- to stand for the Rochester Good -- in honor of local businesses doing good things for their local community. I made a poster for a vegan restaurant called The Owl House.
A couple of weeks later, the owner called to tell my teacher and I that his foot traffic had gone up significantly since the posters went up!
The happiness I heard in his voice was when I knew this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
It was the first piece of work I did that felt important, and it actually made a difference in someone's life. Getting ready for college, I spent hours looking at where I could do this full-time. The answer?
Getting Started in Marketing
I went to Ithaca College for Communication Management & Design and was formally introduced to the world of branding & marketing design -- almost every project we had in class required some form of branding design, and I made myself the designer for each one. After 100s of presentations, social media marketing stimulations, brand analyses, and marketing case studies, seeing the patterns in what worked and what didn't became second nature.
I was able to chip away some of those 10,000 hours everyone always talks about.
As the inaugural class of COVID 2020 crept closer to our online graduations, my close professor & advisor told me I needed to take design seriously and freelance.
That was 4 years ago.
Now, I'm opening my calendar to do freelance full-time.
Let's get to work.
I'd love to add you to my calendar.