Because everyone always asks what a graphic designer actually does…
I love being the silent force behind creative endeavours, that’s my job as a graphic designer. I work with businesses and organizations behind the scenes to help them market their services, products or information. After all, it’s true that we humans read and judge books by their covers, so making beautiful design naturally attracts success.
Whether it’s a new small business needing a logo or a municipality needing to pretty-up a long document to make it more readable, a designer is strategically choosing fonts, colours, graphics and photos to get that project or initiative noticed. When you see signage, billboards, ads, maps, social graphics, pens, mugs, posters, brochures, infographics… there is a designer, like me, who spent hours researching the competition, trends, audience, history and inspiration.
As a small town designer, I find my inspiration by researching the history of industries, the building that a shop is located in, the name that’s been chosen for that business, the client’s personal style and tastes, or a relatable story. There is so much that goes into finding the right design style, fonts and colours for a client and I pride myself on working to the best of my abilities to communicate every phase of that development to create something they fall in love with and are proud to use. Sometimes it takes a single revision to a design concept, sometimes twenty, but I always want every client to feel like their logo or design is an extension of their business values and brand. Almost as-if they just got a brand new fancy outfit, and are excited and proud to wear it.
No, I do not draw pictures all day, (although I do sometimes depending on what the client wants) I spend 50% of my time as a researcher. Researching the important details that help establish and represent everything you see, do, experience, buy… that’s me. A small town designer sitting behind the scenes, almost always over-caffeinated and trying to make a small difference in the world.
Here are pretty pictures of some work I’ve done…