What? A blog from my graphic designer? You might be thinking that sounds boring. [LOL, well, maybe to some people]. However, I thought this might be the way to share what I’ve learned over the last 20 years as freelance a graphic designer.
So, here it goes, the story of how iDesigned.
If you’re new here, I’ll start with a little about myself.
I attended a trade school college right after high school. Moved to the “big” town of Bismarck from a small town in North Dakota. I worked at a few places after college and before landing a print shop job. At first, I was so excited, but then I spent too much time outputting other people’s designs for print and decided to move on to a job in a marketing department at a local company. Taking my print knowledge with me, I was over the moon excited to move on. That lasted ….. 30 days….. (UGH!!). Not the excitement, but the actual JOB as they announced how they sold the department (with my 30-day old position) to an agency out of state.
And so Elegant Designs was born – a freelance graphic design studio – a small corner of my living room in the home we rented housed my office. It might have been that pink-mauve colored carpet that sparked my creativity. Who knows?
Freelancing
What began as a way to kill time as I searched for my dream job (this was before the internet postings everywhere, you had to print out your resume, create your portfolio, get dressed, drive over there and talk to a person face-to-face. Then wait for a call… those calls came in, but they were for positions that simply didn’t speak to me. I continue to do ads and newsletters until the right job came along. That was in 1997, and today, still no job offer I wanted to accept. But with two kids now, this job seems to be a perfect fit and what was a huge disappointment, now has become my dream job.
What creative person doesn’t love the idea of being able to set her own hours? I can work at 5 a.m. or 11 p.m., whenever the creativity sparks.
Graphic Design Studio
Now I call this my full-time job. Still working from home, thankfully there’s no pink carpet in my house anymore. I now invite you to follow me here, and I’ll occasionally post about design, branding and marketing ideas to help your company grow.
The Life as a Freelancer
I don’t feel like I have one job, I feel like I have a dozen. I work WITH my clients, not FOR them. It’s this team approach that makes us both grown.
Whether you’re looking for a brochure design, some fill-in help while your designer is on leave, marketing and branding tips for your new business, or a regularly scheduled project (like a newsletter or social media graphics) – I can help! Contact me today.
I have a variety of ‘jobs’ I do each day:
- My main job, or day job I call it, is my graphic design studio from local clients, most I’ve had my entire freelance career.
- My Marketing Studio where I show small or new businesses how to run their branding and marketing.
- I also love to help manage Facebook pages for clients.
- I have a DIY craft blog where I currently grew to over 10,000 followers in a year or so. Let me help you do the same! Or if you’re a crafter, check out We Can Make That!
I am happy to share my personal business knowledge that I’ve gained over the years with other new and small businesses. I invite you to browse the site and reach out to say hi!
Friendly Regards,
~Chelly
