Designing something for a client is similar to making a home-cooked meal for my family. Putting that extra bit of love into every stir, keeping a close eye on every step, and listening to my instincts to tell when it’s ready is what makes that meal special. I don’t want to make just another dish for them; I want it to be above and beyond their standards. If they ask for seconds I know I’ve won them over. And when they talk about the meal with other people, they get excited at the thought of enjoying another one.

Cards & Invitations

Definitely my sweet tooth! Working with event coordinators early in my career allowed me to learn everything there is to know about designing for special events. Although I love creating all printed materials, my heart belongs to event design. ♥



Holiday dinner party invitation
Ingredients:
2 c 5-point snowflakes
1 tbsp big fancy star
1 tsp little fancy star
1 c silver lustre stock




The holiday dinner party was held by the president of UT Health for his closest colleagues. During my time there the university’s symbol was a 5-point star, and I used that image often. This gate fold card included an inside layer of silver lustre stock and an outer layer of translucent paper with snowflake images.



Shh... invitation

Ingredients:
1 c translucent paper
2 c silver lustre stock
3 tbsp lavender ribbon




The Shh... invitation was designed for a surprise dinner honoring UT Health’s president’s wife. There are three layers attached by a ribbon. The top layer is printed on translucent stock and the other two on silver stock. I hand trimmed and assembled 40+ cards with a custom envelope and reply card.



Holiday berries card

Ingredients:
1 c berries
1/4 c Adobe Garamond Italic
2 c Silver lustre stock



Working at UT Health I had the pleasure of creating holiday cards. These were for the president of the university to send out to business associates and other colleagues of his choosing. Each berry was uniquely created and used in additional holiday materials.



No Go Gala invitation

Ingredients:
1 tbsp cat
1 tbsp takeout food
1 tbsp purple couch
1 c pure sponsorship




The No Go Gala was a mock event held as a non-traditional fund raiser. The concept was to entice donors to sponsor a scholarship and enjoy a relaxing evening at home, rather than get dolled up for a night out on the town. This successful event paved the way for future fund raisers with a similar concept.

Brochures

Those small folded pieces packed with a businesses' entire reason for existence. Okay, maybe they're not that dramatic, but definitely that important. Check out these brochures I'm proud to include in my portfolio.



SFCU new brochures
Ingredients:
3 c products
3 c stock photography
3 c Marydale & Futura
3 equal parts
Pantone 368, 144, 3005



One of my many roles at SFCU was to update branding materials. An example of this was my consolidation of 9 brochures worth of product information down to 3.
This streamlined our marketing materials with a simple, clean, and colorful design.



Golf Tournament brochure
Ingredients:
3 c panels
1 c illustrated golf balls
3 c illustrated golf accessories
1 tbsp sunny skies




This brochure advertised UT Health’s 16th annual golf tournament. I wanted to draw player’s attention in by enticing them with the thought of a peaceful day out on the greens.

Logos

A designer's base. We revolve everything around a logo. Well, almost everything. They hold the key to inks, typefaces, type styles, and can be found on every printed piece revolving it. They are the most powerful ingredient in a brand.



Smart Tips newsletter logo
Ingredients:
1 tbsp lightbulb
2 tsp little "t"
1 c rest of the words



One of the newsletters SFCU produces in-house is Smart Tips. This summer I updated the branding and layout of the newsletter.



V.I.D.A. logo
Ingredients:
1 c vault
3 c bold letters
Infinity c of information



V.I.D.A. is a potential new product developed by masterminds of marketing. It's a virtual "safe" for anything from photos to mortgage documents to secret recipes.



Sugar logo
Ingredients:
1/2 tsp granulated sugar



This concept was created for a logo contest.



Leidi Like Hair
Ingredients:
10 c fancy mirror details
2 roses
5 c fancy font



Leidi is a hair stylist that needed an edgy, but beautiful, design for her brand. The whole image almost looks as if it could be a tatoo.



Malone Media Group
Ingredients:
3 tbsp cubed M
3 tsp blue
3 different font styles



Malone Media Group was looking for a brand that showed their many sides, like a cube would. The M makes the sides of the cube. I know it makes me want to see what the back looks like.

Annual Reports

Notoriously boring. But hiring a graphic designer to create your annual report is like hiring that personal chef to cater your birthday party. It steps it up 5 notches!



Annual Report for Smart Financial 2008
Ingredients:
5 c upward stocks
1 tsp 75th annual logo
2 tsp saddle stitching



The 2008 annual report design reflected the 75 years Smart Financial has been open for business. Each year is represented in the booklet as a typographical element either on the cover or inside.



Annual Report for Smart Financial 2010
Ingredients:
6 c arrows, mixed
1 c orange (PMS 144)
4 tbsp charts and graphs




A major contribution of my time at Smart Financial was introducing modern elements to pieces that lacked contemporary style. The 2010 annual report was a complete departure from previous designs and received rave reviews from the executive team.