My Story
How I got to be a successful, sought-after designer
The last print company I worked at (all the way back in 1997) refused to upgrade their equipment which made it impossible for me to keep up with their growing design needs and print output. So I quit!
When I first started out on my own, there was no such thing as independent or freelance designers. As soon as other printing companies caught on to what I was doing, I got a lot of work from many of them, including the one I had resigned from – at double what they had been paying me before. Haha! Karma is a bitch.
Logo development and branding are my thing and South Africa has had the perfect economic climate to master these skills.
Since the eradication of our apartheid government in 1994, declining employment in South Africa has forced many citizens to start their own businesses, resulting in a demand for brand development, especially in the small-businesses sector. Freelancers didn’t exist back then and small businesses couldn’t (and still can’t) afford agency rates so I was a very busy girl. (AKA I have a LOT of logo design and brand development experience.)
I’m a bookworm and a self-confessed grammar nazi.
This lead me to dabble in book design which fast became a new skill. And I found myself signing book design deals with prominent publishing houses and also with a bevy of self-publishing authors. And yes, I prefer to work with authors one-on-one than with big companies. If you need to get your book onto Amazon, then I’m your gal.
Then social media arrived and has become the go-to option for effective, affordable design-specific marketing
Today, more and more small business owners are opting for online advertising or downloadable brochures rather than printed ones. So, naturally my work has veered in that direction and I make time every week to research the latest online marketing trends.
I’ve learned to become a not-too-shabby iPhone photographer.
Social media marketing relies heavily on great images. So photography – iPhone photography specifically – has been added to my list of skills and helps me ensure that images I use in my designs are totally unique and custom created for each project as I take and edit most of them myself. (Visit my Instagram account for an idea of my style). Want to learn how to take great product and creative pics with your phone? Read this post, or sign up for one-on-one iPhone classes with me. (PS – all the images you see here in my website were taken with my iPhone – for real.)
My purpose is to use what I’ve learned to help you grow your business and your bank balance.
To make your life easier, I’ve combined all my skills into a comprehensive offering where I guide savvy business owners, like yourself, through the entire process of rebranding and upscaling their existing business. We start by looking at your checklist, followed by a brand audit, and create a customised plan just for you and based on your needs. Then we work through it together at your own pace. By the time we’re done, your business will have had an effective makeover, and you’ll have a set of brand new skills to use to keep it working like a well-oiled machine.