2021 Year in Review
I don’t know about you, but I can’t believe 2022 is already on the horizon! -insert shocked face emoji- Reflecting, 2021 brought lots of exciting changes. For this month’s blog post, I thought I’d take a break from design resources to share Amp’d Designs’ year in review.
Biz Shifts
Service Revisions: One of my goals for the year was to expand my Branding services and help businesses grow beyond “just a logo.” When I launched my business in 2018, I offered one package for Logo Design and one for Web Design. This worked well as I got started, but it quickly became apparent that there’s no one-size-fits-all. Different businesses have different needs depending on what stage of growth or sector they’re in, so to better accommodate, I broke both my Branding and Website Design services into several different package tiers.
“Branding”: I’ve also strove to incorporate the term “branding” more when I explain my services in person, on my website, and on social media. When I started Amp’d Designs, I found that many businesses approached me asking for a “logo,” and many didn’t fully understand what branding was. At that time, I used “logo design” because the term was more approachable. However, even a solution that seems simple has so much thought and care beyond just the logo. My goal for 2021 was to share knowledge and resources to help businesses better understand what branding is, how it is more than just a logo, and how it can help them grow. Sharing this content is something I plan to continue doing!
Project focus: Prior to 2021, my workload consisted heavily of website design. While I love web work, a website is just one piece of a strong visual brand. This past year, my goal was to shift the ratio—not eliminate web work by any means, but build more solid brand foundations to start, then help those businesses focus on their sites. In 2021, 70% of my core projects were Branding!
Project Highlights
I’m immensely grateful to work with so many inspiring, kind, passionate business owners each year. 2021 was no different. I love what I do as a designer, and it’s only enhanced by collaborating with amazing people.
The bulk of my work is Branding and Websites, but I love supporting businesses with other graphic design needs. Not only does it help them communicate their messages, it adds variety to my work that I personally enjoy. Relationships are super important in my work, so I also can’t forget to give a huge thank you to the incredible continued collaborations that have spanned years.
Community
Since working with Reggie Tidwell to form AIGA Asheville in 2019, our chapter has seen so much growth! As always, it’s been a pleasure to serve on this board as the founding Vice President. Our team is full of brilliant ideas and ways to help the creative community thrive. Looking forward to another year with this great group!
During the summer, a handful of Mars Hill’s small businesses got together to talk about collaborating. As a resident of Mars Hill, I loved the idea of a community program, and even though I don’t have a storefront, I was excited to get involved. As we discussed a monthly First Fridays art, music, and shopping event, I proposed the idea of a punch card system that would entice visitors to step into the stores with the opportunity to win a small prize. The idea was a hit! I loved building the visual identity for the event series, designing all of the promo graphics and print pieces each month. I also helped organize and coordinate the events, and set up and clean up on the day of.
Professional Highlights
The logo I designed for Natural Footgear was featured in LogoLounge Book 12. It was one of 3k logos selected out of 43,000 entries.
I had a lot of fun on two radio shows! On The Johanna Patrice Hagarty Radio Show (Biz Radio Asheville), I talked about my business and branding tips. I also talked with Jody Collins (Feral Giant) on his show Porch Sittin’, where I shared 7 songs that have personal meaning to me and chatted about music.
One of the best things I did for my business this year was work with a business coach. Through Mountain Bizworks, I worked with Gwynne Rukenbrod Smith and Johanna Patrice Hagarty. I can’t even put into words how much they helped me turn all the scattered thoughts in my head into a solid plan!
Leaning into Education
Workshop: Loved being a part of Craft Your Commerce’s Spring 2021 Series, where I presented a workshop on Creating Your Brand Story.
Teaching Design: Over the Fall semester I taught a branding class in the Digital Media Technologies program at Asheville-Buncombe Technical Community College. Working with students was a wonderful experience!
Clubhouse Chat: I also co-hosted a biweekly Clubhouse chat series with Eric Vasquez called Designed to Thrive, where we talked on a variety of topics with the goal of creating a space where designers felt comfortable sharing their struggles and their achievements.
Personal Highlights
I didn’t forget to a few take breaks! (:
In the Spring, Will and I flew to Albuquerque and drove through parts of New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona. We chose a road trip because it was pretty non-contact and felt safe at that time of year. I love the Southwest because the scenery is so starkly different from what we’re used to seeing every day. Some of the trip highlights included Roswell, NM; Hatch, NM; White Sands National Park; the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum; a hot spring on the bank of the Rio Grande; and McGinn’s PistachioLand, where we toured a pistachio farm.
In the Fall, we traveled to Portland, OR, for Will’s sister’s wedding, and loved catching up with his family. From there, we drove down the coast to San Francisco. In Northern California, we hiked a beautiful trail called Fern Canyon, stopped at Sequoia Park, drove around in awe of the Redwoods, drank wine in Napa Valley, toured the Jelly Belly Factory, and went to Alcatraz.
Last month we also visited Buffalo, NY, for one of my best friends’ wedding. It was so nice to see my family and be back in my hometown after several years away!
2022 Business Goals
Brand Strategy: I’ll be offering Brand Strategy next year. Stay tuned for more info on this!
Brand Photography: I’ve scheduled a headshot session with an amazing photographer, something that’s been on my wish list for a long time!
Continuing Ed: Excited to finish up Standout Squarespace, a Squarespace course I invested in to up-level my web design skills.
Branding Resources: Overall, I’ll continue to share branding tips and help businesses feel comfortable investing in design, whether it’s with me or someone else.
Workshops & Presentations: I’d love to teach more workshops and give more presentations on design and branding. If you’re hosting an event and looking for speakers, please reach out if you think a branding presentation would be a good fit! I’d love to talk more.
2022 Personal Goals
Read more: This is always a goal, and it never happens! I love reading, but I can’t seem to stick to my book goals. So next year I won’t set anything concrete other than to just read more. (I like contemporary/realistic fiction, and topics that touch on the nostalgia of youth, found family, coming of age, and quirky characters, so feel free to send any recommendations my way!)
Go to England: This has been a goal of mine since I was about twelve years old. After so many plans were squashed in 2020, I can’t wait to finally get across the pond! If there’s anything the pandemic has taught us, it’s that the future is unpredictable, and there’s no time to waste! We want to see the world while we can.
Re-focus on work-life balance: This topic is super important to me. Better balance is one of the reasons I started working for myself. With so many shifts and new focuses in the past year, I compromised a bit on rest. So in 2022, I’m making it a priority to focus on smoother scheduling and processes that will allow for more time to recuperate & rejuvenate in between projects.
I’m already booking up quickly for Q1 of 2022, so if you’re thinking of starting the new year with a new brand or website, now’s the time to get in touch!
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