2023 Year in Review
For 2023’s Year in Review, I want to highlight some of the amazing business owners and organizations I’ve had the pleasure of collaborating with this year.
It’s truly an honor to have the opportunity to work alongside fellow entrepreneurs to help them grow their brands and achieve their goals. Design is a powerful communication tool that has a profound impact on a brand’s ability to communicate (and to communicate the right message), and that responsibility is something I both take very seriously and thoroughly enjoy.
Earlier this year I chatted with another web designer who was shocked to hear that I only launch 2-5 websites a year. They asked, “is this your side gig?”
Admittedly, I felt a twang of irritation, as well as worry. In a world where quick turnarounds (one-week websites, mini brand builds, templates, etc.) are saturating the market, is this what most people think, that my business is a side gig because my output volume is so small?
I’ve certainly felt the pressure to work faster, but the truth is, that doesn’t work for my process. Instead, over time my project timelines have gradually lengthened, not shortened.
At Amp’d Designs, I’m not about speed. I’m not about cranking out a brand or website in a week. I would never be able to provide value or quality that quickly. I’m about taking the time needed for intentional, strategic design. That means that each project might take months. It also means that each project will not only look amazing, but will solidly work to help your business grow, connect with your audience, and reach your goals.
This year (2023) I actually only launched 3 websites. This year, my portfolio was sprinkled with a variety of work — from branding to web design to packaging to print design — which I really love.
Here’s a look back!
brewwell Website
An Asheville brewery + wellness center that bridges the gap between the beer and wellness communities. Their space provides learning opportunities and encourages exploration for everyone. The design communicates their core values of a welcoming space, high quality, and curiosity. Check out the site.
Mountain BizWorks Foundations Course Materials
For Asheville’s much-loved small business resource center, it was a pleasure to redesign the materials for the Foundations in Business Course (which I myself took back in 2018 when I started Amp’d Designs!). The new designs are on-brand, clean, clear, memorable, easy to navigate for students, and set up for long-term use by the organization.
Jon Stickley Trio Album cover
Building off of the dynamic Branding I previously designed for JS3, “Meantime’s Up” conveys a feeling of personal growth and creative expression.
Beam Center Website
An NYC non-profit that empowers youth to do incredible things through collaborative programs and amazing projects. Their design has a bold and engaging presence, embodies inspiration, shares their powerful work, and invites visitors to support their mission. Check out the site.
Meadowsweet Creamery Packaging
An Asheville ice cream company that wanted to elevate their ice cream sandwich packaging. The design uses elements from their branding along with custom icons of their ingredients for a look that’s fun and fresh.
George Masa Foundation Branding
A non-profit that provides young people with resources to engage in solutions for climate action. The design represents inspiration, positivity, creativity, and energy.
Asheville Crafted Real Estate Print Design
A boutique real estate firm in Asheville that’s passionate about empowering first-time home buyers. This custom-illustrated interactive marketing piece walks home buyers through the steps to prepare for purchasing a home.
Asheville Functional Medicine Branding
An Asheville-based holistic healthcare provider who re-named her business to better represent her work and attract the right audience. The design represents balance, support, trust, hope, togetherness, and movement towards better wellbeing. Check out the client story.
Menottees Stickers
An ongoing collaboration, this year I worked with Menottees on a couple of super fun new sticker and merch designers.
Sticker photos by Emmanuel Figaro
Ratliff Integrative Medicine Branding
A Charlotte-based integrative medicine physician who aims to provide accessible care. The design represents relationships, teamwork, helpfulness, perseverance, advocacy, and health. Check out the client story.
Menottees Packaging
For a sticker and t-shirt company founded on fun and humor, I loved collaborating on a truly unique unboxing experience. The design is engaging, unexpected, interactive, and unforgettable.
Daily Magic Signage and Print Design
Expanding on the Branding I designed for Daily Magic, I was so excited to help celebrate the opening of her physical shop in Virginia this year with some beautiful new signage and print marketing materials.
Thrive Asheville Print & Digital Designs
An Asheville-based organization that works to facilitate affordable housing and important policy changes. The designs are on-brand, bright, and eye-catching.
Peridot Consulting Website
An Asheville accounting firm that prioritizes customer relationships and exceptional service. The new website is modern, professional, and high-quality while inviting and friendly, and offers invaluable resources. Check out the site.
UNCA Print Design
For the UNC Asheville campus, the design builds on the branding of their career center to showcase the qualities and diversity of the university’s students.
Beam Center annual report
Beam Center and I joined forces again at the end of this year to put together a digital Annual Report web page. We also created a print-friendly PDF version. It was great to have copywriting support from Andrea Shirey for this project! Check out the report web page.
Flow at Foundy Branding
A fitness-focused yoga center in Asheville’s River Arts District with a fresh take on yoga. The design represents movement, exercise, sweat, motion, growth, and community support. Check out the client story.
3 Cheers for 5 Years
This year, Amp’d Designs celebrated 5 years in business!
The beginning of this all simultaneously feels like forever ago and just yesterday. 🙃
To celebrate my biz birthday, I launched 5 resources during the month of August:
For Business Owners – Logo & Branding Template Shop for new small businesses and entrepreneurs:
Each logo in the shop can only be used by one business, so you won’t be scrolling through Instagram and see someone else with the same logo as you.
Each logo in the shop was previously designed for a custom Branding project, which means that each logo has deep symbolism and meaning to help your business communicate the right message.
For Designers – Email Scripts for Sticky Client Situations:
Templates for 22 different sticky situations to help you respond professionally, keep projects on track, and get what you need from your clients to run a stress-free design business. This guide also includes conditional variations for wording (because no 2 situations are exactly the same), as well as recommended contract clauses and policies to prevent situations from becoming sticky.
For Business Owners – How to Use Your Logo & Branding Files:
A game-changing guidebook that breaks down how to use your logo and branding files in a digestible manner that’s super easy to follow, so you can finally feel confident putting your designs to use.
For Designers – Up-Leveling Your Client-Facing Design Process:
How to create a memorable client experience that leads to rave reviews, repeat work, referrals, a stellar reputation, and the ability to raise your prices.
Webinar – From Clients Who Annoy to Clients You Enjoy:
Copywriter Maddy Aucoin and I teamed up to co-host a chat about treating clients with kindness. We talked about how to turn frustrating situations around so that you can feel good about your work and relationships, educate your clients, build a glowing reputation for your business, and elevate your community overall.
In addition to the Kindness webinar with Maddy, I had a great time speaking at a handful of events this year.
This summer I spoke for Squarespace’s annual event for web designers (Squarespace Circle Day) all about how to keep projects on track.
It was a delight to chat with Pratt Alumni (my alma mater) about starting a design business and building a client base.
I collaborated with my business coach Johanna Hagarty (who filled in when Elizabeth had a baby!) to flip the script on common business “advice,” and discuss how it truly takes lots of time, energy, and patience to grow a design business.
This Fall I also had the opportunity to head to NYC for the AIGA Design Conference.
For the past 5 years I’ve been on the Board for our local AIGA Asheville Chapter after co-founding the chapter with Reggie Tidwell back in 2019. This year, as President of the Chapter — alongside John Hornsby as Vice President — it was amazing to be able to connect with AIGA members from around the country, and learn from so many design icons.
I moved to Asheville from NYC in 2017, and this was my first time back since! The trip back was almost exactly 6 years to the date we moved. It was wonderful to revisit some of my favorite places, including my alma mater Pratt Institute (where I earned my BFA in Communications Design) and the neighborhood Will and I lived in (Astoria, Queens). I also caught up with my brother and some friends, met Eric Vasquez (who I collaborated with on a virtual event series in 2020) in person for the first time, and has the pleasure of visiting Beam Center (who I worked with on their Website Design)!
Completely unrelated to design, my personal highlight of the year was road tripping around Italy from Rome to Venice with Will. We love travel. I’m grateful for the opportunity to expand my mind and experience other places. When we spend almost every day in our own little bubbles, traveling really opens our eyes to beautiful things that can inspire better actions in our own lives, while at the same time reminding us to appreciate the simple luxuries we take for granted at home.
We’ve booked a trip to Japan for 2024 and I can’t wait! Also trying to swing Oaxaca, Mexico, before we head to Tucson, Arizona, for a month next Fall.
Looking Ahead
I’m excited for 2024. I’ve got big plans up my sleeves for both Amp’d Designs and my newer venture, Make Your Design Matter, which provides resources and education for self-employed designers. I don’t typically set hard and fast goals, but instead keep them broad and aspirational.
In the coming months I’m particularly interested in providing education and resources through speaking and workshops. Education has always been a core value of Amp’d Designs.
For business owners, I love demystifying design and branding, and helping it feel approachable and effective.
For designers, I love sharing realistic, actionable tips for navigating processes, client relations, and business-building.
If you host a podcast, speaker events, or workshop series (or know someone who does), I’d love to be considered as a guest!
In the next year (and beyond), I’m focusing on:
Building community with fellow designers and business owners who share my values,
Growing the educational arm of my business,
Making more room for rest,
And of course, continuing to collaborate with amazing business owners and organizations on designs that help them stand out with both strategy and style!
It’s been a true joy to collaborate with so many rockstar businesses this year. Thanks to them all for entrusting me with their brands. I’ve sincerely loved getting to know each business owner. The work that they do to better their communities is inspiring and admirable, and it means a lot to be just a small piece of their journeys.
On that note, my calendar is open for Winter-Spring 2024!
If you’ve been wanting to take the next steps with Custom Brand and Web Design to better connect with your audience, let’s talk! I’d love to learn more about your goals and needs.
OTHER RECENT POSTS:
Common tricky design client situations, how to steer them back on track, and how to prevent them altogether.