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about
Knock-Knock...
A well-intentioned guest arrives at your door with sloppy, half-buttoned clothes, ratty shoes and wild, unkempt hair. What is your first impression? Not good! “But, wait,” the guest pleads, “I’m very important - you should listen to me.” Too late, the impression has been made and you're not interested in his story. This is what happens when you send out poorly designed, unattractive and unprofessional materials to represent you and your business.
You have only a few seconds to make that all-important first impression and catch the attention of your audience. I develop high-quality, professional graphics that grab your clients' attention and leave a positive impression. From logo design to brochure development to display advertising, I will work to understand your goals, your message and your target market to develop an approach that best suits your needs and meets your objectives.
Remember, you always leave an impression - make sure it’s your best!
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logos
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printing
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marketing
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contact
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process
Graphic design is essentially a problem-solving process, requiring creativity, innovation and technical expertise. An understanding of your product or service and goals, and your target audience is translated into a visual solution. The visual solution is created by manipulating and combining type, images and color. The process ensures that you get a high quality solution for your marketing or communication problem.
The process begins with communication. We would have a discussion covering the objective and timing for your project. You should provide information about your organization’s practices and values - including any corporate ID requirements (colors, logos, typefaces, etc.). Most importantly, you need to define the specific objective for the piece - exactly what are you trying to accomplish with the communication. You should determine the profile of the target audience and describe the characteristics which should be reflected and reinforced throughout the design.
Using the information collected in our meeting, I brainstorm about concepts. A design contains many different aspects that need to come together in the final job. Images communicate in different ways and evoke different emotions. However, poor or low quality images can doom your project by taking your audience's attention away from your message. Fonts have their own distinct personalities and some may be unsuitable for your message or your audience. Text placement is critical because text layout will help or hinder delivery of your message. Finally, color is a very powerful tool; color can create emphasis and also can have strong symbolic meanings.
Following your review and feedback, the design is redrafted as required. Artwork files are revised and you will be sent a PDF proof via e-mail. You either approve the artwork by signing the proof, or mark-up changes you’d like to make. A further proof will be provided until every detail of the design meets with your approval.
Production is the process of preparing the designs for manufacturing. Final production files are prepared, images optimized and files gathered for release to the printer. A professional graphic designer must not only comprehend color, shape, text and composition, but must also understand how the final design will look when printed. Various printing processes can produce different results and we work to avoid any design "accidents" that can cost you time and money.
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welcome
Orange Foot Design*
Greetings! My name is Cynthia Pate and I am free-lance graphic designer specializing in logo design, print design and print advertising. With over 20 years of graphic design experience, I bring a unique set of skills and experience to a broad range of projects.
I started my career as communications manager/designer for a professional membership organization designing promotional materials for conferences, meetings and seminars. Later, I spent several years as in-house creative manager for a multi-national office furnishings firm where I designed sales catalogs, brochures and print ads. While living in Germany, I worked for the U.S. Army designing newsletters, posters and flyers for various military and MWR programs and events scheduled around the military district. After returning to the States, I moved into a senior graphic designer/art director role for a couple of large printing companies. I met with a variety of clients and designed a broad range of materials from logos to brochures to catalogs and posters. And in February, 2007 I opened my own design studio — Orange Foot Design. Whew!
My approach to design is simple — design should communicate, it should speak to its target market and above all, it should get results. My designs must work for my clients and should contribute to the growth and success of their businesses. I believe the best way to achieve this is to really listen to my clients, to understand their business and customers and to engage my clients in every step of the creative process.
Let me bring a fresh perspective to your design job – I make it happen on budget and on time!*While putting our twin boys to bed, my husband would spin tales of Orange Foot. A magical land where everything was possible, everyone was happy and safe. Where every adventure-filled day ended with a raucous dinner of pizza and ice cream. And of course, every creature sported orange feet! What better name for a design studio - where everything is possible and everyone is happy at the end of the day!