I’m Ciara, a Boston-based graphic designer and communications specialist. I have 6+ years of experience working in graphic design, broadcast journalism, end-to-end video production, and social media management—just to name a few. I primarily work in branding and marketing.
I believe that graphic design is a science—creatives, give me a second, I can explain. Where most believe that graphic design and marketing are simply “making things look pretty,” (we’ve all heard it, I know…), there is so much more beneath the designs. First, we make an observation or ask questions: how can we better market this business, initiative, event, or product? Who are we marketing this towards? For what purpose? Then, you conduct research. Not just research into design inspiration, but also into the business, initiative, event, product to ensure you are accurately representing it and to the right audience. From here, you make a hypothesis: if I experiment with these colors, these elements, will it accurately portray my project? Then, you test this by sketching things out on paper, transferring them to illustrator, building out a design in photoshop. Even when you think that you are done, you step away, re-approach it with fresh eyes and elevate it to the next level. Then, when you finally feel that you have gotten the design to the right spot, you communicate your findings. You share the design, the branding, and you don’t stop there. You communicate the why behind it. This is what sells the design. Not just that it “looks pretty,” but that you treated the project with care and attention to detail. A design can look good, but a great design has thoughtfulness and care that helped build it.
I hope I didn’t lose you all with that… I guess what I am saying is that a design built by me is a design created with great care. I love the process of designing. I love beating my head against my desk trying thing after thing after thing until finally, it clicks and the whole design comes together.
I’d love to chat more about how I can bring this same thoughtfulness and attention to detail to your company or project. Or, if you just want to nerd out about the graphic design process, still give me a holler.