I began my career as a graphic designer in 2001, I have worked in everything from small print shops to marketing agencies. In 10 years you learn a lot about design and the ever changing technology of the field. I started my education in 1998 at the Genesee Valley Career and Technical Center majoring in graphic design and photography. There I learned about the in depth technical aspects of the field, creating thumb nail sketches, camera ready art, shooting films, producing plates, printing and finishing. The photography aspect of the glass taught us about shutter speeds, techniques, exposure and developing film in a dark room. I decided to further my education by attending Bryant and Stratton college in 2000 majoring in graphic design. I learned more about the digital aspects of design. Classes focused on the Adobe programs, I learned Illustrator, Photoshop, Quark and Dreamweaver. I graduated in 2002 with a associates degree in Graphic Design.
During college I worked at a small print shop where I got my first technical experience in the field. I learned about what worked on the presses, what didn’t work and why. After college I worked at the Genesee Valley Penny Saver, a local news paper that specializes in advertising. I designed ads, post cards, brochures, business cards and catalogs while working there. They trained us to base our designs around the customer, teaching us effective ways to entice readers to look at the detail in every ad. After 5 years of working there I felt as though I had learned a lot and it was time to move and expand my knowledge of the field.
In the summer of 2007, I accepted a position with Quigley Marketing Group in the West Palm Beach, Florida area. With this company I have expanded my portfolio, designing upscale projects for multi-million dollar home builders. Along with ads, brochures, direct mailers and flyers. I also have gotten experience designing e-mail campaigns, banner ads and websites. Due to the economic fall of the real estate market in 2008, they were no longer able to keep me on as a full time employee, however I am still working freelance part time for this company.
In 2008 I moved to Raleigh, North Carolina where I got a job at Carrot-Top Industries as a Graphic Designer in their marketing department. Carrot-Top is a retail company focusing on business to business as well as business to consumer sales. Here I have learned the about the e-commerce aspect of the field, designing 7 retail websites for their niche products. I have received experience working with different shopping cart management systems including, yahoo stores, network solutions and magento. I learned to write copy designed to entice the shopper into purchasing products as well as content that is optimized for search engines.
Throughout may work experience I have received experience in many aspects of the field. I have learned to work well with sales people and customers. One major thing I have learned is that the customer is always right. It is good to put your best design forward but to have an understanding that the customer may not always like what you have created or have their own idea of how they want the finished product to look. It is important in this field that you must be flexible and maintain a positive attitude towards changing your design based on the customer needs. I have learned that you will get your feelings hurt when your best design isn’t accepted but you must keep your chin up and try to learn from your critique. I believe that my positive and understanding attitude is what has gotten me so far in the field and is the reason why people enjoy working with me. I look forward to working with you!
Making the world a beautiful place, one design at a time.
Kim Kinney