The ask: One of my dear friends at work and her fiancé asked if I would create their wedding suite. I was so excited to work with them and from the very beginning I knew this would be a great collaboration. The very first meeting, the groom could tell me exactly what he liked and why he liked it. And the bride? Just like her husband-to-be. They both had complimentary tastes and a real vision for what it would look like. We went back and forth on mood boards, fonts, and colors. The design of each piece was traditional, crisp and sophisticated. While the borders vary to give distinct personality to each element, they all fit together as one thought. The colors, while soft, gives a strong modern feel to the overall traditional and classic design.
The delivery: Invitation, Details card, RSVP card, portrait insert, program design, table numbers and escort cards.
The ask: This is a designer’s dream and nightmare all at the same time. Designing your own wedding can be daunting. I spent over 16 months pulling together the details, designs, and DIY decorations for our big day. I must have redone each element at least twice before getting it right. The invitation suite was no exception. From concept to creation, each piece was hand designed, cut and assembled by me. I got to test out so many different things, I ended up making 3 different suites before settling on this design. I even created the bridal shower invite designs as well as the wedding website. From the guest gift tags, to the envelope liners, this custom invitation suite and event design was perfect for us.
The delivery: Save the date, Wedding website, Rehearsal dinner invite, Bridal shower invite, Wedding invitation suite with envelope liner, velvet wrap and custom wax seal, guest gift tags, event programs, dessert table, bar, and detail table signage.
The big idea: In a nutshell it’s an association of Ampersand to my maiden name, Anderson. The long version of the story? In the wee hours of the morning, about one month before graduating, I was running out of time to brand myself. Do you know how many Kate Andersons exist? Thousands. Primarily in the UK, but lots in the US as well. While trying to find some URL mashup of my name and various other design keywords, a simple half rhyme (and at 2am, it felt like the ryhmiest ryhme there ever was. We are talking laugh-out-loud worthy AHA moment) between Anderson and Ampersand came out. With my design career starting from a love of typography, it felt right. Lo and behold, the domain was mine for the taking. Over the years it’s evolved into more of a platform brand that showcases the many sides of my work and myself.
The brand: The biggest thing I learned over the years of working with a glyph as a brand. It just isn’t feasible to have complete consistency with how it’s expressed. Ampersand, &, shift7, however it’s expressed, it had to have the personality of the lady behind the glyph. It’s fun, bright, a little weird and very me. Building a brand on anyone is a living breathing thing, but to brand a passion and a person who happens to also be yourself is hard thing to capture.
The details: From college to freelance, the K& brand has always stuck behind tried and true typography, paired with a healthy dose of weird, free-thinking whimsy. No matter the project, the brand has always been the tried and true business side of this designers mullet-like portfolio.
8 iterations of my resume
3 website redesigns
2 brand overhauls
1 pretty damn solid brand
The big idea: A business all about poms. As a fellow lady of the 90’s, I have a soft spot for poms, and these were no exception. When this talented woman came to me for some help with branding her side hustle, I was so excited. She had a very clear idea of what she was looking for.
The brand: The name had already been decided on so the branding exercise was about the visual expression of Haus de Pom. The most interesting thing about the brand evolution was where we started with the moodboard, to where we ended with the logo.
The details: The photography is an important part of the brand expression to inspire people to use poms in home decor. The logo has a lot of elements that can be striped down to a very streamlined form for packaging and built back up when more context is needed.
The ask: After branding this company, I was asked to create an ad and direct mail piece for a wedding and event photography brand.
The delivery: I worked closely with one of the photographers and with the owner to create an ad and postcard that told the story of a couple’s wedding. When I looked at the work of Artistic imagery, I saw stories being captured and wanted to showcase how they tell visual love stories. Running in regional areas of The Knot magazine
Copywriting, design, art direction
The big idea: A guided food tour around Lancaster, PA highlighting the best restaurants in the downtown area. Chefs would prepare off-menu samples and pair with a libation for a an intimate experience of each restaurant, narrated by the chef or owner. Between each pairing, a familiar Lancaster face would share all there is to know about Lancaster and it’s unfolding downtown scene.
The brand: Epicure is an interesting brand in that the name embodies the concept directly. This is an experiential brand that leaves anyone who interacts with it inspired and left wanting more. Minimal approach to type allowed the photography to take center stage.
The details: From the pitch, to the food tour, Epicure was branded from head to toe. Intimacy and exclusivity being a primary goal for this foodie experience, the details were everything. Leave behind cards for each pitch was created and tailored to each restaurant. A microsite provided more information to both the target audience of startup and the end-user.
The ask: A friend from work was getting married and commissioned me to design and illustrate the full wedding suite, event details and save the dates.
The delivery: First I illustrated the artwork inspired by the bride’s concept and bouquet to use as the basis for the layouts. The bride and I worked closely over many iterations to get it just right. Once everything was created, the original artwork was gifted to the couple as a wedding gift.
The details:
Save the dates
Invitations + RSVP
Hand-lettered envelopes
Rehearsal Dinner invitation
Program and details card
Table numbers
Bar menu
Escort cards
photography by Lauren Fair
The big idea: This local real estate agent knows what attracts people to the area and can make sure that you get the perfect home, rental or vacation space in a truly honest authentic way. In true Lancaster fashion, she is down-to-earth, smart and ready to guide you through the real estate market.
The brand: Lancaster Homegirl is about experience. A better home buying experience that’s memorable, seamless, and something you actually enjoy. In the current market, things can get tireless and frustrating fast, LHG can help to make it frictionless and fun.
The details: Her logo is all about personality. The logo works on it’s own, and paired with lifestyle imagery. In an industry that brands by your headshot, the logo had to work in many ways. We rounded out the brand with a website reskin, magnet, market bag, business cards and other swag.
The big idea: Founded in 2016 by seasoned industry partners, Keen Floors’ goal is to make wooden flooring accessible to everyone.
The brand: Keen floors is a brand for the renovator or first time home buyer who doesn’t want to compromise quality for price. The brand appeals with classic tones and a nod to the nature that inspires the product offering.
The details: From brand positioning, sitemaps and photography, this brand was built from the ground up. Over the course of sixteen months, the brand identity, web presence and sales materials were created in a highly collaborative manner.
Full Spectrum Insights
The big idea: This digital research firm provides scalable, data-driven consumer insights. They provide research packages that support from conception all the way through to the context behind the data.
The brand: Full Spectrum is a brand for businesses who want to know more. They don’t settle for assumptions and they value real data. They are curious about the markets they serve and Full Spectrum supports their goals.
The details: Light brand and positioning and identity exploration to building out the site and logo, this brand really had legs from it’s offering. It had to look and feel trustworthy but edgy enough to support the entrepreneurial spirit of the brand. This brand exercise was very agile, and we worked to build the brand around the website and online sales tools. The very digitally focused brand laid the groundwork for lead generation strategy and tailored landing pages for their audiences. Website refresh is underway and will make it’s way onto this page soon!
