I started Hartwell Tate Design Company in my living room to help bring people's big design ideas to life. After designing some wedding invitations and business cards for friends, I knew this was my calling! Over the last several years, I have worked with so many small businesses and many others whom I have helped pull together their brands and expand their businesses past their highest expectations! I have worked with these organizations to design a variety of assets and printed materials. In 2018, I started a new “division” of my company as a passion project and an outlet for my need to work with my hands. Happy Paper Studios began with just a few paper products - like greeting cards and notepads - but has grown to include stickers, printable wall decor, customizable invitations, and more. This is a great way to “work for myself” and create products that I like and find helpful, but it has also helped me strengthen my packaging design and order fulfillment muscle.

I worked closely with the Team Lead and the Art Director to create project trends and give feedback to designers on their designs. Another part of my responsibilities included helping the Team Lead organize designs to present to clients for purchase, develop quotes on selected designs, and prepare purchased designs for press. As a project lead, I was also in charge of communicating project details and status updates to the designers on my team, as well as evaluating their strengths and weaknesses to better delegate tasks to them. I also conceptualized and developed my own designs from start to finish.

Working at this fast paced interior and floral design shop has helped hone my leadership skills. As manager, I help lead a team of designers and sales associates in projects and day-to-day tasks and keep up with my own projects and tasks. While managing my team was priority number one, I was responsible for other tasks: keeping the sales floor full of artwork, decor, and furniture displayed beautifully and assisting customers searching for new home items. Also, digitally, I brainstormed and designed any needed signage or social media graphics for the shop.

Using my layout skills, I prepped projects for the laser, including laying out graphics, calibrating the laser, and cleaning materials before and after engraving. Regularly, I did other tasks like maintaining inventory, communicating with vendors, and researching new products. At Fine Line, I also designed any branded materials needed for the shop, such as business cards and store signage. Occasionally, customers would need custom items like business cards or invitations, and I worked with them to create precisely what they were looking for.

While working inside a pre-established brand, I worked on anything and everything the company needed, from vehicle wraps to mailing campaigns to website redesigns. During my time at HiTech, I developed and managed a monthly newsletter for our customer base, developed logos for sub-brands, and created product information sheets.

I worked in the University Communications department. This department's responsibility was to design all content that the Admissions department uses for recruitment. My responsibilities were simple, create enticing designs that make high school students want to continue their education with Louisiana Tech and make their parents want to pay for it. This job was the best thing I did in college. It taught me real-world experiences I could not have learned in a classroom. I was my springboard into the world of working as a graphic designer.