A Year in Review: 2017
I successfully made it through my first FULL year as a freelance graphic designer while being a stay-at-home mom!! My son is now nearly 18 months old and I am forever thankful that I can care for him at home. I’m so happy that my relationship with All Times Publishing has now continued for over two and a half years. Since becoming a freelance designer in March 2016, I have been able to support ATP when they need it most. Being able to turn around a job in less than 24 hours has been my specialty. But with that, my time management skills have been absolutely put to the test. That brings me back to the time ATP needed a full page ad design for the special Valentine’s Day “Ultimate Date Night” contest. It was a last minute task and I had three hours to get the ad out on proof. In normal circumstances it would take me an hour, so no problem! However, I had a screaming/whining baby in the background who had just received a flu shot. He needed ALL my attention at that very moment. I felt like I had a drill sergeant yelling over my shoulder, “GO FASTER!” Now that’s pressure! I can’t say I’ve ever worked under those conditions at my previous nine to five jobs! (HA) I knew that if I could work under those circumstances, produce the result the client was looking for and deliver it on time, I could do just about anything! I also knew that it would get easier. Everyone always says when you have a baby, “it will get easier.” They were right, because it really does! Having my child on predictable schedule helps tremendously. And yes, I’m that Mom who runs on the same schedule every single day. Naptime and bedtime = design time!
I can confidently say that I have found a balance between mom duties, freelance work, and even found time to reach a personal goal or two – like maintaining this blog! With over 400 hours of design time for ATP, I’ve collected the work that has stood out the most to me this year. Here I have a variety of work that either reproduced really well in print, stood out because I was happy with the design, and/or a made the customer very happy. Let me know YOUR thoughts!
My favorite piece of feedback. “Holy moly this is GRRRREAT. That’s the best layout that I’ve ever had! Thank you!” — Cakes & Other Goodies at Center Street Market, Canastota, NY
My favorite job. Onondaga County Parks Winter Program Guide.
A goal for 2018. Find a design challenge and conquer it.
Onondaga County Parks: Winter Program Guide
Now that I’ve moved to Northern Virginia, I’ll admit the fact that I DO occasionally miss central New York winters. If you woke up to a foot or more of snow because of a lake effect storm system, it was guaranteed to cause some excitement. It would always result in an “adult” snow day, full of movies, snuggles with my dog on the couch… HA, yeah right! Of course not! So maybe it wasn’t really THAT exciting. I did, however, love how the first snow fall could immediately make it feel like the holidays were soon approaching. I’d get that Christmas morning giddy feeling. I always thought the snow was beautiful at night. The glow of the moon would light up the snow and make it seem so much brighter outside. Walks at night, after some fresh snowfall, were my absolute fav.
The hiking trail at Highland Forest.
When I lived in Syracuse, my goal was to go snowshoeing at least once every winter. I never realized how hard achieving that goal would be. The conditions really have to be perfect to truly go snowshoeing. In my opinion, there needs to at least be a FRESH foot of snow on the ground. When it’s packed down from melting and refreezing, you might as well wear snow boots and take a hike. It happened once for me. It was a weekend in December 2014 when Highland Forest, an Onondaga County Park in Fabius, NY, got a ridiculous amount of snow. The trees were coated from the canopy to the roots with fluffy white snow. The trails had to be followed by the trail markers versus the foot prints of other hikers. We almost got lost at one point! It was the epitome of a winter wonderland. And wow, it was a workout, for sure! I dream of random snow squall covering Burke, Virginia with snow, just to make it look like it did that day. I know it probably won’t happen to that extent, and if it did it wouldn’t be the same. Central New York can definitely be a magical place in the winter.
Our snowshoe path on the hiking trail.
The view from Skyline Lodge at Highland Forest.
That all brings me to the Onondaga County Parks Winter Program Guide that I had the pleasure in designing for All Times Publishing. It was designed to be included in the Syracuse New Times’ official program for Wegman’s Lights of the Lake at Onondaga Lake Park in Syracuse, NY. 108,000 total programs are to be distributed via the Syracuse New Times, Family Times, the Lights of the Lake event and various local businesses. My goal was to create a cohesive design that reflected the fun and festive nature of the winter season. The cutouts of the photos along with the repeated shape (in the first spread) create a dynamic flow while emphasizing the highlighted parks and activities. By basing my design off the grid, I was able to organize a variety of information provided in the guide, simply and clearly. Overall, it reflects their brand and communicates their focus on promoting winter activities in the parks that make Onondaga County special.
So now, go check out the calendar and make your plans! If it were possible, I’d be hitting up the Lights of the Lake dog walk, just like I had every year when I lived in Syracuse. Have fun!
Click here to view the full Wegman’s Lights on the Lake program.