Hi! Thanks for dropping by!
My name is Carla Carter and I'm a freelance graphic designer here in the upstate of South Carolina (and strategically positioned at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains), specializing in print design / multiple page layout.
A Spirited "Yes"
Once in an interview, I was handed an annual report that I had done a few years prior for another organization. “This is the level of design that I want for our stuff. This is what I want.”, he said.
Surprised, I laughed and replied, “Well, then, we’re on the same page… because I did that piece.”
He also showed me the pieces they had paid someone on Fiverr to do and vowed they were ready to move forward and never look back. The work was overcharged, the turn-around time was quadruple what it should have been, and the quality was maybe a D+ (if graded on a curve). It saddened me (for both parties involved) that this Fiverr person would promote themselves as a “graphic designer”, take payment, and deliver the level of work I was holding in my hands.
Sometimes, all you might need is D+ level work. But, you’re a professional. Your organization is professional. Your business is professional. So shouldn’t your mission and branding reflect who you are? I vote a spirited “yes”. 🙋🏻♀️⚡️
I lead the creative direction of this project and we came up with a packet to send out to current and prospective supporters of the organization. My husband, Matt, helped me out with some of the photos. I absolutely love when we get to work together on projects!
In addition to the creative direction and design of this piece, it was the first time I was responsible for the entirety of the copywriting. I had a great time with the challenge that writing and designing brought to the whole process overall.
⚡️New work for Sun Surveillance – another tandem project!
Matt and I just teamed up for another lightning-fast project!⚡️💨 We wrapped up a 28-page catalog for Sun Surveillance in just 2.5 weeks! Normally, a project of this size would take at least 4 weeks to complete, but Chris (the founder) and Abby (the marketing director) are headed to Las Vegas next week for a show and needed the catalogs on the plane with them.✈️ So, we rolled up our sleeves, put in the extra hours, and made it happen! 💪🏻
With such a tight production window, we only had one day to capture an on-location installation of a solstice pole. And wouldn't you know it, the weather decided to be as cloudy as possible!☁️ But Matt worked his magic🪄, and the end result turned out to be exactly what we needed!
The sun decided to make a brief appearance that day, giving us a prettier, spring-ish look for this shot of the finished installation.☀️ (Upstate South Carolina is teasing us with its attempts at spring, although today's 41º weather doesn't quite match the 75º teasers we've had. It's all part of the unpredictable charm of this time of year!🤪)
Sun Surveillance blew us away with these incredible renderings they provided! We took those beauties and added some shadow work to ground them in the layout, and organized all the information in a way that's super helpful and easy to digest. It's all about making things shine, both literally and figuratively!
And that's it! I hope you enjoyed walking through this project with us!
(If your business is in need of a killer product catalog, don't hesitate to reach out to us! And if you're looking to beef up security and keep things extra safe, be sure to get in touch with Chris and Abby over at Sun Surveillance. Trust me, you won't be disappointed with what they have to offer!)
Behind the Scenes of the Wolff Industries Catalog
Here's the Wolff Industries catalog that Matt and I tackled over December and January. It was a huge project with a tight timeline...
- 68 pages, design and layout 📑
- 65 product shots (with clipping paths) ✂️
- 6 lifestyle shots 💁🏼♀️
...in a 4-week timeframe...over the Christmas holidays.
We pulled it off and still did all the fun Christmassy things we'd anticipated! 🎄 Success! (The kids wouldn't have even noticed had it not been for the fish and huge cuts of meat hanging out in our kitchen. 🐟🍖) Fun fact: one of the cuts was called "Thor's Hammer", and yes, it was that large! (see it in the pics below)
It was such a rewarding and fun project and I'm so glad that we said "YES!" to taking it on! Thank you, Caleb, at Wolff for trusting us with such a large project and tight turn-around time! I'm glad we didn't lose any hairs or gain any gray ones in the process! 😂
See the catalog in its entirety here! And check out Wolff Industries if you or someone you know needs pro-level shears, knives, and/or sharpeners! They're the best!
We used these "flag icons" as a visually captive way to denote the country of origin for each product.
Caleb wanted to note the industries that were specific to each product. Instead of listing these out in words, we came up with these fun icons instead!
Book the Sitter
Word-of-mouth clients are the best. Years ago, a friend passed my name along to Christine of Great Oak Circle. She was looking for a freelance graphic designer who she could call on if her clients were ever in need of a logo. One of those clients was Bettina with Book the Sitter. This logo and brand build wound up being one of my favorite projects to date. Bettina was a dream to work with and the overall project was just a ton of fun.
We produced a pocket folder to aid in presenting information to clients. And instead of boring white business cards, we used each color of the logo for the overall card color to produce four different cards. These were printed by Moo.com with their super thick uncoated stock. The original plan was to cut slits in the pocket to hold the business cards, but the cards wound up being too thick for the slits. I remembered some fun, swirly, paper clips I had come across on another project. These ended up being a perfect solution!
(All photos shot by the wonderfully talented Holly Peevyhouse.)
Rewarding Work with the World Wildlife Fund
It’s always fun to be hired by a client who you’ve long looked up to and valued the good they are doing in the world. I’ve been blessed to have worked with some incredible organizations over the years who are doing some great things. The World Wildlife Fund is one of those clients. Recently, I’ve had the privilege of working on the Northern Great Plains Donor Report for WWF. I really enjoy working on these types of projects. I become immersed in the content and learn so much about the subject in the process of the design and layout of the piece.
My buddy, Clay Bolt, is an award-winning Natural History and Conservation Photographer who shot most of the images in this piece. Check out his gorgeous work here.
Work That Matters
I love working for folks who are working to make a difference in the lives of those around them. Homes of Hope is that client. They are providing "...opportunities for generational change throughout South Carolina" by "opening doors for economic mobility through housing, economic, and workforce development." They are doing big things in our community and beyond.
For a couple of years, I've had the privilege of helping them with their annual impact report. And once again, Matt, helped me out by shooting some of the photos.
We chose a 70# uncoated stock for the inside pages and a 100# dull cover stock for the outside. It turned out great and we've already had to place a reorder. It's serving it's purpose and helping spread the word about Homes of Hope and the great impact they are having in our state.
Charts and Tables and Data, Oh My!
I've learned so much doing work with the World Wildlife Fund. They provide funding and resources to implement conservation practices for landowners... something I've found myself puttering through life and not giving much thought about the work that goes into preserving this great planet of ours. This recent project was a resource guide chocked full of conservation programs for landowners in Montana, specifically rangelands.
I immensely enjoy coming up with solutions for displaying information in a, hopefully, less-than boring way. See that table down there? Mmmmmm. Fun stuff! Is that weird? If so, bring me all your weird projects!
