ABOUT

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About KRS Digital Designs

WHAT I DO

UPDATE!

I am a graphic designer who, in years past, have helped small business owners, church members and non-profit organizers communicate their message through clean and effective graphics. KRS DD was established in 2006, since then I have been blessed to serve many clients in a variety of ways. I am very thankful for all of the hours spent designing for some amazing clients!

Now, I strictly design for myself and sell my digital creations and merch online. I do, occasionally design for clients but I am steering more toward digital services only. I am so blessed to love what I do all day at my full-time job, but this business allows me to let the creative juices at my own pace and with my own deadlines.

ABOUT ME

You may have guessed by now, I absolutely love what I do and I am thankful for it. I love Confucius' quote, "Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life." Not only do I get to work a full-time job doing what I love, but I also get to run a side business with true joy as well!

I am a wife of 25 years, and a mom of two pretty awesome daughters. My little family loves watching classic TV, like The Andy Griffith Show and I Love Lucy, on a daily basis. When I am not parenting, working, or designing, you can usually find me with a cup of coffee and a Bible study book on the front porch, cheering on my girls at games or dance competitions, or soaking up sun rays of the Crystal Coast of North Carolina. I love Friday night football games at the high school and I always look forward to basketball season!

CREDENTIALS

{1993 – 1996} - A.A.S. Degree from Johnston Community College for Communication Art and Advertising Design. This school offered me THE BEST graphic design instruction in all of NC at the time! (President of the Art Department; Recipient of the Art Department Outstanding Student Award; Treasurer of Student Government Association; Co-Director/Scholarship Pageant; Delegate of N4C-SGA which is the North Carolina's Comprehensive Community College Student Government Association, Recipient of N4C-SGA State Excellence Award; Recipient of Distinguished Student Award among graduating class)
{1996 – 2006} - Production Manager/Art Director at SpecComm International, Raleigh, NC. This company is a large magazine publisher. I began as a production associate, promoted to art director and later production manager. At the time of my employment, they published a wide variety of titles. I was responsible for designing multiple publications cover to cover; Creating numerous print ads and specialty pieces for the advertisers; Coordinating with each publication’s printer both in the United States and China; Securing print and postage quotes; coding bills; Designing business reply cards, promotional pieces and media kits; Maintaining print and postage budgets for each magazine; Working closely with the editorial, sales and circulation departments to ensure deadlines were met. As production manager, my top priority was to provide design support, art direction and critiques for two designers, overseeing all design work to ensure consistency and managing production schedules for nine publications.
{2006 – Present} - KRS Digital Designs was established and I worked for myself for these two years while my oldest and only daughter at the time was little. KRS DD has maintained throughout the years and is growing and developing every day!
{2009 – 2016} - Manager of Production and Design for TMG, Inc., a California-based corporation with a subsidiary in Raleigh, NC. I designed their (2) magazines, Tobacco Business International and Vapor Consortium International. I also worked closely with our (2) trade shows on collateral material, promotional mailings and print ads. I was responsible for: Designing each publication cover to cover—100% editorial design and partial ad design; Creating press files for all pages; Designing house ads, business reply mail, promotional pieces, media kits, web banner ads; Working closely with the editorial and sales staff to paginate each issue; Creating master production schedules for both magazines and show materials; Coordinating and working closely with the printer(s); securing print and postage quotes; Maintained status updates on our social media page; Representing the magazines at trade shows in various states, photography, Retrieving database lists for circulation and coordinating with mailing house
{2016 – 2018} - Graphic Designer at the University of Mount Olive, Mount Olive, NC. I worked in the Department of Institutional Advancement designing anything that was to be distributed to the public. I worked closely with our Director of Marketing and Director of Public Relations as well the professors and department chairs for any material that the public will see. I was responsible for: Designing the bi-annual magazine titled TODAY including photography, editorial spreads, table of contents and covers; Creating press files for all pages; Working closely with the printer’s customer service representative; Coordinating the print job, scheduling, proofing; Retrieving database lists for circulation and coordinating with printer (involved in the NCOA requirements, CASS certification, de-duping processes); Designing publicity flyers, posters, brochures, business reply mail, various event programs, tickets, pop-up banners, promotional pieces, event logos, ads for community materials, annual appeals, postcards, invitations, web banners, and event mailers; Working closely with the professors, department chairs, vice presidents and president on various design needs for the university; Coordinating and working closely with the printer(s); securing print and postage quotes for unique jobs; pickup and delivery; Creating printed materials and web graphics; Applying design theory and detail to composition; Understanding and applying color theory; Meeting tight deadlines and working with different departments on scheduling; Worked with wide-format printers, plotters, have web-fed, sheet-fed and digital print understanding; Juggling many jobs at once, multitasking, prioritizing; Photography--I very often would photograph a variety of events, head shots for faculty and staff, campus and landscapes scenes, campus activities, buildings, individuals, groups, and other subjects as requested (for the website or for print, especially the magazine); coordinating/meeting with individuals who request photo shoots for certain events or material, determining their needs and desired results, posing subjects and arranging objects/people in the most favorable setting, adjusting lighting, background and accounting for composition; documenting events for our historical society; Archiving and editing all photography
{2018 – Present} - Graphic Designer at the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Raleigh, NC. Responsible for generating creative designs for numerous projects ranging from brochures, signage, banners, truck wraps, pop-up displays, booklets, catalogs, social media graphics, billboards, t-shirt designs and other creative materials as requested; Collaborating with the marketing team and commodity groups to promote major events across the state of NC; Managing multiple tasks, refining drafts, producing signage; Preparing pre-press files (4C press and digital print jobs) necessary for in-house print shop and external printers; Working with our in-house print shop; Operating and maintaining large format printers; Helping in the efforts of building brand alignment for all marketing initiatives.