We met Megan through mutual friends during a design contest and absolutely LOVED her spirit from the beginning. So, when it came time to find an expert to author our new eBook about design to help out our growing community- we knew just who to ask!
Her warmth and quirkiness infuses her professionalism, breathing life into her work and joy into the way she does just about everything. We wanted to know how this midwestern maiden got to be so wonderful, so we decided to ask.
Where are you from and where do you call home?
I’m from and currently live in St. Louis, MO. About as Midwest as you can get 🙂 I’ve actually never lived anywhere else, but I haven’t really wanted to. You haven’t lived until you’ve tried our famous Toasted Ravioli and our Gooey Butter Cake. Yum!
I visited San Diego a few years ago and I can honestly say that the thought of living in sunny California is tempting…or pretty much anywhere with a beach. I like to say that I’m a beach girl at heart.
What brought you to the design life?
I’ve been an arts and crafts girl for as long as I can remember. My friends and I used to make stress balls out of un-popped popcorn and balloons and take old magnets and reuse them by pasting our own artwork to the top of them. We sold them to whoever would buy them but as the years went on I got more practical thinking you couldn’t make much money in any artistic field (which I now know is totally wrong). So, in college I majored in business and got my degree in Business and Marketing. The only problem was…I wasn’t in love with business or marketing. What I really loved was looking at the different designs on the bottles in the shampoo aisle or the different prints on this season’s new t-shirts. I realized that I loved the design aspect of business and marketing, but not much of the rest. I registered for some online classes, bought a Mac and the Adobe Design Suite and started learning and practicing (obsessing is probably a good word to use here). At first, the only thing I could create were chevrons and hearts, but I just got better and better from there!
What are your biggest design pet peeves?
Stretched and un-proportional text!! Or, just as bad visually, using too many fonts at a time. A good rule of thumb is 2-3 fonts per project. Also, when people use images that are copyrighted (I’ve seen some people use images that still have a bit of the stock photo watermark on it, yuck!) or just too low of resolution to look good. Ugh, it breaks my designer heart.
What part of your current work gets you up in the morning?
I love the variety of projects I get to work on, from branding to Facebook ad design to contracted work, going from project to project really makes it fun! I recently did a few fun designs for friends and that keeps my creativity going when client projects are more straightforward than fancy.
If you could give everyone one piece of advice about working with a designer, what would it be?
Definitely that you get out of it what you put in (that’s what our new eBook is all about). A designer, no matter how awesome they are, is not going to be able to read your mind and know exactly what you want. They just aren’t. The more thought you put into your project even before hiring them, the better work your designer will be able to give you. Hands down, my best projects are the ones where my clients know their business and their ideal clients and are invested in working with me to create the best possible product. Constructive feedback is key!
Favorite ice cream?
Anything with cookies in it! Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, or Oreo or a combination of the two. Bonus points for caramel swirls or other yummy things like Heath Bar pieces or fudge or if it’s in a waffle cone. There’s a local frozen custard place in St. Louis called Ted Drewes and they have the best marshmallow and cookie dough concrete. I’m craving one just thinking about it. I could talk about desserts all day, obviously.
What 3 items go with you to a deserted island?
Oooh, this is hard one, because I’m not much for roughing it and I never pack light! Probably a Kindle stocked with books, a deck of cards and a sketchbook. And I’d really hope my husband got stranded with me because his survival skills are far superior to mine…plus, he’s nice company.
