Thankful Thursday: Melissa Dahmen
Some of you might have noticed the facelift I gave to my
last week including a different name. We've been going through some changes over here and one thing always leads to another...you get the idea.
So, as the name has been legally changed to Carrie Krupke Photography, that meant all the paper products associated with it needed to be updated too. (logo, business cards, letterhead, thank you cards) Allow me to introduce you to my secret weapon when everything in my graphic world needs some TLC: Melissa Dahmen.
In 2009, after my first paid family session was complete, I felt a smidge more "legit" as they say. Accompanying that feeling was the need for a logo and a business card. Who better to call than a former roommate from college with a graphic design degree? Melissa patiently deciphered my wild ideas and interpreted my sherade-like hand motions to nail down this:
The name Pitch Perfect Picture seemed right because I have a music ed degree, teach full time during the school year, and teach private lessons outside of the school day. So, the sixteenth note with a camera lens in the note head felt appropriate and it fit. We based all the other paper products off of that logo and name. Melissa would only accept TJ Maxx gift cards as payment, and life was dandy for the next 3 years.
A couple months ago, not knowing yet if I would make the legal switch, I still felt the need to update and streamline the information on my business card a tad, so we developed this and it carried me through this past summer:
Now, even though it's Carrie Krupke Photography, I still wanted a little note head as a throwback because I'm nostalgic like that and it is an undeniable part of me. And after throwing around dozens of font options via email in tornado-like fashion and speed, we landed on this beauty:
FRONT
BACK
We
Melissa has fashioned my letterhead in this style as well and clients will find the logo popping up in all sorts of fun places.
A
photographer I admire and respect
once said, "I outsource my life so I can have a life." The graphic design work of my business was the first thing I whole-heartedly admitted, without a shadow of a doubt, would not be done on my own. Melissa has graciously taken the reigns, really contemplated trends, a design that fits my personality and interaction with my clients, thought deeply about the meaning of a logo, to the point of almost making my brain hurt with how much knowledge she has. She has steered me in the right direction while giving me an "outsider's" perspective in addition to respectfully letting me make the final decisions on all the designs.
In sum, I can't picture this business without her handling the morphing of my style and brand. I literally wouldn't be where I am today were it not for her and her wisdom.
And
she is getting paid in more than TJ Maxx gift cards this time around whether she likes it or not. ;)