Today we’d like to introduce you to Amber Minter.
Hi Amber, we are thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
Graphic design was not the plan!
Growing up, I always had a creative side. But design as a career path pretty much found me or its way back to me. I had only ever pictured myself doing a regular ‘stable’ job at a large company.
As a child, I fell in love with creating art online. Windows paint, AOL siggies, Xanga, and MySpace layouts were all creative outlets that introduced me to design. I was obsessed and I would fill my days and nights creating.
The hobby followed me from childhood and into my teen years but began to fade without much notice when “real life” progressed after I graduated high school.
Over the years, I became a mother and had a successful career in finance. Life was beautiful but I was met with some challenges along the way which pushed me into finding an outlet and hobby. In those challenging years, I began exploring different avenues of creativity and began candle making and embarked on entrepreneurship in 2019.
I was a one-woman show creating all my content for my small business. I designed my website, mock-up scenes, and logos. The designs I created for my candle business gained attention from family and friends online, and I was asked to create similar projects for them. This is where graphic design found its way back to me, 10 plus years later.
Soon after, I launched my first freelance design business and took on projects such as flyers, logos, and business cards. Over the past 3 years and after a very successful rebrand. I have expanded and perfected my skills, knowledge, and talents while finding my niche in the field, branding specifically.
I like to think that graphic design is the Skelton within branding while branding itself is the body and soul. The Skelton is what supports the brand while body and soul carry the beliefs, the values, and the personality… This is my thing!
One of my not-so-secret weapons to success is keeping God at the center of my business. I was led to help women entrepreneurs like myself by assisting women in finding bold confidence within their brands. I am naturally inquisitive and love digging deep while using my strategies to help clients identify their brand voice and bring their vision to life.
I work closely with my clients as their designer and “branding bestie” to build a brand that embodies the essence and mission of their company. I am so passionate and joy-filled turning clients’ values into graphic visuals and helping them draw in a customer base that will successfully help them reach their brand goals.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has been bumpy here and there. But with the bumps and detours. I have found the best thing I can do as an artist and designer is to always remain teachable.
“I am an artist. And I am sensitive about my stuff.” My biggest struggle was understanding that everything is not personal when receiving feedback. Not everyone will favor or prefer your specific design style. I used to get discouraged when a client was not jumping up and down with excitement as I was when I deemed their project complete.
Spending hours to weeks pouring your heart and soul into a design just to hear “can I see something else” or “I don’t like it” was crushing and would make me want to quit altogether, I would always think “my craft isn’t fit for the game.” But I did not quit. Instead, I started asking questions when I was met with challenges. “What would you like to see instead.” “Tell me what you do/don’t like”.
When I started asking questions and opened myself up to feedback, I was better able to execute and teach myself techniques and skills to meet my client’s satisfaction and align with their vision. Doing this gave me the opportunity to work on my strengths and weaknesses as a designer so that I could progress. Over time, I learned to ask detailed questions and dig deep on the front end before projects commenced.
This made my workflow easier and led me into branding and identifying my target audience. Although I got to practice and enhance my skills through constructive criticism, identifying my dream client and audience allowed me to lean into my strengths and master designer compatibility.
Compatibility ensures my design style is the right fit for projects and keeps my portfolio flourishing with work that clients and I are both happy with. There is someone for everybody! Feedback is critical to growth and progress in design. You never know what you will learn or where it can lead you.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The pretty agency’s goal is to offer women-powered brands effective branding strategies that identify, use, and turn business values into visuals that provoke emotion that help build and retain an audience.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up, I was very observant and inquisitive! I was shy and expressed myself through the arts. I wrote poetry, painted, drew, and utilized online arts whenever I got the chance.
Contact Info:
- Website: BrandedPretty.com
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/getbrandedpretty?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itstheprettyco/
Image Credits
@cloudedvisuals
