Leanna is the owner and Executive Creative Director of Weller Smith Design LLC, a boutique design studio that specializes in creating thoughtful design solution for print, branding and web that reflect the client’s vision and mission.
In this episode you’ll learn:
- How Leanna stopped freelancing and starting her own business
- What’s important in creating your own design
- How to figure out your brand colors and fonts
- How you can find design inspiration
Listen to Leanna Smith on the Blissful Bites Podcast in iTunes
Tell the listeners about you and your company.
Weller Smith Design was actually only started about 2 and a half years ago however I’ve actually been freelancing for over 15 years. It just took me quite a long time to actually turn it into a business. I was freelancing for so long and I just kind of let all the projects come to me. I did really well. I did a lot of cook books and things like that. The projects just kept on flowing and it was very comfortable and I really enjoyed all my clients but then a few years ago I really thought about it.
I thought why am I waiting for business to come my way when I can actually go out and create it the way that I want to and draw in the clients that I really want to work with. There was a big shift in there about 2 and a half (almost 3 years ago) that’s when things started to change. My sister, she started working with me and we really started to implement different processes and things like that and just keeps growing. It’s been a fun ride and like I said I love what I do, I like the way that it’s evolving. It’s been good. It’s been very fulfilling.
What do you think are the most important things when it comes to creating your own design?
I always suggest for people to figure out their own brand is to really start their own little Pinterest board, it doesn’t have to be a public board. It could be a private board just the things that they like and really start to see where things match up. They might tend to find the same typefaces that they like. The best thing to do is just start off there and say, “I tend to like zero typeface maybe I’ll start with that and keep it simple.”
But then there’s also tons and tons of cool tools out there now that make it a lot easier for the novice to really get their feet wet especially with Canva and even the little apps that they have now like Wordswag and they come with some nice typed choices. They have some templates there already that make it easier to get started in terms of layout and things like that. It’s really finding your personal style and keeping it simple and not trying to do too much at once. Keep your message clear. That’s the first thing that they need to see when somebody comes to your site or look at your graphics. It really is your message and then the imagery and the colors and typography is just the supporting factor.
Where do you suggest people find design inspiration?
The obvious is Pinterest. There’s tons of great stuff on there.
Instagram has been a very big inspiration for me because people are taking a great picture they might not even have a type on it but it might be the color, the texture that they have on their photos. When it comes to other website there’s one called designspiration.net and that one always has a lot of great designs.
Are there any colors that are more eye catching or that you’ve seen get the most results?
I think it really depends on the topic. I think it depends on the person. I don’t think every color is going to go with every blog or every person that putting things out there. I think simple is the key and I also think just staying true to your own personality.
Find Leanna and Weller Smith Design
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