Today we’d like to introduce you to Emily Livingston.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Emily. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
After deciding I wanted to start my own freelance graphic design business, I decided to seek out some advice from my sister, Grace. She has been working in marketing and communications for the past 3+ years, and I always ask for help on being practical/using the right words. We spent about an hour thinking of a name form business, and eventually, she said Paper & Practice. I loved it! The name just made it all begin to feel more real, and the more we talked about my dream for the business (what I wanted to offer, who I wanted to work with, how I wanted to reach them) I realized how necessary her input was to the process of defining my brand identity as a designer. That’s when the idea came…I was too shy to bring it up for a while.
Eventually, I casually asked, “hey what if we did this together? What if you did what you’re doing for me, for other small businesses? And I could do the visual brand side, and…” “Huh!”. The wheels turned in her head, and then a few more hours, and some wine later- we were all in. It made so much sense: two sisters who had opposite skill sets coming together to help small businesses have a wholistic, effective, and beautiful brand”. That’s how it all started 🙂
Has it been a smooth road?
I would say yes for the most part, but that’s because we set our expectations very early on. We were very realistic with the time and energy limitations we had coming up (she was about to get married and I was finishing up my last year of design school). We decided the first few months would be focused on sharing our brand, what we’re doing, and why we’re doing it. We also took on one client, Meesh Quilts, and asked her to be gracious with us while we figured out how we wanted to configure our process. It’s sometimes been a struggle to stay consistent with the time and energy we are inputting since this is very much still in the side hustle phase, but we give each other a lot of grace and understanding. We set deadlines and goals, but we also don’t beat ourselves up if we meet a goal a week late. I think we’re learning that we can’t be hard on ourselves and we have to be realistic, that’s been the thing that has kept us from burning out.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Paper & Practice story. Tell us more about the business.
YES! Paper & Practice creates clear & confident voices for small businesses and creatives through business strategy and design. I personally am the design half of P&P. I work with the client to understand the visual feel they’re going for/the look that represents them in a way that will also be visually compelling to their audience. I focus on identity, connection, and intuition in my design approach. As a company, we are most proud of our desire to find the root problem areas for people. When we say we focus on “Wholistic Design” it means we don’t just care if it’s attractive to the client, but we care that they understand why they’re doing business in the first place.
We ask them deeper questions that really reach the “why” behind what they’re doing, and that informs everything else we do. I believe our in-depth process sets us apart from others. I see many “brand designers” that simply make a logo without trying to understand the identity of the brand. We truly care to understand and strengthen a business’s beliefs and aspirations that make up their brand identity. We want to get to the heart of things so they can be confident in the work they’re inviting others to invest in. After all, if you don’t believe your product or service is abundantly valuable, how can you clearly or confidently tell someone else that it is.
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
That’s a great question. I think as time goes on, the technology to create brand visuals will be more accessible and more and more beginning businesses will opt for the DIY method of brand identity. I see that happening now- many people download a software like Adobe Illustrator or build a website on Squarespace and believe they have all the tools they need to create their brand’s identity. Of course those don’t want to invest time to become educated in the art of brand identity (because they’re already busy running a business), but they’re also very hesitant to invest in a professional service – so that leaves them with an unprofessional, inconsistent brand identity that confuses their audience, and in return, an exhausted business owner.
It’s comparable to how everyone has now become a “photographer” because their phone has a camera, but in reality, we can all agree that taking a captivating photo takes more than just clicking a button. Though the technology will continue to become more accessible and easier to use, these technological tools can never provide the knowledge and intuition that comes from years of studying and experience.
Pricing:
- Brand Identity $2,500
- Website Design $3,000
- Brand Identity + Website Design $5,000 ($500 savings)
- Email Marketing $650
- Who? What? Why? $400
- Logo Design $450
Contact Info:
- Website: www.paperandpractice.com
- Email: hello@paperandpractice.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paperandpractice/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/paperandpractice
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