Meet Ksenia Phillips of Darling Lemon

Today we’d like to introduce you to Ksenia Phillips.

Ksenia is a design studio that was born in Atlanta from a series of different freelance projects. The design studio is currently based in Savannah with the clients being in Atlanta and worldwide.

Ksenia, a Russian-born and raised artist, graphic designer, and creative dreamer. With many years of experience in the creative industry, her portfolio showcases a variety of domestic and international projects that range from a small start-up wood crafting company to a prestigious hotel. She has a diverse experience that ranges from painting, illustration, branding, wayfinding to custom wedding invitations.

She is also a founder and creative force behind Darling Lemon, a paper company that specializes in hand painted greeting cards, art prints and gift wrap.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
There are have been some ups and downs while building the brand. But certainly there have been more ups due to my diverse portfolio that has landed some pretty fun projects.

One of the challenges was to build a long lasting relationship and to demonstrate to a potential client that I am up to take on a challenge and can compete with a bigger firm while working as a “solo” firm. I work mostly by myself but sometimes outsource tasks to my trusted network of graphic designers, photographers, writers, and signage fabricators, depending on the project’s scope.

Another challenge was and continues to be at times is self-worth when it comes to pricing and experience. It’s important to value your time and understand how to properly estimate a project and what it will take to complete.

Ksenia Phillips / Darling Lemon – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Ksenia Phillips is a small design company that offers design services for painting, illustration, branding, wayfinding, custom wedding invitations, and anything in between.

Ksenia Phillips has worked as an independent consultant for an interior design company in Atlanta and is especially known for wayfinding (signage) and branding design for hotels and resorts. One of the recent accomplishments was a complete branding from a logo to wayfinding design for H2O Suites Hotel in Key West, Florida. Ksenia Phillips has also offered her signage design services for multiple Hilton Hotels.

Ksenia Phillips also is known for an illustrative style of work that speaks in the logo design and throughout custom wedding invitations.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I recently had an opportunity to design a board game—I can’t wait to play it once it becomes available. It makes me proud to see the final result and to see the client’s happy reaction. Not to mention when you take an unfamiliar subject and turn it into something that is comprehensible and visually interesting to be picked up from a shelf.

But I think with every completed project there is a proud moment.

Oh, if we go back a few years… I can definitely say I was honored to design a bilingual (Russian and English) wedding stationery for a wedding in Bali that incorporated not only paper goods but banners with a custom monogram and landing web page.

Contact Info:

• Website: kseniaphillips.com and darlinglemon.com
• Phone: 7708619910
• Email: [email protected] and [email protected]
• Instagram: darling_lemon

Image Credit:
The Sintoses, J. Elliott Style

Getting in touch: VoyageATL is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.