Today we’d like to introduce you to Julia Kenyon.
Julia, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I was a creative child growing up and I liked to make things with my hands. I always had a craft or some project I was working on, but I never really considered myself an “artist.” In school, I was an overachiever, so I always thought I’d become a doctor or biologist or something more “prestigious.” Younger Julia would truly be shocked (and maybe a bit confused) to hear I’m a graphic designer and muralist now!
I didn’t really embrace my creativity until I was in high school. I took a computer course where I learned how to use Adobe Photoshop and I was instantly hooked! It came pretty easy to me and I was good at it, so I stuck with it and a whole new world of creativity opened up for me.
I actually didn’t even learn what graphic design was until a few years after this. During my first year of college at Oregon State University, I was introduced to a friend who was studying graphic design. She introduced me to the field and told me about all design and I was freaking HOOKED! I literally went and changed my major the next day.
Three years into the design program I had an opportunity to paint a group mural and then I fell in love with that too. I love how hands-on painting murals is. They require a lot of planning, attention to detail, and patience with your craft. I love how graphic design and murals pair together so nicely. I can design something in my preferred medium (on my computer) and then transfer that to a wall and bring that design to life with my own two hands and a bucket of paint!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design in 2020 during the first Covid lockdown, so I would say things have been rocky from the start! Most post-grads start their careers by working at a creative agency, but with lockdown and stay-at-home orders in place, these jobs were few and far between.
So I did as most recent college graduates do and got a job bartending. Eventually, I started taking on more creative tasks at my bartending job (designing signage, chalking the menu, etc.) and after a few months, the brewery hired me as a part-time designer!
This was my first taste of working as a professional graphic designer and although I enjoyed it, I felt a deep calling to quit my job and forge my own path as a freelance graphic designer and muralist. So after a few months of working in this position, I quit my full-time job to start Julia Kenyon Design and the rest is history.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
As a graphic designer, I’ve been asked to make a plethora of different deliverables for various applications. These days, however, my primary services are brand strategy and identity design, packaging design, and custom murals.
I am passionate about partnering with other small business owners to create designs that empower them to share their business with the world in a cohesive and on-brand way!
Some of my favorite projects so far include a collection of beer labels for an Oregon Coast craft brewery, brand strategy and identity projects for a badass website designer (Fired Up MKTG), and an adventurous house-sitting couple (Nomads and Pawpads), and a menu board mural with waves that fade from yellow to teal.
What makes my services different from other designers is that I really prioritize taking a strategic approach to the design process. Before working on any designs, I like to sit down with my clients and talk about their goals, their ideal clients, their brand values and mission, and anything else that helps us really understand the context of the design project.
Many designers think this part is boring and like to skim over it, but I’ve found incredible success in the results of projects where we take this in-depth and holistic approach to graphic design! Without a solid strategy, designs may be aesthetic and look nice but have no foundations in solving the problem that my clients came to me with.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I would consider myself a calculated risk-taker. I’m very in touch with my intuition and use that to help me with decision-making. If an opportunity arises and it feels right, I’ll go for it!
I think the biggest risk I’ve taken was quitting my job without a concrete plan in order to pursue a freelance career. I didn’t know the first thing about business when I started (and I’m still constantly learning), so that was a challenge I had to overcome in order to run a successful business.
I also believe that risk is an inherent part of life and I think it shows that you’re pushing yourself to do new, uncomfortable things that help you grow as a person. Believing in your ability to build a business that sustains your desired life is a risk. Cold-calling potential clients is a risk. Saying no to clients who don’t align with my values in the hopes that the right ones will come along is a risk. But with risk comes reward and I believe that everything that’s good in life is a little bit scary!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.juliakenyondesign.com
- Instagram: @juliakenyon
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100086416749716
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/julia-kenyon-design-salem
- Other: TikTok @julia.kenyon
Image Credits
Ashli Kapsar, Aimee Williams, Nic Lin
