A little over a year ago, photographer Nicole Cromer, of Vanishing Point Photography posted a photo of her new business cards on Instagram. I was impressed! Artistic, but not too busy, these cards breathed style.  A few questions later, I met Erin Trabeau, her graphic designer from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Over the next few weeks, Erin revamped my logo, created business cards, styled my pricing guides, post card fliers, website banners, watermarks, and tweaked many other little things.  Easy to work with, Erin listened to my publishing ideas and concerns.  Today, the graphic end-product promotes my photography business as much or more than stunning photos.  You might be skeptical, but the truth is that customers look for small details, even if they do not do so intentionally. Cohesively branded print and web material creates a clean, professional image. Text is easier to read, and important features pop out where they should.  My clients love my pricing guides and always comment on the professional look.

Erin recently got married, and is now known as Erin Bowling Designs.  She designs for creatives, brides, and businesses, and today she shares about herself and her business.

When you grew up, you wanted to be….

I dreamed about getting old and getting a job when I was really young. Around the 8th grade, I decided advertising looked fun.

You just got married!  How did you and your husband meet?

I did! We met through some mutual professional friends and we now both work in advertising.

Graphic designers love their fonts.  What is your font of choice?

It changes every time I look at the font sites! FontShop or MyFonts has great selections.

How did you get involved in graphic design?

While avoiding my REAL schoolwork in high school, I started playing around with creative software.

What programs do you use when designing?

Illustrator for logo and text work, and Photoshop for image work.

Where do you get your artistic inspiration & style from?

I get a lot of design ideas from the fashion world. A neat neck line or good colors scheme can translate well into a graphic.

You design graphics for billboards, advertisements, wedding invitations, etc. What type of work is your favorite? I really love working with text, so invitations and flyers tend to be what I enjoy the most.

You work with a lot of colors; which is your favorite?

Cobalt Blue! It doesn’t work with every design, but anywhere I can sneak it in, I will.

What elements go into designing a memorable logo?

I think the logo has to reflect the work a person does. For a photographer, pick a logo that flows well with your style of work so that it speaks about you, and never looks out of place.

How important is it to have a cohesive design?

It is the MOST important. To establish yourself you have to send out a consistent message, and your designs and logo are a big part of that. It helps people recognize your work and remember you when a need arises.

What kinds of services can you provide photographers & creatives when it comes to developing their brand and print resources?

I can set up a branding scheme (colors, logo, font choices, watermarks) that looks great together and can be used to develop anything you may want to create for your business in the future- business cards, flyers, blogs, etc. and it will all look and feel like you.

What kinds of services can you provide brides?

A wedding can be treated just like a company, where colors, wording, invitations, and decor can all work together to create a wedding that looks and feels like you do. I can help with a wedding package (save the dates, invitations, programs) that all work cohesively with the look of your wedding.

How would I go about contacting you for more information?

Emailing etbowl@gmail.com or erin@erinbowling.com is the best place to start!

 

Thank you for taking the time to get to know one of my favorite designers! From my experience, if you want your business or event to shine, don’t put logos and artistic design on the back burner.  Take control of your brand and make your business everything it can be!