We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Carly Cruickshank a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Carly, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to go back in time and hear the story of how you came up with the name of your brand?

Naming any company is so hard! (Though, not as hard as naming children, fortunately.) I had worked for companies that had names that were hard to pronounce or were similar to a brand in a different industry and that complicated things for the brands. I was careful when choosing to name my brand White Space Design. White space has many meanings in both design and marketing. For marketing or product development, it means a gap in the market for your brand to fill. In design, White Space is purposeful, it isn’t blank or empty. I love the minimalist aesthetic, creating something beautiful and simple is sometimes the most challenging. White space gives space to breathe, a moment of pause on the page to direct the viewer to exactly what you want them to see. I love all the thought that goes into using white space to my advantage. I also believe in space, there is enough space for everyone to follow their dreams. There is space in the industry for what you’re passionate about, there is space for you, there is space for me. I am a strong supporter of collaboration over competition. For all these reasons, I decided to name my brand White Space Design. The moment I made the decision, it felt right and I was able to clearly see my direction for the company.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was raised in Southern California. I attended Azusa Pacific University where I earned a bachelors in Business Administration, from there I went to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising for Product Development. I worked for a year in the fashion industry where I quickly realized that wasn’t the right place for me. I moved home and started my first business, Carly’s Closet. It was an online jewelry store, in 2008. A bit ahead of it’s time and while I was getting started, I took a part time receptionist job at a local packaging company.

One day, they needed some edits made on one of the designs and it would have set us back in production time to go back and forth with the client on the change. I said that I could make the change. I knew the programs and it would be quick and easy for me to do it. That moment, I didn’t know it at the time, would change my career path. I started making more edits and before I knew it, they were telling people they had a graphic designer on staff. I worked there for a few years before leaving to go to the Academy of Art in San Francisco for my Masters of Fine Arts in Graphic Design.

After earning my degree from there, I moved back to Southern California, got married, and found a great job working for Chuao Chocolatier, a local premium chocolate company. I worked there for 6 1/2 years, doing everything from package design to web design to product photography. I learned SO much there, will forever love the company, and continue to work on their designs.

At that point in time, my son was about a year old and my daughter was starting Kindergarten, so things were changing with my home life. I did not have after-school care and needed lots of flexibility in my schedule. I had decided to make a change and went to work for another company that had desirable perks which seemed to fit my needs. However, the company was acquired soon after I was brought on, and the changes that came with that were not aligned with my work/life balance and values.

Thankfully, I have a wonderful support system and they encouraged me to start White Space Design. I left my corporate job and made the leap to go out on my own. Fortunately, I had made some wonderful connections and kept those relationships throughout my career. I reached back out to former employers and started to put the word out about my new business. It was a great lesson to never burn bridges and trust my instincts. I’ve been in business now for 2 1/2 years and it continues to be the best career move I have made in my life.

I focus on packaging design, web design, and product photography. My love is in the food industry, anything you would see on a grocery store shelf. The name of my brand is White Space Design, and that is very much my aesthetic but don’t get me wrong, I love color! Most of what I have worked on involves lots of color across the brands and products. I have worked on projects ranging from information-based websites to products found in nationwide grocery stores. A perk of using me for your design is that I also specialize in photography. So once the product is complete, I can take pictures and design your website. It is like having a graphic designer on staff without the overhead!

Recently, I launched a podcast with my best friend since childhood for mompreneurs (like me!) to help encourage and support them called, You Handled That Perfectly. Life is hard as a mom and as an entrepreneur, we’re here to tell you that even if it doesn’t feel like it, You Handled That Perfectly.

Looking back, are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

There are so many amazing resources out there and I am learning about more all the time. With the introduction of AI, I have had to learn how to use this powerful tool in my business and what it means for designers. I currently use Midjourney and ChatGPT as part of my design process. I love having these for research, inspiration, and building blocks for designs and photography.

I love these Chrome extensions: goFullPage, Color Picker, Scribe, and WhatFont. These have all been extremely helpful and part of my everyday use. I highly recommend all of them!

Most importantly, I think the best thing we can do is ask for help, and know WHO to ask! Having people as your resource is huge and being in the room with the right people is key. I’m part of different groups that are full of knowledgable, supportive people who I can turn to if I need it. Connecting with people is the best resource we have.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Adaptability in business and life is a strength that I am lucky to possess (and also #2 on my StrengthsFinder). I mentioned in my bio that I was going through a period of transition when I left Chuao and trying to find a place where I fit. I was feeling stuck in a title that didn’t fully fit what I did or wanted to do. There were lots of changes happening at the new company I was working for and my place was unstable there, at best. For the most part, I was unhappy with where I was career-wise, stressed at home juggling new schools, big emotions, and my husband’s demanding job, but not sure what exactly what my next move was going to be. I thought a lot in the past about branching out on my own and the timing finally felt right. The company I was working for was in the consumer product goods (CPG) world, so I felt bad leaving before the holidays and potentially leaving them in a tough spot. I did lots of thinking and planning and in January of 2023, I made the switch to full time “freelance”; I put that in quotes only because I saw myself as more than that. I had and still have big dreams for the agency and my future.

Going to work for myself was the best decision at the time for my family and for myself. I love having the ability to expand my creativity daily and spend quality time with my children.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://whitespacedesign.co
• Instagram: @whitespacedesignagency
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WhiteSpaceDesignAgency
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/carlydc/
• Other: You Handled That Perfectly Podcast:

  youhandledthatperfectly.com/canvasrebel

  @youhandledthatperfectly

Image Credits

Marcy Browe Photography