Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Diana McDonough. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Diana, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

In 2011 I lost my grandma, who also happened to be one of my favorite people in the world. Around the same time I stated school at FIT where I was going for communication design. I structured a lot of my projects for school around her, weather it was typography that was similar to her hand writing or packaging design that was made as TV dinners after her cooking. Anything I could do to keep her memory alive through my work I was going to do! As time went on I got tattoos of her hand writing, and of her birth month flowers. But when I purchased my glowforge the first project I printed on the machine was a keychain for myself, my sister, mom and aunt in my grandmas font in the words “Love you” which she signed every card with.

Since then I have done countless projects not only for myself but for other people in their loved ones hand writing. Sometimes it is something simple like a keychain with words from a card, wall hangings, or even a recipe written in their hand writing on a cutting board. These projects are so important to me and are some of my favorite to created because I love keeping my grandmas memory alive, so its so special to be included in other families projects keeping their relatives memories alive as well.

Diana, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Diana, I have been a graphic designer for nine years. I first decided to become a graphic designer when I was a junior in high school and took my first design class and fell in love with the creative outlet it allowed me to have. I have crafted my entire life, my mom and dad always wanted me to express my creativity through painting, drawing, or coloring when I was young!

As I moved through my career as a graphic designer in the corporate world I wasn’t sure if it was for me anymore. When COVID hit I was unfortunately furloughed from my job and went because to school to receive my masters in Cyber Security. But while I was there my small business (ACDVinyl) was really starting to take off! In the beginning I offered custom drawn stickers, birthday cake toppers, custom birthday banners and greeting cards. Since 2020 my business has grown and branched out tremendously. From there I fell in love with graphic design all over again.

I still sell all custom banners, cake toppers, cards, stickers on my shop but have expanded to also offer wood projects that I custom create on my laser printer. I love taking peoples ideas and making them a reality, weather its for their home or an event they are hosting! I have also expanded out into teaching craft classes to children, teens and adults. This is one of the things I am most proud of because like my parents wanted for me (to be able to express myself) I want everyone else to be able to have that creative freedom as well.

Through the growth of my business I am also most proud of giving back in any way I can. This is so important to me because community support is what helps a small business thrive. So each month I try to give back in any way I can, which is either donating some of my profits to other small businesses or charities. Purchasing items that companies may need in order to fill donation bags, or even donating my time to teach a class!

What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?

The most effective strategy for me and probably the same for most small business is social media. Social media has a lot of positives as well as negatives which could be great for small businesses and growing an audience. Prior to social media companies had to use news papers, billboards, website ads in order to gain new customers or keep existing customers. Also hope that someone who need their market would see their information.

Now with social media you are able to find similar communities or products for things you love with a click of a button, and you don’t even have to leave the house. This is great for small businesses cause you are able to post what you make or sell and use hashtags or location tags and it can bring new customers right to you. Also there are options where you can do this completely for free, pay someone to handle it for you, or pay for ads to appear on peoples social media.

Another effective strategy for growing clientele and even keeping in the clientele you have is by offering products that they aren’t going to be able to get anywhere else because its custom for them. One of my most popular items for birthdays is anything that people can change to have their name appear. This type of customization is something they might not be able to get when they go into a big box store which is important for them. Also there are a lot of unique names that prior to now people wouldn’t be able to find in stores or on a keychain when they were away on vacation. Now with small businesses, design, and special printers we are able to create custom products in smaller quantities rather then bulk.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

One of the happiest days of my life is when I married my husband Rob. Everything about the day was perfect for us. I wanted this to be reality for others without sending them into debt when they were about to start their lives together as a couple. Over the last couple of years my business has changed and evolved so much. But one of the things that has remained constant is creating designs that are affordable for all. If someone is unable to afford exactly what they are thinking I want them to get as close as they can to their dream, especially for a special day like a wedding, baby shower or their childs birthday.

One of the most rewarding projects I have worked on was all the design aspects for my close friends wedding in September of 2022. She had visions for her special day, which is so important. Being able to bring those visions to life for anyone is so special but its even more special when its for someone who you have known for years.

For the wedding I started with the couple from the very beginning creating their save the dates for their special day. They went simple with just the information and a custom hydrangea drawing I did for them. Then when the wedding invites came around they trusted me to create these pieces for them as well! I created them their own custom logo with hydrangeas on their invite, RSVP card, and the information cards. I was able to create wax seals and a special belly band for their invites to keep them all in place. I also created custom acrylic signage for her wedding with pressed hydrangea flowers from her moms house. I also created all the custom signage around the venue such as table numbers, bar signs, cake topper and all favor signage!

This was one of the most rewarding aspects of being a desinger in my career because someone I have known for so long trusted me so much with her visions for her special day. It was also very rewarding because I was a guest I was able to see all my designs in their space and how guests interacted with all of the signage!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://dianacatherinedesigns.myshopify.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/acdvinyl/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/diana-mcdonough-9565421b0/
• Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/ACDvinyl?ref=seller-platform-mcnav