We were lucky to catch up with Sarah Jacobs recently and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah, thanks for joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? Knowing what you know now, what could you have done to speed up your learning process? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

Since, from a young age, I loved creating things, I always naturally followed that path. As soon as I had some basic skills from high school, I was on a fast track to creative internships and assistant jobs that immediately started building my resume and kept me learning along the way. As a fine arts and graphic design major in college, I was working at the school newspaper designing page layouts when their website team was launched. Drawn to digital graphics, I immediately joined the team and continued learning. Because of that experience, I had the skills to land an internship designing and developing a local company’s website. Everything changed in the early 2000s, when simple HTML websites became super powered with WordPress and others launching. Curious (and with only HTML and CSS skills) I downloaded all of the new platforms and WordPress was the only one I couldn’t break. WordPress has really great documentation, and people usually laugh when I say that I read it. Seriously, I learned WordPress from reading the documentation. I think this is the most overlooked thing for so many. With anything in life, most people go to the source – so this is no different. At that time there was way less information out there – the irony is, it was better back then. Now, to solve a problem, sifting through pages and pages of search results is frustrating. And it seems so much easier to just install a plugin. To install a page builder. Instead, find a meetup and learn from those who know more than you. It will be suprising what you can pick up. The first time someone showed me how to build a custom post type, I about ran for the door! But now I build them all the time. Surround yourself and keep learning.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

Nowadays, I offer agency-level design to small businesses who want a “big” look and a strong online presence. From complete brands to a single postcard design, no project is too big or small as it relates to a small business. In fact, it keeps it interesting for me.

I have a unique approach that starts with a conversation, and by building a relationship I begin to learn about their company. Most business owners are thrilled that they don’t have to fill out any questionnaires or write down their graphic design dreams – because they haven’t really thought about it before. After all, that’s MY job. I listen to their goals and design a brand, website or set of graphics to match that goal and feeling.

Life is rough when you don’t get what you ask for, even after explaining it really well and providing examples. I understand that, and it’s my mission to use x-ray vision on each project I take on to not only ‘wow’ each client but to get it right the first time. Usually, I can design an entire website and the client comes back with only a few text changes! These are my proudest moments, not only because it saves a ton of time and budget, but because we connected on that project and turned their ideas into something concrete, exciting and respectable. Many clients say something like, “this is exactly what I wanted but I didn’t know how to say it out loud!”

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

A lot of people say to me that they wish they could be a graphic designer, but they just aren’t ‘creative.” I think there’s a disconnect with that word, maybe people think of just true excellence like the Renaissance painters as being “creative” – nobody can be compared to that!

What is creative? I think that it’s simply creating something from nothing with a purpose. Cooking is creative, in the way spices are used together and certain meats are cooked to specific temperatures for best taste and texture. In other words, there are rules to follow. Some general, some more specific. Believe it or not, graphic design is the same way – and yes it can be wrong! There are plenty of rules to follow including hierarchy (the most forgotten one), color theory, contrast, rhythm, balance and more. Just like learning to cook, you can learn to design and be creative. If you walk down the grocery store aisle thinking that you can design a better ketchup label, you probably can!

The problem tends to be in the times when information is to be gathered, design discussions are to be written, and final files prepared. These tasks can be as tedious as finely chopping an onion and discourage many. (Yes, sometimes there’s crying! Ha!) I’ve had budding designers tell me that they just want to design the logo, and the rest is boring. Well, it’s a little bit true. But that doesn’t mean it’s not still a required part of the job.

Also, it’s challenging to work directly with people, especially when personalities clash. It’s easy to say, “I followed the design rules and this design is perfect” when the client wants you put two colors together that have no contrast. At the end of the day, they’re paying you to do something they cannot, so egos have to be put aside for the good of the project and/or the relationship.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

This one is easy. Doing great work, and approaching each project with the goal of getting it right the first time. One of the biggest challenges in the design and website industry is that it’s so easy to get stuck in a loop of changes. I aim to avoid that at all costs.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://sw33t.com/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sw33t/
• Other: Alignable: https://www.alignable.com/arvada-co/sw33t-graphic-design-service