I hope you all have enjoyed the final two installments in the Principles of Design series on Creative Curio. I thought it might be nice to turn your attention to another equally important aspect of design, the business side! Scary. Is there anything to do beyond being a graphic designer? What upward mobility do we have? For answers, I talked with Ms. Purple Lemon herself, Kelly Rinehart!

Firstly, Kelly, would you introduce yourself?

I am a native of Vaiden, MS, and have received a BS in Agriculture and Life Sciences (major: Retail Floristry Management) and a MS in Education (major: Technology) from Mississippi State University. I have worked in different aspects of marketing through the years. I was in event marketing at Mississippi State, media marketing at The Orpheum Theatre in Memphis, TN, and now I am employed as the Art Director at Hancock Fabrics. I also own my own company, Purple Lemon Designs, which is a stationery design company based in Corinth, Mississippi (see her Etsy store here). When I have down time, I love attending live concerts and theatre, crafting and spending time with my husband, Jordan.

What is your job (where you work, title, etc)?

I am the Art Director in the Marketing Department for Hancock Fabrics (I have to throw in the Marketing Dept. clarification because most people ask if I design the fabric), in Baldwyn, MS, which is just north of Tupelo, MS.

The ever-wonderful question on everyone’s mind: How do you define graphic
design?

WOW! That is a hard one. I think a lot of laypeople think that graphic design is illustration, which designers know is not the case. I think that there are different types of graphic design. My stationery graphic designs and my marketing graphic designs are two totally different beasts. I cannot use the same flowery text and images in my direct mail pieces for Hancock as I do in my cards, because it doesn’t send the right message. So I guess it all boils down to this: Graphic design is sending messages, either through images and/or copy, to the intended audience.

What drew you to the creative industry? Is that original fascination still alive within you today?

I actually have always been a creative person in one shape, form or fashion. I started out in school as an apparel, textile and merchandising major, but changed my major to Retail Floristry Management. It was a really great major because I had business classes, art classes and hands on floral design classes. These classes were such a great combination, and now I think I see where God was leading me with this degree… to one day run my own business! The business classes were invaluable in helping me with the administrative side and of course I needed the art and design classes to foster my internal creative voice.

I think starting my business has rekindled that original creative fire within me. My designs allow me to express myself creatively.

If you could decorate your work area any way you liked, what theme would it
have and why?

Definitely eclectic and funky. I like fun colors and I love having images around that inspire me. I am lucky at Hancock because my walls are covered in huge bulletin boards that I can tack images up… my walls are covered!

My Purple Lemon Designs office is just a small space in a rental house, but one day I hope to have a space that I can paint in beautiful colors and fill with things and images I love. It also has to have music! I like The Avett Brothers, Neil Young, The Jayhawks, Led Zeppelin, Iron and Wine, and my list could go on… This would be my ideal office, because I am inspired visually and audibly.

Tell us about a typical day in the life of an art director.

Mass chaos! We have a very small in-house creative team and it seems like we are working on 142 projects at once. I have to go to more meetings now. I also have to put out fires on a continual basis. I wish I had more time to concept and create. I feel like a lot of my time is taken up by admin duties.

How did you make the step from designer to art director? What is different
about being an AD vs. a graphic designer?

I didn’t ask for the position, actually. It really just fell into my lap. As I alluded to above, there are more admin responsibilities that go with an AD job. One thing I had to learn was to step out of designing and into concepting. I really like hands-on designing, so this has been a challenge. I am not sure which I like better; they are really different positions.

What surprised you the most about the transition from designer to art director?

I know I keep harping on this, but probably the administrative “stuff” I have to do each day. Meetings, firefighting, etc., takes up a lot of my time.

Is the design process for an art director any different than it is for a graphic designer? How?

I think the design process (for me in my company’s culture) is much more conceptual. I am asked to solve problems creatively right on the spot. It is much more fast-paced, and I have to think on my feet much more. A lot of the time I don’t have enough time to sit down and really think through challenges and designs. I wish I had more time because I think I could be much more strategically effective.

As an art director, do you have any advice or tips for graphic designers?

I would say do your best, never stop learning, and never stop being inspired by others. If you stop any of these, then it is time to find another creative avenue to shake things up!

What are a few of the most common yet easily fixable mistakes that you see
in design today?

Probably what irks me the most is lack of attention to detail. A good advertisement can be made great if a designer pays attention to EVERYTHING. Nothing is worse (to me) than to see ineffective font choices, bad Photoshop work, or things not lined up correctly. Maybe this it the perfectionist in me talking… I am a bit OCD at times!

What lead you to designing stationery, note cards and rubber stamps? What
advice would you give someone wanting to get into this type of work, too?

I was beaten down and burned out and need a truly creative outlet that was all mine. I love designing these items and seeing what customers respond to or don’t respond to.

My advice is to be passionate about what you are doing, because starting your own business is challenging. At first, your are the only employee which means you are the designer, the bookkeeper, the inventory keeper, the marketer, etc., so you really have to love what you are doing. I think the best advice I got about making a business successful is to work tirelessly. I spend lots of long hours blogging, designing, bookkeeping, packaging orders, etc. I am far from successful, but I am going to get there!

What are your favorite types of projects to work on? Why?

My favorite projects now are designing items for weddings and for first birthdays. Both of these events are magical to me. I have had an increasing number of brides ordering stamps to personalize their big day, and that it such a privilege to me. I love being part of someone’s big day. I also have been designing some first birthday invitations lately. I know the child will probably not ever remember their birthday invitations, but I am so honored that a mother would trust me to be involved with their child’s first birthday… Astounding!

Do you have any other questions for Kelly about being an art director? I’m sure she would love to answer them!

If you missed it, Kelly also did a fun two-part interview with me last month (part 2 here). See more of Kelly’s work in her portfolio.