I am so excited to introduce Julie Gibson of Grace-Brand.com to the HipMomsGoGreen community. She is one of the most amazing people I have ever had the pleasure of working with and she is magical at what she does. Julie is a talented designer that can create the PERFECT logo or type of any kind that captures the essence of who you are and what you are all about. She is intuitive beyond belief and her designs are masterful. Julie has branded many including HipMomsGoGreen and TheGoGreenPages. Here is a little of what Julie has to say about what she does, how she does it, and what it means to be “green” in her industry.
1. How did Grace Brand come to life?
Grace Brand is the result of a constant compulsion to help people present themselves beautifully. While studying engineering in college I worked in the marketing department of a computer hardware firm. I found myself constantly upping the design and questioning why and how we could make things look less ‘boring’ and more intriguing. While I found that people (engineers included 
) responded well to my designs then, it would take another ten years before I would start an identity business. When OCD over everything in print became too much, I finally admitted that graphic design was the business I should be in. That and shadowing a fabulous designer for a few months secured it.
2. I know that you have a desire to make the workplace a more beautiful place through your designs. Tell me what your thoughts are on “eco-friendly” products used in your industry and what do you do?
Fortunately the paper and print industry has made it very easy to be green. FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified and 30%+ post consumer recylced fiber papers are the norm, soy based inks and green solvents are readily available, and many papers are now processed chlorine free. What’s even better is to see mills turning to onsite hydro electric power and waste water treatment and most now are at least carbon neutral. Where we need to focus now is requesting more alternative organic fiber papers and more onsite waste water treatment at the mills.
Grace Brand consistently chooses bamboo paper, 100% recycled content paper and works only with printers using soy based inks and solvents.
3. What all can you offer a client of Grace-Brand?
Business and personal logo design and anything that makes you look good in print: business cards, calling cards, postcards, invitations, hang tags, menus, and the like. I also team with other website designers and help facilitate the creative direction of your website.
4. Tell us about your process to find the perfect logo for a company?
Creating a logo comes after a meeting face to face or over the telephone. While I have a very calculated process, most of getting to that final design is intuitive: the way person says something, a phraseology, the clothes they wear, how they carry themselves. These all create a multitude of ‘hits’ that get filtered into the design process. I never know where it will lead me, but I’ve been doing this long enough (10+ years) that I know I’ll get to the happy end for both me and the client.
Contact Julie at julie@grace-brand.com or (503)545-2040
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2 Comments On This Post
Loved this article. Julie is fabulous at what she does – I feel very fortunate and blessed that she is part of the Leftover Luxuries family. Branding is one of the most important business decisions you will make – Julie is unbelievably talented – my company has defintely grown and has caught the attention it has because of what Julie did……I cannot thank her enough – Wendi Smith, owner of Leftover Luxurie
Loved this spotlight!
Julie is amazing. My company, Leftover Luxuries, get’s the attention it does because of what Julie did for my name and logo. I cannot say enough about Grace Brand – unbelievably grateful that Julie is part of the Leftover Luxuries family!