Getting drawn into graphics

Author: Michele Lawson

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Michele Lawson

Once encouraged to seek a more traditional job path, graphic designer Kari O’Neill now creates logos, brands and an artistic career in her own business Whitespace Creative.

In this age of computer-generated graphic design, hand-drawn art is making a comeback. “Hand skills are highly valued right now,” confirms Kari O’Neill, creative director at Whitespace Creative. “Sketching and drawing is in huge demand. You might not see them as much in regular business, but in more artistic markets – like the music industry – they’re being incorporated in both print and web work.” But whether it’s a CD cover for a singer, or a corporate web site for a more conservative client, O’Neill starts each of her own designs with this time-honoured method. “Using a paper and pencil is part of my sketching-out process,” says the Barrie native, who believes some drawing skills are necessary for modern-day designers. “Then I’ll hit the computer.” She doesn’t, however, down-play the importance of technology in her industry.
Each design does eventually make it to a computer where it gets refined and prepared for the next step. “When it’s going to press, you need to have a good knowledge of pre-press,” she emphasizes. “The colours have to be in the proper format, the images have to be an accurate resolution and the actual files have to be set up accordingly. “Pre-press is probably more important than the design stage. If you don’t have it set up properly in pre-press, you can end up with a disaster on your hands.” It’s a mistake that can cost thousands of dollars, she says, pleased that she’s never had the misfortune of learning that lesson firsthand. O’Neill learned her craft during the three-year graphic design program at Georgian College, and recently had the opportunity to re-visit her school days as a part-time instructor. Although she’s kept up with software updates through her business, she immediately recognized the benefits current students have as a result of other technological advances. “Everything’s so much more easily accessible for students now than it was five or ten years ago,” she ponders. “On the internet, they can access examples of everything they’re working on – fonts, images, vector files. The world is wide open to them.” It’s the world she dreamed of when she was going through the motions of working in sales after completing a psychology degree more than 10 years ago. “It was always my calling,” she recalls,” but it was discouraged in school to follow an artistic path.” Eventually, however, her passion won out and she began to look at ways to make a living doing what she loved to do. After college, she worked as an in-house graphic designer with a couple of companies where she was able to work on corporate identities, catalogues and other promotional materials. Finding she enjoyed the direct-client work she managed during her freelance off hours, she soon decided to hang out her own shingle and Whitespace Creative was born. “Taking control of the whole process from concept to delivery was what I loved most,” she recalls. Since then, she’s developed a clientele that stretches across North America. It’s one particular client who has captured her respect and affection of late. A woman whose life experience spans 85 year, an ocean and a holocaust. “I was invited to work with Dr. Eva Olsson on her second book,” says O’Neill. “I was honoured to design the book cover and inside pages, where she retraced her steps back to the concentration camps and her homeland.” Once the book was done, it was time for the DVD cover and then the website. “She’s the only client who says ‘I love you’ before she gets off the phone,” O’Neill smiles. “I adore her.” She’s not the only client who needs an updated website, however. “A lot of people have had a website for a long time and need to refresh to make their business more current,” she explains. “The design they had a decade ago isn’t going to reach their market today, so a lot of people are doing facelifts.” But despite the increase in web work, O’Neill doubts a paperless world is coming anytime soon. Regardless, she’s thrilled to have found a way to translate the artistic path into a career. “I just want to grow my business and keep building these client relationships,” she says happily. For more information, visit www.whitespacecreative.ca.