Hailing from Texas, graphic designer Erin Stevens recently relocated to now call Atlanta home—and she brought her clean aesthetic and cool design skills with her. With a background in studio art, and after studying interactive web design at The Creative Circus, Stevens is currently one of the creative minds at Nebo Agency. She builds websites at her full-time job while freelance designing on the side—making invites, business cards and logos. Knowing she wanted to be an artist since childhood, Stevens has a passion for mood boards, drinking coffee in her neighborhood and taking brands to the next level.
Here, Stevens talks to CommonCreativ about loving Atlanta’s arts scene, finding her style and being a road trip enthusiast.
CommonCreativ: What brought you to Atlanta?
Erin Stevens: My husband and I moved here from Fort Worth, Texas about a year and half ago. We decided take a big leap of faith and follow our dreams to go to The Creative Circus. I was taking my graphic design career to the next level by studying interactive web design. We had no idea what we were getting into at the time, but I’m so glad we came. Everyone in Atlanta has been so beyond helpful and nice, and it’s already opened the door to a lot more opportunities than we ever would have gotten in Fort Worth.
CC: How did you get into design?
ES: I’ve known I was going to be an artist since I was in preschool. Most people change their minds and change their majors a million times, but I’m one of the weird ones who never had any doubt that I was meant to be a creative. I went to Baylor University and was formally trained in every medium, from charcoal and paint to fibers and clay. The one medium I truly fell in love with was graphic designing for print. I think working with my hands and learning how to hone my craft in every art medium really helped me become a better all-around designer. Although my work primarily lives on a computer screen these days, I know that my studio art background has affected my style immensely, giving a tangible and detail oriented feel to a flat image.
CC: How did you develop your style?
ES: I’m not sure if I’ve really found it yet. As a designer, you have to put personal preferences aside for a while, and focus on the best style for the client. One thing that I would hope is a stand-out trait of all my design work is that it is detail oriented, layered, handcrafted and always pushing the limits of what I thought was possible. It’s hard to pick a style that’s mine when I’m always trying to evolve and try something new each project.
CC: When starting a project, what’s your process?
ES: It always starts with a discovery session—getting to know what the client likes and what they hate, how they would like other people to see them as opposed to how they are currently portrayed. My job is to know them better than they know themselves. This is also a good time to get a feel for how far I think I can push the limits and come up with something they would have never dreamed of. The next step is to whip out a pencil and start sketching. Before I go to the computer screen I make mood boards, pick color palettes, fonts, photos and build a visual file that acts as a launching pad for starting the actual design. When it comes to designing for web, I have to add in the user experience factor. Figuring out how the site scrolls, how it transitions, and how the user intuitively interacts with the page is extremely important, and it’s what makes web design come alive. There are countless opportunities to try something new in web design and engage with a person in a different way, I think that’s why I like it so much.
CC: I know you have a full-time job, but how do you promote yourself as a freelance designer?
ES: Since I have a pretty demanding work schedule right now, I really rely on my friends to do promoting for me. Luckily, I have an awesome network of really creative friends who always need work done or know someone who does. And of course there’s always the ever constant stream of friends getting married and having children, which means lots of wedding invitations and birth announcement designs for me!
CC: What’s your favorite media to work with?
ES: Being an interactive designer, Photoshop, Illustrator and Sublime are three things you will always find open on my computer. I’m absolutely obsessed with design, constantly checking Dribbble, Designspiration, The FWA and any other inspiration blogs I can find. I’ve got a journal full of ideas and projects in my queue at all times. My goal for 2014 is to step away from the computer a little bit and get back to my fine-art roots. I plan on working with more watercolors, calligraphy pens and letterpress papers. Hopefully there will be an Erin Stevens Design Etsy shop coming soon!
CC: What are your favorite projects and artists in Atlanta right now?
ES: There are a ton of projects and improvements going on in the city right now. Working at Nebo, I get the chance to be a part of a few of them, like Midtown Alliance innovation district, the ChooseATL initiative and, one of my favorites, the Atlanta BeltLine. When these projects, along with the Ponce City Market, are complete, it is going to totally transform Atlanta into one of the country’s best places to live.
CC: What do you think about Atlanta’s current art scene?
ES: Honestly, I didn’t expect a lot from the creative scene in Atlanta when I moved here, but boy, was I wrong. Local artist events like Root City Market and stores like Young Blood help keep me really connected to the talented handcraft artist in the community. Public art and sculptures on the Atlanta BeltLine path and Living Walls are a daily reminder that this city takes great pride in it’s artists.
CC: You’re really into road trips. Where are you going next?
ES: Coming from a state that requires five hours to get across the border in any direction, my husband and I have loved living in such a central and convenient location for traveling in Atlanta. Taking weekend trips often is necessary for our sanity, so we keep Charleston, Nashville and North Carolina always in the rotation. I’ve still never seen all of the Southeast coast, so in May we have a trip planned to drive from Atlanta to Washington D.C., then hop on a train to spend a week at New York’s Creative Week. Taking the long way always gives us much richer experiences and more memories of the places along the way.
You can see more of Erin’s work here.
