Danielle Anne D’Onofrio
Q What do you do?
“I partner with passionate founders to help them grow their business.”
I add tremendous value to brands by creating exciting visual identities and strategic websites.
Q What steps did you take to get to where you are now?
As someone with dyslexia, I have always had a creative side. I had to find creative ways to learn, as I am a natural right-brained thinker and prefer to interpret and understand things in pictures. This creative streak has enabled me to express my creativity in a variety of ways, such as painting, cooking and designing physical spaces.
I chose to study design in college, as the problem-solving and visual thinking aspect of it appealed to me. I spent six years in San Francisco, working for startups, schools, nonprofits and a design agency, before deciding that I wanted to challenge myself creatively and move to Barcelona, Spain, where I completed my Masters in Visual Design at Elisava University.
Throughout my journey, I have followed my skills and interests as they have developed. I have challenged myself, tried new experiences and traveled, and the work I am doing now is a culmination of everything I have experienced and learnt, guided by my intuition and sense of self.
Q How do you stand out in your field?
As a remote designer I have been traveling the world while building my business. I draw inspiration by observing the constantly transforming environments and relationships in the world around me. This allows me to bring diverse perspectives into my work and stay clear of trend based design. I am deeply empathetic and emotionally intelligent which allows me to immediately connect and understand the people and brand environments I am working with.
Q What are you working on right now?
I am currently working with a sustainable beauty brand to design their branding, and build an e-commerce website. I am also focused on building my business and getting more sustainability-driven clients.
Q What’s your style?
I thrive on diversity! I love to work in different styles but if I had to describe my personal taste, I would say I love to work in experimental styles that break outside the boundaries of convention design. I love to work in different mediums; to play with physical materials into the digital space.
I thrive when pushing and exploring working with different materials and in anti-user friendly, brutalist, and queer design theory. You can see this interaction in action through some of my projects, including Talk Tank and Fiesta del Marisco.
Q Out of all your slashies, which one do you wish you could do more often?
I thrive on diversity! I love to work in different styles but if I had to describe my personal taste, I would say I love to work in experimental styles that break outside the boundaries of convention design. I love to work in different mediums; to play with physical materials into the digital space.
I thrive when pushing and exploring working with different materials and in anti-user friendly, brutalist, and queer design theory. You can see this interaction in action through some of my projects, including Talk Tank and Fiesta del Marisco.
Q What is frustrating you right now?
Currently I am frustrated by the expectation for designers to charge by an hourly rate. I would like to be able to price a project’s worth, not my time. By charging hourly, you are penalized for working quickly or efficiently, your client is more likely to nickel and dime you as you are working through your project, and overall, there seems to be less trust through this method of pricing.
Q If you could hire someone for $20/hour, what would you have them do to make your day easier?
Because my clients are at an early stage, I’m often asked to get involved at every level of design, including social media management. I would love to hire a junior designer to take over these tasks, so that I could focus on higher-level design.
Q What do you wish you could have told yourself, when, and why?
Well in college I decided to double major in marketing in addition to design, honestly at the advice of my parents and their lack of understanding around design as a career. Double majoring with one major in the school of business, and one in the school of arts, meant taking 4-5 classes every single summer in order to graduate in four years. I really gave myself a lot of extra work that I now wish I didn’t. I wish I could tell myself to just major in design, and focus on exploring my creativity and learn as much as I could without straining myself to also obtain a business degree for the “safety” of it. I think focusing on one thing and putting your all into it, is ultimately better than putting too much on your plate. I knew in my gut at the time, that design was right for me, and I wish I just trusted that a bit more. Ugh business lol.
Q If you could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, what would it be about?
I would love a project manager or career consulate to help me navigate growing my own business and building my design studio. There’s so many ways to project manage and so much to learn about how to price projects and make contracts. I know it’s inevitable to make mistakes in this process but I would love to have someone advise me on this so that I can avoid making mistakes and ultimately eating costs.
I would also love to gain insight on finding a balance between consumerism and activism in my career. I would like to work with more clients and projects that are more aligned with my sustainability values.
Q What kind of opportunities/projects are you looking for?
I am passionate about finding website and branding projects with eco-friendly clients. I want to collaborate with organisations that prioritise the safety of their products, both for people and the planet. Additionally, my ideal partners strive for zero waste production and support small and local businesses. I believe that, through respect, intention, and forward thinking, we can contribute to creating a better world. As a designer, it is essential that I collaborate with companies that share these values.
Q Describe your ideal job/client/collaboration.
The Global Coral Reef Alliance is my ideal client right now. As a scuba diver, I am particularly passionate about our oceans and preserving the coral reefs. I truly appreciate the work that the Global Coral Reef Alliance does for reef regeneration technology and I would love to be part of this mission. I'd love to design a more disruptive, eye-catching visual identity for the non-profit.
Q What is your rate?
The cost of branding and website projects depends on the complexity of the project, number of revisions, and other factors. Generally, branding projects range from $3,000 - $5,000 and websites start at $4,500, though I am willing to accommodate clients with a fixed budget. Smaller projects or retainer-based work is charged at an hourly rate of $75. Additionally, I offer discounts to individuals and non-profits.
Q How should someone approach you about working together?
When someone wants to work with me, I ask them to send me an email to danielledonofriodesign@gmail.com. I usually follow up with project inquiries by having a quick chat with the client where I ask for a detailed description of the project, their budget, timelines and expectations.
Q Who is a creative you admire?
My good friend, Laura Kate Deveney is an amazing designer based in Barcelona. She is a super talented web designer and has such an eye for creative direction. Her website is laura-kate.webflow.io and here IG is @laura_kate_design.
Also, I’d recommend my friend from San Francisco, Mary Mitchell. She is the founder of Empatico Design, a creative studio based in San Diego. She is also an incredible designer and business owner.
Q Oh! and… how do you stay creative?
Take a break, dude. Burnout is a nasty beast. Rest or it will feast. haha
This member profile was originally published in March 2023