Erin Eberle
Q What do you do?
“I am a queer, Portland, OR based communications consultant partnering with creatives, nonprofits, foundations, and small businesses across the globe to create impactful stories.”
I leverage my decade+ of digital + creative strategy experience, as well as my visual communication skills, to co-create with each client new ways of seeing and being. Words are powerful. Thoughtful images combined with good words are transformative. So: Think brand development, website design, email content strategy, fundraising strategy etc.
Q What steps did you take to get to where you are now?
I’m a curious person. I’ve always had an awareness of how the look and feel of something influence how people respond/react to it. Over the years, I’ve stayed curious about other people’s stories and developed a wide range of technical skills to support creative, unique storytelling. I’ve worked with for-profit companies, non-profit organizations, and foundations alike. I love supporting work that aligns with my values and exists to make the world a better place for all.
Q How do you stand out in your field?
As a queer woman who leads with my values, I’m not the consultant for everyone, but for those who resonate, I have a collaborative, curious, powerful process that’s inclusive, pushes boundaries, and supports the growth of important work. I bring a unique perspective and range of analytical and creative skills to my work, and that’s a rarity!
Q What are you working on right now?
I’ve been focused on working with food and racial justice projects recently, and really dig projects where these overlap. Whetstone Magazine is making waves in the world, challenging people’s ideas of what food media is and for whom it’s made, and I’m honored to support their work. I’d like to work with more food and justice-oriented projects in 2022 so hit me up if that’s you!
Q What’s your style?
You can get a real sense of my personal taste/aesthetic from my own website. I tend to lead with minimalism, letting the visuals and carefully chosen words of a project carry the task of pulling people in. I am a color theory freak and love playing with color, light, and texture to bring new brands or digital assets to life in new ways. I’m guided by my meditation practice and connection to nature and believe that almost any project can benefit from tapping into the human desire to connect with nature/something greater than ourselves.
Q Out of all your slashies, which one do you wish you could do more often?
I’d love to utilize my photography skills/interests in more of my projects. This tends to require travel, which I love, but can be difficult these days. I’d say my priority projects for 2022 are visual storytelling, branding, and website design.
Q What is frustrating you right now?
The inability to travel and work in person is a difficult one right now.
Q If you could hire someone for $20/hour, what would you have them do to make your day easier?
Hmmm, I’d probably have them refine my own social media and up my outreach to connect with the right audiences who my work will resonate with most.
Q What do you wish you could have told yourself, when, and why?
I’d say don’t waste time in a job or career that doesn’t bring you joy, especially if it’s just to meet a false sense of security from a regular paycheck. Think big, don’t let your mind limit your potential, keep creating and take risks!
Q If you could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, what would it be about?
I’m curious about organic ways (ie: not social media ads) to connect with the right folks who can benefit from my services, and how we might begin to make creative and digital strategy work a priority for social movements, small projects, etc. and not just for expensive ad campaigns selling things to the world.
Q What kind of opportunities/projects are you looking for?
Branding Process/Refinement, Website Design, Visual Storytelling
Q Describe your ideal job/client/collaboration.
My ideal clients are individuals, nonprofits, foundations, small businesses seeking to find ways to better understand their story (the WHY of their work), and how we can work together to develop a strategy and implement it via digital assets (websites, social media, videos, podcasts, etc.) to engage the world.
Q: What is your rate?
I work with a range of clients and budgets. My hourly rate is $150 and I also do project-based fees especially for branding and website projects. For example, a light branding refinement process and new Squarespace website would start at $5000 for a site with less than 10 pages and no major integrations needed. I also do basic website work for non-profits and small businesses that may just need a landing page and that could start at $1000. I work with my clients who are a good fit for my process to find a mutually beneficial arrangement.
Q How should someone approach you about working together?
Drop me an email and let me know what you’re thinking about!
Q Who is a creative you admire?
Belin Liu - Graphic Designer who is skilled, creative, and a pleasure to work with!
Cage-Free Productions - I’ve partnered with this video production and storytelling agency for years to produce impactful mission videos for clients and their human-centered approach to storytelling is unparalleled.
Q Oh! and… how do you stay creative?
Disconnect from tech, Reconnect to Intuition. Stay Curious. Keep Learning.
This member profile was originally published in January 2022.