Laura Miller
Laura
Miller
Founder of YOUNG BLOOD Creative + Design Studio
St. Petersburg, Florida
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“Our studio specializes in Graphic Design, Multimedia Production, Marketing and Advertising.”
+ Graphic Design:
We are visual story tellers who believe creativity has the power to transform human behavior. Its not just about advertising or brand propositions or selling products. It’s about people and purpose. Creativity is the thoughtful representation of ideas to individuals. At Young Blood we discover your why and give it purpose.
+ Multimedia Production:
Young Blood is a full service production company that provides original creative content for your brand. Young Blood will bring your ideas to life in both digital and physical environments. Our team of writers, producers, photographers, cinematographers, editors and graphic designers will work with you to clearly interpret your message and targeted audience. We don’t just create a brand presence. We help tell your story.
+ Marketing + Advertising:
Creating content worth sharing requires an emotional connection between the brand and the consumer. Keeping the human aspect in tact determines the success of any viral campaign. Young Blood designs, optimizes, and promotes authentic concepts through social platforms that encourage individuals to engage, react and share.
WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
Since about the age of 15 I knew I wanted to be a designer. I started freelancing in high school but after graduating from college last year I hit the ground running and opened Young Blood. It is a tremendous amount of work trying to balance creative and the business side of things, but the combination of both concentrations has been a great learning experience. I work a 12 hour day, almost everyday, as I continue to develop and grow. I can't imagine doing anything else. I love what I do!
FOR OTHER PEOPLE IN YOUR FIELD, WHAT DO THEY USUALLY LACK?
Some times it can be difficult to find inspiration in every single project that comes across your path. Discovering a way to fulfill the project brief while remaining inspired and true to your creative vision is super important.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
+ Branding, site development, environmental design and social media management for a new opening restaurant.
+ Branding, site development and photography for a retail company.
+ Developing monthly campaigns + brand and social media management for a retail fashion brand. (On going monthly retainer)
+ Helping an friend with design and production for his architecture portfolio.
+ Personal projects of 3d renderings and collage work.
WHAT'S YOUR STYLE/PERSPECTIVE/TASTE? DO YOU HAVE A PROJECT THAT REPRESENTS THIS?
Concept, color and minimalism play a huge role in inspiring the direction of my work. With a background in fine arts I strongly focus on the concept and aesthetic of the work at hand. It keeps me passionate and constantly pushing to create something intriguing and visually stimulating. I love bold stark color play that steal the show. The combination of soft pastel and fluorescent gradients play into the hard soft juxtaposition in most of my work. On a personal note my aesthetic gravitates towards provocative imagery with an uncomfortable edge, complimented by soft adolescent ease in color or content. Example here.
WE ARE ALL SLASHIES WITH MULTIPLE SKILLS, WHICH ONE DO YOU WISH YOU COULD DO MORE OFTEN?
I generally work in a digital medium because I love the ability to work across multiple programs but lately I have been pushing myself to work physically. By spreading myself across multiple projects with an ability to incorporate more physical aspects I can continue learning and experimenting in both realms.
WHAT IS FRUSTRATING YOU RIGHT NOW?
Seeking out the right clients takes intense research and work that some times never develops into anything lucrative. This can be frustrating but I stay concentrated on the big picture putting myself out here in every possible way. At the bottom of my to do list is taking care of accounting details, which will remain there until it HAS to be done. :)
IF YOU COULD HIRE SOMEONE FOR $20/HR, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE THEM DO TO MAKE YOUR DAY EASIER?
I would hire a project manager to help me with scheduling, contracts and email correspondence so I can get back to the good stuff!
LET'S BRING OUT THE TIME MACHINE. WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE TOLD YOURSELF, WHEN, AND WHY?
I wish I could go back in time and tell myself to not sweat the small stuff, just keep looking forward because life is transient and every achievement or downfall will pass. You can either roll with the punches or tap out. If there were never any valleys in life, how can we appreciate the peaks.
IF YOU COULD TALK TO AN EXPERT TO GAIN MORE INSIGHT ON SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE ABOUT?
Business growth and development strategies.
WHAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES/PROJECTS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
I love any and all things creative/design oriented. Lately I have been doing a lot of brand packages which involve branding, print/digital collateral, environmental design, photography, site development and social media management. My pet projects are doing album artwork and renderings for various artists.
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL JOB/CLIENT/COLLABORATION.
There are so many great artists/designs that I would love to work with but if I had to choose a top 3 I would say my ideal job/client would be collaborating with artists like Nick Thomm, PLASTIK STUDIOS or Jonathan Zawada.
WHAT IS YOUR HOURLY RATE, RETAINER, OR SALARY RANGE?
The prices range dependent on the complexity and scope of work but the following is a general gauge for pricing...
+ Branding : $3,000 - $5,000 (Logo, tagline, brandbook)
+ Print/Digital Collateral : $3,000 - $5,000 (Business cards, letterhead, menus, - packaging, etc.)
+ Environmental Design : 3,000 - $6,000 (Signage, wayfind systems, etc.)
+ Multimedia Production : 3,000 - $10,000 (Photography, Video, campaigns, etc.)
+ Site Design + Development : 3,000 - $12,000 (A fully custom and responsive site with content management solution, SEO and social media integration)
+ Social Media Management : $2,000 - $5,000 (Creating content for and/or managing 3 or more social media platforms)
+ Album Artwork : $1,000 - $3,000
HOW SHOULD SOMEONE APPROACH YOU ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER?
An email or phone call have been working out really well! I am very accustomed to working remotely and collaborating with clients and creatives via email, video chat and phone calls. When taking on a new project I like to review the budget, scope of work and an intro to who you are and what drives you!
HOW DO YOU STAY CREATIVE?
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
This member profile was originally published in December 2016.