Natalie Denny
Founder / Creative Director
Chicago, IL / Austin, TX
Q What do you do?
“Just Coast is a female-founded creative studio located in Chicago & Austin!”
We're driven by collaboration and community, and treat your brand like it's our own. We believe the key to a successful brand is the combined efforts of design and marketing – so we built our business around both! Our design services include branding, packaging, and website design; Our marketing services include photography/content creation, social media management, and email marketing.
Q What steps did you take to get to where you are now?
I'm the creative director and owner of the studio, and we now have 3 employees (major growth over the last 2 years!). I've taken serious steps in the direction of leadership, management, and entrepreneurship to get where we are today. As a studio, we hustle every day to make our client's businesses successful, and I'm dedicated to steering that ship in the right direction.
Q How do you stand out in your field?
We help a lot of small business owners and entrepreneurs with their branding and marketing! We relate to them because we are them, and our expertise provides value that they might not have on their own. We're extremely collaborative and always adapting our strategies.
Q What are you working on right now?
Here's a look at our design dept:
-Branding for a new brewery that's opening
-Packaging design for a food influencer
-Menu board design for a restaurant client who is opening a 2nd location in a food hall
And out marketing dept:
-Building out a brand ambassador program for our clothing retail client
-Planning shot lists for photoshoots
-Designing newsletters
-Planning instagram content for all of our social media management clients
Q What’s your style?
Our style as a studio can change depending on the industry we're working in, but overall I would say we're bold and light-hearted, with touches of personality and character.
Here's a link to 2 recent branding projects we've completed that aren't on our website yet! We're really proud of these brands want to create more work in this direction.
Q Out of all your slashies, which one do you wish you could do more often?
2 main areas of focus for 2023:
-Mini brand (a branding package we created specifically for our small biz clients!)
-Social media management (instagram & TT)
Q What is frustrating you right now?
Making time to create content for our own socials is always something that I have to push myself to make time for. I love doing it, and I want to showcase our work and personality, but it always feels so daunting leading up to it!
Q If you could hire someone for $20/hour, what would you have them do to make your day easier?
Find amazing and awesome potential clients that align with our values who I could reach out to (aka lead generation)
Q What do you wish you could have told yourself, when, and why?
Establish your system early!! Having a clearly defined way of doing things that work for your business, your clients, and your employees will make everything more 1,000x more streamlined. Take the time to figure these systems out early on so that you’re prepared to take on more whenever that may come.
Wish I could tell myself that about 1.5 years ago when I went from an independent designer, to hiring people to help me do the work.
Q If you could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, what would it be about?
How to get more high-value clients
Q What kind of opportunities/projects are you looking for?
First: Branding! We're so passionate about creating new brands, or refreshing brands who need a little love. This is our tried and true service that we'll always want more of.
Second: Social media! There are so opportunities to be creative on socials. Our expertise on strategy, analytics, content creation, content design, photography and more provide brands with stand-out socials. We'd love to work with more brands in this aspect!
Q Describe your ideal job/client/collaboration.
Our ideal client is a business owner who:
-Has a clear vision and goals for their business
-Is ready to collaborate and be hands-on
-Is ready to invest in their business
& who values:
-Our expertise & knowledge
-Our boundaries / time
-Collaboration and problem solving together
Overall:
-Our best past experiences have included most if not all of those above. We are looking for like-minded business owners who will allow us to truly get to know them and their business. Our relationships often end up becoming long-term partnerships, and that's ideal!
Q What is your rate?
Mini brand: $3,500 (set price with set deliverables)
Full branding projects: $5,000+ (custom proposals per client)
Packaging or website design: $3,000+ (custom proposals per client)
Social media management: $1,300/month - $2,500/month (can be customized - price varies)
Q How should someone approach you about working together?
Email is great! 'natalie@justcoast.co'
An intro could include:
-Project needs
-Comfortable budget range
-A fun intro to their business (picture, story, whatever describes them best!)
Q Who is a creative you admire?
Good Time Creative - Experiential Design and Influencer/PR Packaging Kits
Garret Sweet - Chicago photographer
Brad Danner - Chicago photographer
Wonderkind - A design and marketing studio that we look up to, good for bigger CPG brands
Q Oh! and… how do you stay creative?
Collaboration, Socializing, Exploring, Reading, Listening to Podcasts
This member profile was originally published in January 2023.