Ranee Parker
Ranee Parker
Owner / Designer at PAX e-Graphics
Manitoba, Canada
www.paxegraphics.com
instagram @paxegraphics
WHAT DO YOU DO?
“Fueled by coffee and a passion for design, I use my powers of intuition to create beautiful websites for small business owners and creative entrepreneurs. ”
I can spend hours (and hours) choosing just the right color palettes and font pairings to ensure a full branding and web design experience my clients fall in love with.
Real talk: I work hard at branding and web design until my clients feel like they are winning at this internet game.
WHAT STEPS DID YOU TAKE TO GET TO WHERE YOU ARE NOW?
Creativity and I have always been pals, but I was too scared to share it with the world. I spent many years in corporate environments never feeling satisfied with my work. In 2014, I quit my full-time job and went back to school to earn my BA in Communications at the University of North Dakota, specializing in design & media studies. I was taught by some super cool award-winning designers and felt like I’d finally found a way to be myself through my work.
While completing my BA, and for about a year after, I worked with artists and writers planning events and designing promotional materials but I knew I wanted to start my own business. I mean, that had always been the dream, you know? In 2018 I started PAX e-Graphics and am so happy to be working for myself doing something I love.
Side note: My business is named after my first cat, Paxton (or Pax), who was with me for 15 years and I love that his memory lives on through my business.
How do you stand out in your field?
I work intuitively, communicate with complete honesty, and I never over-promise, especially when it comes to timelines. I listen with intention to understand the needs of the client. And I only book one new project per week so that I can provide a high level of personal attention in that first week of the project.
WHAT ARE YOU WORKING ON RIGHT NOW?
Design-wise, I’m currently working on a website for a medical research company who is conducting a clinical trial and I’m working with a charitable organization on a t-shirt design. I’m always creating new content for my blog, where I write honestly about parenting, life as I see it, and the things I’ve learned along the way.
I’m also just finishing up creating a guide focused on helping people get content organized for their website. So whether they are trying to DIY everything or hiring a designer, they know what kind of content they want before they get started.
WHAT'S YOUR STYLE/PERSPECTIVE/TASTE? DO YOU HAVE A PROJECT THAT REPRESENTS THIS?
In my corporate life I was known as the girl in black with a splash of color in my shoes. I love black and grey with my whole being and gravitate toward muted colors in my designs. That’s not to say I won’t infuse a lot of color into my client’s website, like this one, when it makes sense for their brand. I’m here for the brand consistency! I love websites that have a personality to them, so they're not just pretty to look at but they provide an experience as well.
My blog is one of my favorite web designs I’ve done because it’s so me. From the GIF of my cat, Tiga, in that first moment to the black and grey images, it’s the best visual representation of who I am.
WE ARE ALL SLASHIES WITH MULTIPLE SKILLS, WHICH ONE DO YOU WISH YOU COULD DO MORE OFTEN?
I’d love more time to work on my writing. It’s still my goal to get my MFA in Creative Writing someday, but right now most of my free time is spent working on marketing strategies to grow my business. My ultimate goal is to create space for both writing and design work.
WHAT IS FRUSTRATING YOU RIGHT NOW?
I’m frustrated by the narrative that tells entrepreneurs they don’t need a stand-out website, and their content doesn’t have to be perfect, they just need to get something online so they have a place to direct people and get eyes on their business.
A website is often the first chance businesses get to capture their target audience, and first impressions are key. So if the content they put online doesn’t match their brand personality or core values, it sends a message that they don’t believe in their own business enough to invest in it fully.
IF YOU COULD HIRE SOMEONE FOR $20/HR, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE THEM DO TO MAKE YOUR DAY EASIER?
If I had someone to handle my social media, to promote and market my business for me, that would free up so much time for me to work on more web design projects. Which is the ultimate goal here, people!
LET'S BRING OUT THE TIME MACHINE. WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU COULD HAVE TOLD YOURSELF, WHEN, AND WHY?
I wish I had told my 18-year-old self that I deserved to follow my passions and to not worry so much about failing. I wasted so many years working in jobs I hated because I was too afraid to let my creativity shine. Instead, I bottled it up and kept it on a shelf for my eyes only. If I would have known how happy following my passions would make me, even if I fail a time or two along the way, there would have been no stopping me from pursuing the life of my dreams.
IF YOU COULD TALK TO AN EXPERT TO GAIN MORE INSIGHT ON SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE ABOUT?
I’d love to learn more about CSS coding so I could find easier ways to bring my design ideas into reality.
WHAT KIND OF OPPORTUNITIES/PROJECTS ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?
I am super interested in working with businesses that have a strong personality and are not afraid to use it in their marketing. I love designing websites for new businesses that are in their first year or two of making things happen and watching them really come into focus by providing them with an online presence they can be proud of.
DESCRIBE YOUR IDEAL JOB/CLIENT/COLLABORATION.
Honest communication with an incredible amount of trust is key for ideal client collaborations! My best outcomes are projects where my clients trust my vision and are open about what they need for their website from the beginning. I also looooooovvvee when we can go back and forth quickly for ideas and feedback to not disrupt the incredible creative flow that takes over when we’re on the same page about where we’re headed with the design.
It’s also super cool when I get to work on web designs for businesses that sell products and services I love. Examples of dream projects include:
Coffee roasters
Ethically produced products
Businesses with a focus on empowering women
Anything to do with cats (Are you sensing a theme? Yeah, okay, I love cats. It’s cool.)
WHAT IS YOUR HOURLY RATE, RETAINER, OR SALARY RANGE?
My rates vary based on things like scope of work and timelines, as well as how many times we have to go back and forth for feedback, but most web design projects are somewhere around the $3500 to $4500 (CAD) mark. This includes branding (colors and font choices) as well as SEO set up and conversations with a spunky web designer who loves to laugh and occasionally communicate only in GIFs.
HOW SHOULD SOMEONE APPROACH YOU ABOUT WORKING TOGETHER?
Send me an email, shoot me a DM on Instagram or fill out the contact form on my website so I have all the info to get started!
HOW DO YOU STAY CREATIVE?
Write, walk around outside, cat cuddles
This member profile was originally published in December 2019.