Sarah Kennedy
Q What do you do?
“I’m a designer & art director.”
My work is mainly focused in branding, web, publication, packaging, & print. In my spare time, I'm a poet.
Q What steps did you take to get to where you are now?
I received a BFA in printmaking at the University of Georgia in Athens, GA in 2018. More than anything else, the training as a printmaker has continued to influence my design decisions and voice. I try not to draw hard lines between physical and digital mediums because of it. After I finished school, I slowly built up my freelance design practice. I did a lot of metaphorical door knocking and projects for friends of friends at first. This all led me to an apprenticeship with Staci Janik Studio, where I focused on restaurant branding, and then to a senior designer position at Dagger, an advertising agency in Atlanta. I’ve maintained a freelance practice, sometimes full-time, for about 4 years now as well. The long and winding road of it all!
Q How do you stand out in your field?
Graphic design is a huge responsibility, and while I like to have fun, I take this work very
seriously. Silliness and tenderness are core values for how I conduct myself, both professionally and personally so it comes as no surprise they both pop up in my work frequently. I have a sneaky “Sarah” agenda that I’m trying to hide in the underbelly of all my pieces. Can it be playful while still taking the subject seriously? Can it be beautiful and also easy to understand? Where can the poem hide?
Q What are you working on right now?
I am currently working as a freelance brand designer & art director with projects including finishing up on creating a brand system for a food & environmental historian, doing some signage projects for a restaurant group in Atlanta, & hopefully starting soon on a secret Italian hotel project ;) For the past year I’ve also been a creative consultant for Wooden Spoon Herbs, an everyday herbalism brand. My favorite things we’ve worked on together was a Body Literacy poster that is included in all orders.
Q What’s your style?
My style is tender, refined, handmade, accessible, functional, & personal. I have a true focus on craft but always try to let some humor or play slip in. I want everything to feel human and warm! I think my brand identity for Round Table Farm is one of the clearest examples of this.
Q Out of all your slashies, which one do you wish you could do more often?
I would love to get to make more typefaces & focus more time on publication design. I love editorial work.
Q What is frustrating you right now?
I wish there was an obvious path! It’s easy to start feeling lost because there isn’t the clean-cut career steps like a doctor or lawyer might have. I sometimes wish someone would tell me what to do next on a macro & micro scale.
Q If you could hire someone for $20/hour, what would you have them do to make your day easier?
Make lunch! It’s the hardest meal to figure out. On a busy work day I say to myself “All of this AND lunch!”
Q What do you wish you could have told yourself, when, and why?
Fresh out of college I wish I could have know to follow my gut and trust that stability - both consistency of work and money - will follow. It took a lot of courage and felt like a trapeze act for a long time but eventually, I’ve found this to be true. I’ve had this feeling recently of “oh! this thing I built worked!”
Q If you could talk to an expert to gain more insight on something, what would it be about?
Scaleability of a business - I seem to always reach a point in my full-time freelance life where I can’t take on any more without some help but don’t know how to make the jump and scale up!
Q What kind of opportunities/projects are you looking for?
I’m looking for branding projects of all kinds, art direction, creative consulting, editorial & publication design, and web design work.
Q Describe your ideal job/client/collaboration.
I’ve worked with Brightland Olive Oil a few times now. It’s really nice to work with a client consistently because a real trust is formed. The first few projects we worked on together were more content and infographic driven. Once they saw what I could do and how my style could marry theirs, I was able to experiment more. Some of my favorite work for them was a series of logos for their content series. Brightland’s brand identity is already so juicy that it’s a lot of pressure to make sure anything I make is contributing something special.
Q: What is your rate?
Most branding projects start at $1,250 but I am happy to be flexible based on scale and nature of the project. I am always willing to discuss and come up with a price that works for us both! My hourly rate is currently in the $75/hr range.
Q How should someone approach you about working together?
Send me an email with any and all info you think I might need :) We can take it from there!
Q Who is a creative you admire?
Leila Register (@leilaregister) based in NYC & Atlanta - Leila is probably the first freelance graphic designer I saw up-close. She is one of my closest friends and an all- around amazing artist. She is a great person to look to for inspiration because she can translate her ideas to fiction, poetry, design, and back again.
Paige Hanserd (@mustarrrd) based in NYC - Paige has been the graphic designer for the Brooklyn Museum and the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Her work always blows me away. I’ve considered her a mentor and a friend for almost 10 years.
Maddy Franklin (@moddyfronklon) based in NYC - Maddy is an amazing art director and animator. Her work is always funny and cool and dynamic. I think she puts a really fresh perspective on claymation also.
Q Oh! and… how do you stay creative?
Phone Off. Outside.
This member profile was originally published in July 2022.