Episode 37: Discussing Graphic Design with Avery Shifflett

We talk a lot about writing and photography on this podcast, but another important role in equine media is graphic design. Graphic artists are critical to producing eye-catching logos, layouts, infographics and websites…the list is endless. Here to talk with us today is Avery Shifflett from Denim & Velvet, an all-in-one agency serving Western brands. We are so excited to chat with Avery, and we think you’ll enjoy our conversation. Avery, welcome to the show!

Freelance Remuda: Can you tell us how you are connected to horses and the Western industry?

 Avery: I grew up in Parker County, Texas and my dad and grandpa were involved with the Sheriff’s Mounted Posse. So every summer I helped with rodeo production and everything around the rodeo—trail rides, ranch rodeo, etc. I personally never participated in any equine events, but I was very involved and I’m still so passionate about the livestock industry. I have shown since I was 7 years old, I’m very involved in breeding programs in my area. I’ve been around livestock my whole life and still help out with rodeos and trail rides to this day.

How did you get into graphic design? What’s been your path to your role at Denim & Velvet?

Avery: I’ve always been a doodler—used to get in trouble because I would have all kinds of drawings in the margins of my work. I never sit still. If I have a pen in my hand, I always want to be drawing and creating something cool.

I just graduated from Texas Tech University with an agricultural communications degree. My freshman year, we had a project—our end-of-year project—and we were supposed to find someone with our “dream career.” So I actually reached out to the graphic designer at the time at Denim & Velvet. That was four years ago, in 2017. I got to talk with the graphic designer at Denim & Velvet and ask her a bunch of questions about her role, things like that.

It’s really cool to see it come full circle because I made a whole presentation about how this is my dream job. I loved everything about it, I love what the company stood for. So when I got hired, I told Janzen (Tew) that story and she told me I was just meant to be here. It’ was perfect. Every since, I’ve had the opportunity and knew about the company, I was so intrigued.

Through college at Texas Tech, I really got interested in graphic design. I would leave class and go home and watch all kinds of videos on Adobe and YouTube, just kind of learning the programs. Even when I wasn’t required to be, I was just so fascinated in how it all was produced. That’s how I really found my passion for graphic design. And once it started, it did not stop. I’m still learning new things every single day. I love what I do, and I love working at Denim & Velvet.

Tell us a little more about Denim & Velvet: What it is, the mission, what makes it unique?

Avery: Denim & Velvet is an all-inclusive marketing and design company centered around the Western industry. So in-house, we have Janzen, the CEO, and she is our photographer. She does everything from newborn photos to product flat lays to livestock photography, to rodeo photography. She really does it all. And then we also have Cassie Boggs, our social media manager. She probably runs, I think she's at over 20 social media accounts. ranging all over the board. She runs a bunch of boutique socials. She, runs the Pecos Rodeo account. she runs Kerry Kelley Bits and Spurs. And then we also just got an account with a local feed store.

And then we have Peyton, who is our website designer, and she is just creating websites left and right. She's never, still, she's always got something to do. And then we have Kassie. She is our email marketing manager and office manager. She does it all under the sun. She keeps us all straight, as well as creating email and text messaging campaigns for your customers. And she really helps a lot of people out sending out daily specials, daily deals, weekend, special events, everything like that. So everyone under the Western umbrella, we try to just keep them under our wing and invite them to come work with us because if you need something done, there is somebody in our office that can get it done.

It’s really cool because you don't have to go get a graphic designer from over here. And then it has to go find a website designer from another company, Denim & Velvet is truly a one-stop shop. And I think that's very rare and it's honestly pretty unique because we also have the mindset and the brain like just knowledge about everything in the Western industry. So we know what you're talking about. If you produce Angus cattle, we're not going to put a Brahma bull on your website or something like that. So it's a pretty cool place. I love everyone that we work with and we have such a wide variety of clients and customers that we're always doing something new and there's probably nothing we haven't seen. So we encourage everybody to come work with us.

It seems like it's a cohesive brand because you, you can do everything. You don't have to farm out something to a different person, a different skillset. You mentioned that, you talked to the graphic artist at Denim & Velvet when you were in college. So when you were looking for a job, what were you looking for in a supervisor or creative team?
Avery: Janzen is the boss, CEO, and I honestly could not ask for a better supervisor, just because she supports me in everything that I do. If I have a crazy off-the-wall idea for like a project campaign or design she's like, I don't know how we're going to make that happen yet, but we will make it happen. And that's all that I could ask for is just like 110% support all the time.

She also allows me to have complete creative freedom. So there are some situations where this company wants XYZ from me, but Janzen allows me to do different projects for the company just to put on our website. She lets me do whatever I want. And that is amazing, coming from a creative person because having creative restrictions sometime is really tricky. And so she really just lets my creative juices flow and supports me in everything I do. And I could not ask for a better supervisor than that.

What is your favorite thing about your work?

Avery: Every day there are so many different things that happen in our office, I'm always learning something new, and working with somebody new, which is so cool. But being able to help people grow either individually or their business is so neat. People usually come to me just starting out and they're like, I am about to start this business, and I really want a logo that will carry me throughout my business. And so being able to help them build a successful business is so cool.

But also, being able to work with different brands that I've looked up to forever. So this past April and June, I was given a task of creating merchandise and rodeo posters for the Pecos rodeo. And ever since I was little, Pecos was the first rodeo ever. And so growing up, being around the industry, you always looked up to that because it’s the first rodeo in the world. It’s so classic, it's so timeless and it's honestly a big deal. And so I was so nervous and I was creating all those t-shirts and posters, but being able to work with brands that you heard of and think about all the time and being able to like help them reach goals and complete projects that they're wanting to do is so cool. It is a little bit intimidating just because you want to do the best of your ability, you really want to deliver, but, being able to talk with them and then produce something that they use is the best feeling in the world.

Which programs do you use to do your work?

Avery: There are four programs, three really that I use probably every single day. For digital pieces, normally just basic shapes, like star squares, things that usually only have one color. Those designs are completed in Illustrator and Photoshop. And those are just Adobe programs that allow you to make shapes, make alterations to fonts and really put together a solid, clean design. But for my more hand-drawn pieces, I actually have this program on my iPad called Procreate and I have an Apple pencil. So I just sit down and I draw on Procreate and then it's super easy to transfer the files from my iPad to the computer and then I can make any changes as needed. So if I had like had a weird funky line that I need to get rid of, I can do that super easy on either Illustrator or Photoshop. 

I love Procreate. It's honestly a lifesaver because before you'd have to draw everything in color, everything on paper and then scan it and upload it into Photoshop and Illustrator. But with Procreate, you can just sit down, draw whatever your heart desires, and then it's already digital, so you can just move it to other platforms. So Procreate is my baby. I use her every single day.

The other program that I use for more publication styles, like rodeo programs, magazines, flyers, things like that. There's a program called InDesign. And that allows you to write heavy bodies of texts and check your spelling and grammatical errors. So it really keeps me in check if I'm going fast, it catches all of those problems. So I don't use InDesign as much, but I definitely use it probably at least once a month, whenever I do publication pieces in programs or I've been doing a lot of flyers recently. And so I've been using InDesign quite a bit.

What are some challenges you experience as a graphic artist?

 Avery: I would say the number one challenge that I faced is the whole idea and concept of communication. I work with people from all over the world, people all over the United States and even overseas. It's hard to get to know somebody through email. My sole form of communication is email. So I don't really get to know their personality or what they want or their job or business type through email. So sometimes it's kind of hard to envision what they're seeing, if it's just through email. So just being able to call people and talk to them, it's kind of tricky because different time zones. And being able to email back promptly is hard when I'm working on it.

I’m sure on the other side, trying to articulate what you’re wanting for the graphic designer is hard too. I bet the communication is challenging on both ends.

Avery: Yes. And I think a big part of it is through email. I think just being able to convince people to get on a phone call and have a conversation with me or even come sit down in the office and have a chat with me is so much more beneficial for both of us. I think that if I, if I am able to sit down and talk with them, buddy, I have a better idea and understanding of what they're wanting in the long run.

What is something people might not know about your work?

Avery: I think how crucial it is in every aspect of their business. I work with a lot of photographers and I'm sure you've had this issue of people wanting to use your photos without your permission. And I've created a lot of watermarks for companies, but then you turn around and maybe you want a postcard or a business card. And then you turn around and you want graphics for your social media. So every aspect of your business, there's an element of graphic design that can be placed in every single one of those. And I don't think a lot of people realize it, but if you're completing a project or you're working towards a goal, there's an aspect of graphic design that can be inserted in every stage and every event in your business.

And I think that's pretty cool, but also the fact that you can digitize literally anything, like if you have a picture or a photo that you absolutely love and you want to use it as your wallpaper, I can digitize that and we can make a file that you can get printed into a wallpaper. There's so many possibilities with graphic design and I don't think a lot of people realize that. So I think that's pretty neat that what I can do can touch people's lives in multiple ways that they don't even think about. And I get to spend so much time with the development of their business, because even after I complete their logo, but there are so many things down the road that I can help them with.

Where do you get inspiration for your designs?

Avery: I get inspiration from literally everywhere. Music is a huge part of my inspiration. I just sit down, listen to a song and I envision a graphic that could go with it or a landscape or scene. I get a lot of my inspiration from music, but I think a lot of inspiration also comes from other graphic artists. We're always trying to work together and acknowledge other artwork that's being done. A lot of the time. I find a bunch of my inspiration, on Pinterest, I see a photo or a concept and I'm like, that would be such a cute sticker. Let me go formulate my own version of it and put it into graphic design style. And so I can use it on many different things, but I get a lot of my inspiration from social media, Pinterest music, movies, even a cool shape that I find on the ground like landscaping. I get it from literally everywhere. You can find inspiration in a tree, if you look hard enough.

Do you have a playlist or favorite artists you like to listen to for inspiration?

Avery: My music taste bounces off the wall. I was raised on eighties rock classic country, Conway, Twitty, As I've grown up, I have developed my own form of music tastes. So it ranges. I can be sitting in the car and I'll go from George Jones to Harry Styles, to Lil Wayne to Disney music. So I don't have a specific playlist. It's kind of just a hodgepodge. But that reflects in my design work too, because if you look at the designs that I've done, you know, I'll do a lot of Western-inspired designs, but I also really like graffiti-style artwork too, and more modern, girly, upbeat. So I go everywhere with my graphic design style, which really reflects my music too. 

Over the past five years, have you seen any changes in trends in graphic design?

Avery: So the biggest trend that I've seen change, it's split down the middle. There are some people that still are going back to be here in the past, funky, collage style artwork. They're kind of busy logos. They have this full paint picture and they're beautiful, but sometimes they can just be hard to see on say, a billboard or on a business card or on top of a building. And so I think the biggest trend that I've seen change is people going away from that extravagant artwork and going back to a more simplistic kind of timeless digital logo.

Just at my time at Denim & Velvet, whenever I first began, I was doing a bunch of hand drawn landscaping logos. So it'd be like a buffalo and cactus. And, the guy on the ground, literally the whole landscape picture with their name underneath. But as time has gone on, people are more interested in a simplistic icon with their logo name or their business name being the focus of the logo. A more simplistic digital logo that they can stamp on anything rather than a landscape kind of intricate logo that they had to be careful with, and they don't get the variety of accessibility of the timeless logo. I think that just like the differentiation of artwork is the biggest change that I've seen.

That makes sense. I saw an article sometime this year showing a bunch of major brands like Pepsi and Lays and how they have gone in the new iteration from being something that looked 3d to something that was flat and really simple. I guess that's across the board, it's a trend toward simpler designs.

Avery: Yeah. Simplistic, I think in minimalistic, everybody loves that word, but it's true because if you have just your business name, you can literally put it on anything. You can put it on pins, caps, business cards, above your location of your store and you can get them engraved and like saddle pads. If you have a more intricate logo with a landscape, you're kind of limited to what you can use it on. So I think people are thinking more advertisement route of like, where can I put this and how can I use this to really bring people in and invite them to learn more about my business. And I think that is going really great. We have a logo at Denim and Velvet. That's just literally the words Denim and Velvet. And we're able to put that on everything, Stickers on our doors. It's so versatile that you can use it anywhere. And I think that that is what people are attracted to these days. 

If someone was wanting to get into graphic design, whether its freelance or on staff, what advice could you give?

Avery: Biggest piece of advice that I can give is do something, even if you don't have anything to do. So even if you're trying to build a client base and you have nobody interested in wanting to let you practice on them, come up with your own projects. Even if there isn't something that you should be doing, there's something you can be learning. So you play around the programs and learn. There are so many different tools. And even to this day, there are times when I click on something and I have no idea how I got there and I've been doing it for five years. So I think just get in there and honestly, just jump in. There's always some form of artwork you could be doing. You know, you could be looking at fonts on different font websites. You could be making typographical pieces, but don't wait for your first client to really start making something. You can always be learning so that when the time comes, you have more knowledge and the ability to make something really cool for your first customer. It's kind of the same thing as photography. You're never going to really grow or get better unless you get out and start doing it.

Is there anything else you want to mention?

Avery: I really think people overlook graphic design sometimes. There are a lot of different programs that you can make something makeshift. I've been doing a lot of rebranding for companies who have been using their logo that they made in Microsoft Paint a long time ago. I think that there's so much room to grow from where you were. And so you really just have to convince people to get on the bandwagon and say look how cool I can make this look for you, but they’ve been just sticking with something that they can do themselves. A lot of the times you kind of perceive things as like, oh, I can do that myself. You know, don't worry about it. But our team can take your whole brand and your whole business to the next step of really catching people’s eye and their business.

Where can people find you online?

Website: denimandvelvet.com

Facebook: @DenimAndVelvetMarketing

Instagram: @denimandvelvet