Andrea Boughton, Beehive Green
Andrea is a fantastic designer based in Hertfordshire and, like me, she loves working with business owners to create brand identities that help them stand out. She has a wealth of experience in various sectors, and has worked with lots of different types of clients.
We met via the Being Freelance Facebook group (you really should join if you’re not already in the group) and although we haven’t met in person yet, I know we’d get on just as well in real life!
What coffee do you like to drink?
I actually prefer tea – you can’t beat a good old English breakfast cuppa. Preferably with a digestive to dunk 😉
Tell me about the work you do
The short answer is I help ambitious businesses stand out and shine bright.
To elaborate, I’m the creative director and designer at Beehive Green, my studio of one, but I work with a network of specialists like copywriters and photographers as needed to bring brands to life. From consultancy and brand identity to Squarespace websites and campaigns – think of us as a virtual in-house creative team for smaller independent businesses!
Being a good listener, a good problem solver and having a good eye for detail.
Finish this sentence. Great design should be...
Great design should be smart thinking as well as smart looking. Then it works hard for your business and gets the right results! That’s what drives me.
Finish this sentence. Great design elevates your brand by...
Great design elevates your brand by communicating on your behalf. It creates the right impression and gives credibility, helping your brand appeal to the right people and stand out from the competition. Brand identity is my signature service – I love helping business owners express their personality and passion through design.
When lockdown eases, the first project I would like to design would be... because…
When lockdown eases, the first project I’d like to design would be a brand identity for a social-good startup or charity because helping people who are doing good things makes me happy. And good design needs to be more accessible, now more than ever.
What piece of design do you wish you’d created?
I love Herb Lubalin’s typographic logos and the way he designs with letters. The iconic Mother, Marriage and Families logos are so clever yet so simple – and as strong today as when they were designed in the 1960s and 70s. Amazing!
Less is most definitely more and that’s something I aspire to.
Great design elevates your brand by communicating on your behalf. It creates the right impression and gives credibility.
What do you think makes someone a great designer?
Being a good listener, a good problem solver and having a good eye for detail.
If you weren't doing design, what would you be doing?
I’ve been a designer since I graduated way back in the 90s… I really can’t imagine myself doing anything else!
And finally, can you tell me about 3 other freelance designers or small biz owners whose work you admire
Ooooh tricky. There are so many brilliant people with brilliant creative businesses it’s hard to choose just three…
Megan Rose Freelance is an amazing copywriter who is part of my go-to team and always gets the tone of voice spot-on for the branding projects we partner on.
Sarah of Social Jooce is a social media strategist. She’s brilliant at supporting small growing businesses with the tips and advice she shares.
Steve for all the energy he puts into Being Freelance – I love being part of the small business community he’s created. I hear he’s a damn good videographer too!
You can read the previous A Coffee With…interview here.
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