Sarah Monte-Colombo, Hallmarked Design
I first discovered Sarah on Instagram. The way she markets her business, with bags and bags of energy and fun caught my eye.
I started following her and have really loved seeing her business grow. Sarah loves helping start-ups and small businesses with their branding and design needs. The passion she has for helping her clients really comes across in everything she does.
Email: info@hallmarkeddesign.com
Website: www.hallmarkeddesign.com
What coffee do you like to drink?
An ice cold Caramel Frappuccino on a warm day is heaven to me (you’ll probably hate that answer!)
Actually I really love that answer!
Tell me about the work you do
I come from a family of creatives! I wasn’t sure at all what career path I would take but i did know it would be in the creative world. I now know I’m firmly where I’m meant to be.
My background is in buying, product development & packaging (from 8 years working for the UK’s no.1 retailer), which means I bring a different perspective to my designs, with a strong commercial background AND creative skills.
I think this is why my passion really lies with Small Business and Start-Up branding – my skills allow me to push businesses from all sides and I get to see every step of them bloom! My focus is logo, web and brand design for small-medium businesses because of this.
I also run an online store full of personalised gift wrap, gifting and home decor. This kind of started as a hobby but is now a full-on thriving business and makes the perfect duo. I can’t get enough of being able to bring product to the table from my little mind and seeing people love it! Every day is surreal.
I think most of us have that special sixth sense of being able to get inside the client's head.
Finish this sentence. Great design should be...
A smile in the mind 😉
Finish this sentence. Great design elevates your brand by...
Sparking an emotional response, truly communicating with your target audience and remaining at the forefront of their minds.
When lockdown eases, the first project I would like to design would be... because…
I’m itching to get out onto some sites and get some image banks completed! I also Art Direct and there have been some projects we’ve yet to complete due to the obvious restrictions, meaning we’ve had little to work with for the recent works.
But actually, all-in-all i’ve been pretty lucky that i’ve still had some amazing projects to work on through this period. There have been so many inspired souls, given an opportunity to start new businesses and i’m very fortunate that i’ve been able to help them with that.
What piece of design do you wish you’d created?
There are so many genius pieces out there! I think the latest for me is the Marmite ‘dynamite’ campaign.
Great design should be a smile in the mind.
What do you think makes someone a great designer?
I think most of us have that special sixth sense of being able to get inside the client’s head. Having this ability to understand and therefore show what the client truly needs and keeping the target audience at the heart of your designs is the absolute key to good design.
If you weren't doing design, what would you be doing?
Some form of creation. As i call myself ‘the creator that can’t stop creating’ haha, it’s in the bones isn’t it! I’d imagine I’d be an interior designer. I’m always asked to help friends and family with their houses, built my own penny floor in ours etc. I’m always on Pinterest dreaming up the next project!
And finally, can you tell me about 3 other freelance designers or small biz owners whose work you admire
Of course, yourself! Abi Design is one to watch also!
From my contacts would be Laura from The Inky Giraffe and Amerjeet from Creative Avenue Design – love her own rebrand!
You can read the previous A Coffee With…interview here.
I’ll be posting more blogs, interviews and case studies so be sure to check back here soon. Follow me on social media for regular updates, handy hints, tips and design inspiration! See you soon!
Facebook | LinkedIn | Instagram
