Project Info
| Client: | InchBug (multimillion-dollar e-commerce company) |
| Project: | Marketing materials: advertising, packaging, and production process support |
| Role: | Sole Designer: managed all visual design, branding, and illustration; collaborated with software engineers to automate production workflows |
| Skills: | Visual design, Branding, Illustration, Technical collaboration |
| Software: | Illustrator, Indesign, Photoshop |
| Designed Materials: | Advertisements | Website banners | Packaging | Production templates |
Opportunity
When I joined InchBug in 2009, the multimillion-dollar e-commerce company lacked cohesive branding and struggled with information overload in their marketing materials. As their sole in-house designer, I was tasked with establishing a unified brand system across every customer touchpoint while simultaneously building out their entire design operation from scratch. The challenge extended beyond visual design: I needed to create marketing materials, design product customization systems, develop illustration libraries, support tradeshow presence, and transform an antiquated, labor-intensive production workflow that was limiting the company’s ability to scale.
Approach
Brand Development & Marketing
Redesigned the company logo and color system, then advocated for a “less is more” approach that distilled messaging to essential information. Created cohesive marketing materials including print ads for national publications (Parents Magazine, Family Circle, American Baby), digital banners, postcards, brochures, and seasonal website hero images that maintained brand consistency while highlighting products and offers.
Web Design & Development
Designed the product customization interface and key pages for InchBug’s Shopify site, collaborating with external developers and stepping in when needed to create mockups that met the CEO’s vision. Built a complete WordPress site from scratch for MyDrinky, a sub-brand featuring a no-spill juicebox holder designed for brick-and-mortar retail distribution.
Custom Illustration & Product Expansion
Developed custom illustration systems including Monsters, Barnyard Buds, and Construction icon sets with matching bag tags (15 icons total) that customers could select as personalization options. Each icon was carefully adapted across multiple label formats (circles, rectangles, mini rectangles) and eight color backgrounds, with special attention to legibility at varying scales. These sets became some of the most popular customization choices.
Tradeshow & Brand Experience
Designed complete tradeshow booth experiences by determining layouts within given dimensions, specifying display and storage needs, selecting appropriate wall systems and banner stands, identifying vendors, and creating all custom graphics. Worked closely with the CEO to ensure each booth effectively represented the brand and products.
Production System Transformation
Migrated the adhesive label production system from an antiquated CorelDraw workflow to an automated Adobe Illustrator system. Initially created templates and processes for manual customization, then identified and collaborated with a developer to build a custom Illustrator plugin. The system programmatically handled all personalization (colors, fonts, icons, custom text) by pulling CSV data from the website and mapping it to template fields, transforming production from individual order-by-order work into efficient batch processing.
Impact
Reflection
InchBug taught me that the most valuable designers are problem solvers with a versatile skill set. Over nine years, I moved fluidly between brand development, marketing, web development, illustration, tradeshow design, and production systems engineering. I thrived in an environment that demanded both creativity and systems thinking, where challenges were varied and solutions required innovation. This experience reinforced that I do my best work when given diverse challenges and the freedom to employ out-of-the-box thinking.