About Me and all the stuff I've done

My Social Links

jenn

 

 

My Experience

A brief snapshot of my life in design.

  • Freelance Art Direction and Design
    2002 – Present
  • Creative Department
    2005 – 2013
  • WBK Marketing & Design
    2003 – 2005
  • divine InterVentures, inc. (marchFIRST and USWeb/CKS)
    1997 – 2005
  • Comerica Bank
    1995 – 1997
  • Insite Marketing & Design
    1994 – 1995
Download Full Resume »

My Skills

  • Web Design 95%

  • Print 90%

  • Logo Design 85%

  • SEO 70%

  • Packaging 65%

My Design Philosophy

Other people more eloquent than I have talked all about how content is king. Well, they’re right.

What are you trying to say? Who are you trying to reach? Have you thought about what specific content your audience is going to want to engage on? How is this awesome content going to be organized. What do you ultimately want to accomplish with this project. All of these questions (and many, many more) need to be addressed before anyone sits down and pushes one single pixel toward a designed product.

Of course it has to look good. Otherwise, you’ll turn off your audience before they’ve even gotten to your super awesome message. But really, the design should be secondary to the content and such a seamless part of the user experience that they almost don’t notice it all.

Designing a Paper Sack

A professor once told me that if you had to design a paper sack, make it the most incredible paper sack ever.

I’ve spent the better part of the last nineteen years trying to make all these paper sacks look amazing. Ok, maybe not sacks but websites, logos, packaging, brochures, advertising, print pieces of all kinds, you name it, even romance novel covers. I’ve had a fair amount of success, a few setbacks, met some amazing people and learned a lot along the way.

The thing about design is that it is entirely subjective. Even if you know you designed the best sack ever, you know it probably won’t please everyone. But it will have done it’s job if it was the right sack for the right audience and functioned perfectly for them.

That’s what design is all about; not just making something work but making it work better for the people who need it.

Fun Facts and Other Stuff

In the rare moments I have free time, I like to do these things.

Researching my family genealogy has been an hobby/obsession/compulsion for about the last 16 years. It can definitely be frustrating but so thoroughly rewarding when you finally make a breakthrough.

I’m a bit of an obsessive hockey fan. So much so, that through a Detroit Red Wings blog that I participate in, we helped bring a Brazilian hockey fan all the way from Rio to Detroit to see his first ever hockey game. We also managed to raise, in the two years of the organization’s history, nearly $20,000 over 2 years for Children’s Hospital of Michigan.

Oh, and in my free time I referee women’s flat track roller derby. Once you’ve refereed roller derby, there’s not much you can’t do.

Some Nice Things People Have Said About Me

Jenn brings so many tools to the game – she’s a talented designer, has a razor sharp mind, and is one of the most caring people I have had the pleasure to meet.”
— Sean Biehle, Content Strategist, Creative Department
“From a simple logo to full website designs, she knows how to turn heads and keep attention by remembering the user experience is just as important as the design itself.”
— Nicole Eggleston, Black Belt, Fidelity Investments
“Jennifer is extremely creative and collaborative while remaining grounded and pragmatic. Always bringing great insights to the table, she consistently elevates projects beyond client expectations.”
— Carla Franke, Creative Digital Marketing Pro
“Smart, creative and a keen sense for detail. Jennifer is a strong leader and develops quality solutions that meet the clients business objectives… I would recommend Jennifer Schwab to be part of or lead any creative team.”
— Craig Elliott, Photo Art Director, Kohls