The Firm: J. Gartner Studio
Creating intentional designs that connect, J. Gartner Studio specializes in corporate and event branding and design. Design doesn’t just result in connection, it begins with it. To ensure I have a firm grasp of both the project’s goals and the bigger picture, my approach is holistic: I take the time to learn about my clients, to understand them, to listen to them, to know them. Those conversations tend to spark ideas, so I come to every start up meeting with a notebook in hand to make detailed notes and rough sketches that guide my strategic planning and allow me to conceptualize custom strategies and accurate estimates for every project.
THE DESIGNER: JENELLE GARTNER
A visual thinker, my brain is constantly exploding with vivid ideas eager to unfold. When I choose one to manifest, however, I am thoughtul and methodical in my approach. While creativity underlies everything I do, my eye is drawn to patterns and systems – the logic inherent in composition, the mathematics of design – and it always has been. Because I am a designer by trade, but I’m an artist first. Whether sketching my surroundings, crafting found objects into art pieces, redesigning and renovating my 1960s house, or drawing and painting pictures with my children, I live and breathe art and design – it’s who I am.
Giving visual form to ideas is a creative challenge I’ve always loved, so I knew I wanted a career in a commissioned art — which is essentially what graphic design is. So, I earned my Bachelor of Design and worked in several design studios before boldly leaping into the creative entrepreneurial world with my wedding design and stationery firm, Pinkpolka in 2009.
For nearly a decade, I immersed myself in creating custom designs that defined couples: visual identities that communicated, that delighted, that resonated. The transition from weddings to event and corporate design was a natural one, and one that offered a fresh perspective and a thrilling challenge.
Awards
The best designs don’t just visually communicate, they tell a story, they evoke emotion. As a graphic designer, I’ve been honoured with awards for creativity and distinction.
Edmonton Event Award for Outstanding Supplier in Creativity and Design 2018 for Toyota NW Grand Opening (2018)
Ad Club of Edmonton Award of Distinction for Direct Marketing for Tacos & Tequila (2016)
Canadian Wedding Industry Awards winner of Best Alberta Stationer and Best Alberta Invitation (2014)