PRINCIPAL
EMILY RICH DESIGN, INC., LOS ANGELES CA
Emily Rich is an award-winning designer and the founder of Emily Rich Design, established in 2003 to empower brands with purposeful messaging and beautiful artwork. She is an inspired and strategic partner to her nonprofit and business clients who are making a difference in the world through their innovative enterprises. With a background in math and fine arts, Emily’s design journey encompasses both a creative and analytical approach to storytelling. Her early professional experiences include newspaper and magazine art direction and package design for musicians such as Neil Diamond, Chick Corea and Natalie Cole. She later served as the creative director for two inhouse corporate marketing departments. Over the past two decades, Emily has designed for brands in diverse spaces including education, events, social services, philanthropy, arts and culture, food and wine, health and wellness and more. The high percentage of long-term clients, repeat business, and referrals are a proud testament to the studio’s track record of exceptional service, commitment to quality, and passion for excellence.
Has the pandemic changed your workplace and your workflow? Do you expect to return to pre-pandemic ways of working or will any changes become the ‘new normal’?
During this pandemic, we’ve been focused on staying even more connected with our clients. As a strategic design studio, our priority is to understand and align with the spectrum of shifts that our clients are undergoing so that we can better advise and support them through these changes. Meetings, phone calls and presentations have all moved online. While we look forward to some in-person client contact again in the future, video conferencing has expanded our ability to connect consistently, and in some ways, more meaningfully, as we reimagine the future together.
What do you expect 2021 to hold for graphic designers and the design business? Have the challenges of 2020 changed the way you think about your job and career or the role of design?
Design communicates ideas — often in unexpected ways — and I anticipate continued evolution and realignment in 2021. 2020 marked a year of multiple disruptions, underscoring the necessity for new ideas, creative solutions and clear, thoughtful communications. Words, messaging, and design have the potential to either further a divide or bridge gaps. In my work, especially with nonprofits, I strive to be that bridge — creating pathways to open minds and hearts to new possibilities though collaborative storytelling with creative imagery that inspires.
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