Over the years I have had the incredible joy of working with dozens if not hundreds of businesses and organizations to help them tell their story. I am always amazed to hear the unique struggles and milestones of achievement that make them who they are today. Stories of humble beginnings and challenges that have been overcome. I love incorporating these facets into every branding project, creating a design that is both professional and still personal.
One person I had the joy of working with in 2015 was Terry Williams, the founder and owner of Terry’s Unique Hot Sauce. Terry is a full time transit driver and for years had been making his own hot sauce at home. Now he was taking his passion full scale and was selling his sauces at farmers markets and local stores. In our initial meeting I instantly knew we needed to add a caricature of Terry in his logo and label. It is his unique sauce after all!
Although I have worked hard over the years at honing in my digital media skills I am NOT an illustrator. The finer arts are not my forte, I reserve my drawings for my two-year old daughters eyes only, and deep down I know she thinks my drawings stink too! Luckily, my wife’s cousin Kathryn Durst is an unbelievably talented visual artist.
I remember the first time I met Kathryn. My wife and I were visiting her family at their cottage north of Peterborough Ontario. She had sketch pad and pencil in hand. A number of her pieces were on display around the cottage. I was taken back by the quality and personality of her work. She was soon heading off to Sheridan College, globally recognized for their arts and animations programs. Following college she spent some time interning with Pixar and she was now back in Ontario.
Kathryn played a key role in a children’s app I had designed (Flipidee) recently and I knew she would draw the perfect caricature for Terry’s logo and labels. She did just that! Terry was gobsmacked when I first showed him her work. She had captured his unique person in a fun and whimsical way, no modifications needed, we were ready to print!
In the fall of 2018, I was not surprised to hear that Kathryn had beaten out dozens of artists and had been selected to illustrate a new children’s book. Any opportunity like this would be a special one, however, this opportunity was specifically remarkable because the author of the book was the one and only Paul McCartney. Kathryn had been selected to illustrate his new book dedicated to his grandchildren “Hey Grandude”.
This past week Kathryn and her family have been in England with Paul for the release of his book. I just wanted to take the time to celebrate Kathryn and this remarkable achievement. You have always been an absolute joy to work with and we celebrate this moment with you!
Support Kathryn and Paul by picking up their book on Amazon.
If you have a business or organization, we would love to help you tell your story. Schedule a free consultation, we would love to learn more about you and what makes your organization unique.
And of course, If you need any illustrative work we couldn’t recommend Kathryn more. Click here to learn more about her work .