Hi! I’m Karen! When I’m Not Designing, You’ll Find Me…
Design is my passion, but it’s not the only thing that energizes me. Beyond typography and color, I find solace and joy in various pursuits—photography, being outdoors, dogs, tea, and sweets are at the top of the list!
LOMAXcreative is an award-winning, full-service freelance graphic design studio for authors, businesses, and nonprofits. I build collaborative relationships with my clients to realize their goals. Look at some of my accolades, my process, and a sample of client testimonials.
I have been a freelance graphic designer for over twenty years; I love what I do and am excited to learn more about you and your upcoming project. Contact me, and let's work together!
My Process
Phase One
Kickoff Meeting Research Project Mood Boards
We will have an in-depth discussion about the organization, target audience, and primary competitors. Following this initial research discussion, mood boards will be created and presented.
Phase Two
Present Mood Boards Initial Design Rounds
Initial project concepts and styles will be created using feedback on mood boards. The primary project design will dictate the needs of any secondary designs. For example, if a logo were designed, would a business card or stationery package also be needed?
Phase Three
Primary Project and Secondary Designs Finalized
After receiving feedback from multiple rounds of the initial project concepts, a primary design and any requested secondary projects will be created.
Phase Four
Final Project Design Hand-off: A Seamless Transition
After the client approves all primary and secondary projects, files will be sent to the client, printer, and/or web developer. For print projects, this can also include paper selection and press checks.
Phase Five
Happy Client!
Thank you for being a valued client; I can’t wait to hear all the glowing feedback your project will receive!
Take a closer look at the inner workings behind my processes:
Logo design and branding suite
Brochure design
Editorial design
Digital and offset prepress
Press checks
Capabilities
Don’t see something you need here? Please reach out to see if I can help. If not, I will help you find someone who can.
Testimonials
“Reaching out to Karen for help designing my "Her Helm" fine art portrait book was one of the best things I could have done for my book. Her creative genius saw into my thoughts and then came up with something that perfectly reflects how I want people to feel when holding this book. From the beginning, she was supportive and professional, and had brilliant methods to get me to describe my goals so that she could do her magic. It was an iterative process to create the final design, which was absolutely stunning. The cost of hiring an experienced designer was more than worth it. The entire book, inside and out, looks amazing due to her skills and I'm grateful for everything she has done to elevate my book.”
Kristin Rutkowski, Photographer
“I describe myself as “aesthetically bankrupt,” but working with Karen at LOMAXcreative makes me feel like a million bucks. I’ve had the chance to work with Karen on multiple policy research products from state report cards to tiles for social media to report layouts to website designs and more. Karen has calmly and confidently navigated me through the design process, highlighting different design options while offering her professional opinion and patiently accommodating tweaks until things are just right. When I call in Karen for a design job, I know I’m going to walk away with a product I’m happy to show partners and the field.”
Bill DeBaun, National College Attainment Network, Senior Director
“My first book of photographs were pictures that I made back in my home state of Arkansas, half a century ago. Ms. Lomax helped me through the agony of the unknown, which was, just how would my first book eventually turn out? It turned out just beautifully, thanks to her attention to detail and creative talent. I offer my congratulations to those who select her to work on their projects, she is at the top of her game.”
Ron Evans, Documentary Photographer
“Working with Karen is such a joy. She is so easy to work with and always comes to the table with creative ideas to flawlessly execute my vision. She routinely juggles multiple projects simultaneously and effortlessly delivers beautiful projects on time. Her work on The Education Trust marketing folder and new branding have brought our organization to the forefront. Our new folder allows our organization to beautifully demonstrate our impact to new partners and reporters. No matter what project I partner with Karen on, I know I can always trust her to deliver.”
Nicolle Grayson, The Education Trust, Director of Communications
“I use the Ed Trust folder as an example of exceptional design and unique engineering of how multiple brochures could be displayed in a corporate folder. Having been in the printing and graphics industry for over 30 years, this brand folder stands out as one of the best uses of color and design I have ever seen.”
Greg Hansan, VP of Sales, MOSAIC Printing
“LOMAXcreative created a logo for my company, Tread Light Gifts, that was unique, captivating, and has become the cornerstone of all our branding. She is easy to work with and has a gift for translating ideas into graphical masterpieces.”
Tracy Oklander Anderson, owner, Tread Light Gifts
“I was introduced to Ms. Lomax through a friend. She was incredibly easy to work with and provided exactly what we wanted and then some, despite our vague descriptions. She has an innate ability to decipher what the client really wants and needs and then delivers quickly and with top-notch quality.”
Blake Ragghianti, Founding Executive/Artistic Director OvreArts, Inc
“The logo that LOMAXcreative created for my business, Seattle Pet Day Care, was an outstandingly creative design! It was absolutely perfect for my industry and the image I wanted to convey. In a profession saturated with business cards, mine were so eye-catching that I found that it directly related to an increase in customers for me. New clients consistently mentioned how my business stood out from the rest as capturing the essence of professionalism while still maintaining the intimacy of the pet care service. LOMAXcreative truly finds the creative inspiration necessary for you and your business and expresses it in the most innovative of ways. I can not recommend her more highly!”
Rachel Rampa, owner, Seattle Pet Day Care
“I was so thrilled with the outcome and process of recreating my company’s brand and logo! When I went to LOMAXcreative / Karen, I knew that my logo did not represent me, but I could not articulate how I wanted it changed or what I wanted it to be, other than an image of a horse. I could tell from how Karen was asking questions during our initial conversations that I had made the right choice. I could not be more happy with the logo and branding; it exceeded my expectations and was such an easy and streamlined process. I could not recommend Karen / LOMAXcreative more highly…in fact I hired her again to brand my next adventure with Race and Revolution!”
Katie Fuller, jewelry designer
“I am the Co-Executive Director of the Maria Torres Emerging Artist Foundation (MTEAF). To launch the non-profit and debut the associated MTEAF Dance Company, we needed a complete company ID including a logo (in various forms for social media outlets), the debut event program, and a variety of other graphic items such as letterhead, presentation templates, and business cards.
Karen far exceeded our needs and we have received regular feedback stating that people didn’t realize the non-profit was so far along in its evolution. This perceived ‘maturity’ is a direct impact of Karen’s incredible designs and went a long way in helping to drive our fundraising efforts. She really helped us to put our ‘best foot forward’.
Karen is talented, creative, efficient, knowledgeable, and in general a really terrific person to work with. As a non-profit organization, we look forward to a long-term relationship with Karen and I highly recommend her to anyone who considers her for their next project. She’s a strong partner, a great designer, and someone that you really want on your team!”
James White Co-Executive Director, Maria Torres Emerging Artist Foundation (MTEAF)
“Karen Lomax is an excellent and thoughtful designer. She heeds and works to create a design that represents the heart of our mission and company.”
Maria Torres, Director, Choreographer, Producer
“When we started our business three years ago, we were looking for a simple, elegant logo that would encapsulate our vision of diverse people working together for social change. We went to several other artists before talking with LOMAXcreative. She immediately offered ideas that appealed to us, and we were able to collaborate on a meaningful image creatively. I strongly recommend LOMAXcreative/Karen for any business wanting a unique, professional look.”
Ilsa Govan, co-founder, Cross Cultural Connections
“When I hired LOMAXcreative to help me with my first curated art exhibition, I was overwhelmed with preparations and very new to working with a designer. Karen, head of LOMAXcreative, was patient and understanding as she walked me through the process of editing and approving designs. She also familiarized me with thinking about varied products on which to feature the exhibition's logo. The exhibition used the gallery location's history to inquire how artists responded to racial injustice then and now. Karen thoughtfully and gracefully incorporated elements of these themes into the design: smoke and black specks to indicate that war and conflict are obscured. The final colors she selected were gorgeous and unexpected. She heard me clearly when I spoke to her about the exhibition's themes and created something strong, enduring and essential. Since that first exhibition, LOMAXcreative has worked with me on each of my exhibitions, and I completely trust her input and vision. It is a relief to have total confidence in Karen to produce beautiful imagery to represent such challenging and important exhibitions.”
Katie Fuller, curator