The agency’s culture left little room for my creative contributions to be valued, and there was an expectation to often work 18-hour days at any given time for these unappreciative corpo - rate clients. I was certainly no stranger to working long hours, but it made no sense to work so hard for big corporate clients that cared so little. I started to get migraine headaches that would temporarily blind me due to chronic stress from the job. One night after I finished another 18-hour day, I asked myself, ‘What work did you do today that made you feel proud?’ I drew a blank and realized that I could no longer work for unappre- ciative corporate brands that were misaligned with my values. I promised myself that I would exclusively work with businesses that were creating positive change for their community in some way. A few short months after making this promise, I regis- tered my business, and picked up the IWK Foun - dation as my first client, a non-for-profit organiza - tion that does fundraising for the IWK Children’s hospital in Halifax. What was the inspiration behind Brittany Pickrem Branding & Design? BP: My business was inspired by realizing that there is a massive gap of value-driven, female leadership in the creative design and communi - cation industry. In 2013, one year before I opened my business, it was estimated that only 11.5% of Creative Direc - tors in the world were women, despite the fact that women control 73% of the world’s consumer purchasing power. Like many women in my industry, I was not able to break into a creative leadership role in a tra - ditional work setting, so I decided to promote myself into a creative director role by opening my own business.
are running successful six and seven figure busi - nesses. My branding and design support gives them the tools they need to show up and stand out with a memorable, and professional brand image in competitive markets. Tell us about some of the projects that you have worked on. BP: I love celebrating my clients and highlighting the incredible work that they do. I’ve had the pleasure to be part of so many amazing projects over the span of my career, but I’m going to highlight a few of my most recent, local branding projects that I have worked on.
“My business was inspired by realizing that there is a massive gap of value-driv- en, female leadership in the creative design and commu- nication industry.” In 2013, one year before I opened my business, it was estimated that only 11.5% of Creative Direc - tors in the world were women, despite the fact that women control 73% of the world’s consumer purchasing power. Like many women in my industry, I was not able to break into a creative leadership role in a tra - ditional work setting, so I decided to promote myself into a creative director role by opening my own business. I recently celebrated my sixth year in business as the CEO and creative director of my boutique branding business. After being in business for the last six years, I’m more clear than ever on my mission: to provide world-class visual branding services and training, for 6 and 7 figure entre - preneurs and small businesses who are creating important change through their work. Do you have a typical client? If so, tell us about them? Is there something that your clients have in common, what would it be? BP: Something that all of my clients have in common is that they are change makers, even if they may not self-identify that way. I am proud to say that all of my customers are actively engaged in creating important change and transformation in a variety of industries including Social, Financial, Environmental, Health Care, and Arts & Culture sectors. I work with customers across Nova Scotia, Canada, and the world. Another common thread that my clients share is that they are all high-performing superstars who
“I love celebrat- ing my clients and highlighting the incredible work that they do.”
I’ve had the pleasure to be part of so many amazing projects over the span of my career, but I’m going to highlight a few of my most recent, local branding projects that I have worked on. CLIENT SPOTLIGHT: The Halifax Jazz Festival Over the past four years I’ve partnered with the Halifax Jazz Festival to creative direct and design their main image for their hallmark summer event which attracts an audience of 65,000 people. Bringing together both local and international artists, the festival delivers epic live music entertainment in the
Photo by Chris Geworsky
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SEPTEMBER 2020 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2020
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