Meet Amy Pruitt | Visual Branding Specialist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Amy Pruitt and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Amy, what inspires you?
I’m inspired by other designers! I truly don’t believe in competition, for a couple of reasons: One, I believe there are enough clients & jobs out there to go around. Two, even if another designer offers the exact same services I do, we’re going to go about it in completely different ways. We communicate differently, our processes are different, and our results (i.e. our styles) are different. Their ideal client isn’t going to be the same as my ideal client, and vice versa. My Instagram account is basically just full of other designers I admire. I love seeing their creativity, and how they approach design briefs.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Please tell us more about your business.

I’m a brand identity designer – I work directly with founders to discover the soul of their business, and then express that visually. I’ve developed a process that gets straight to the “good stuff” that a brand is all about. My skillset then allows me to interpret that information and transform it into a one-of-a-kind visual identity that speaks to the heart of both the brand and its ideal clients.

I’ve met plenty of people who don’t understand the value of a complete, custom brand identity system, since it’s so easy to go online and get a logo for cheap or free. What’s difficult to calculate is the amount of money businesses _lose_ by turning off or simply failing to attract the right clients. The Universe can’t play a bigger game until _you_ do. I’m on a mission to help even the smallest business owners play that bigger game, and live out the goals that kept them up at night, buzzing with excitement and possibility when they first dreamed of starting their business.

What sets you apart from others?

I believe that there are infinite possible right answers when it comes to design. Good design solves a problem, but there are endless possible solutions to any given problem. My work involves whittling down the Infinite to a tiny bullseye by asking my clients lots of questions – about their offering, their challenges, their goals – until the most effective solution to their particular problem becomes as clear as a neon sign.

My favorite clients are the ones who just let me play: they trust my vision and let me take big swings. Those always wind up being the happiest clients in the end, and I doubt it’s by coincidence.

How did you get to where you are today business-wise. Was it easy? If not, how did you overcome the challenges? What are the lessons you’ve learned along the way?

Steve Jobs said “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” That, in a nutshell, is how I became a designer. I always thought of myself as a singer, but in March of 2020 I suddenly found myself without any singing gigs or my usual social circle, and I very quickly became depressed. A friend suggested that I start selling logo work in order to have _some_ creative outlet, so I did. I posted an offer for a $25 logo on a freelance website, and then something magical happened.

I wound up replacing my corporate salary with design work, and I was able to quit my day job within 11 months of my first $25 sale. It wasn’t until I looked back that all the dots suddenly connected: I’d _always_ been a designer. I won my first bicycle in a coloring/design contest at age five, in elementary school I won a state-wide USPS stamp design contest two years in a row, I designed the show posters & cast t-shirts for the musicals I did in high school, and I designed the CD cover art for my college a cappella group. I’d been designing my whole life, it just hadn’t occurred to me that I could do it for a living.

I was in my late 30s when I finally figured out that I can, in fact, be whatever I want to be when I grow up.

What you are most proud of or excited about?

I’m incredibly proud that I built this business from just an idea, and that now I support my family with my art. I’m proud I get to show my boys by example that they can do literally anything they want to do, that “luck” is the intersection of opportunity and preparation, and that there’s never going to be a day when they have to “get serious” and “get a real job” (unless they want to!).

What do you want the world to know about you or your brand and story?

The only constant in the Universe is change. I encourage my clients to welcome & embrace change: change to their audience, their offering, their pricing, all of it. If you’re successful and still running your business 10 years from now, I sure hope your brand identity evolves along with you. I look back on who I was 10 years ago and am so thankful for the growth and transformation that’s taken place since then – and I look forward to continued evolution in the future.

What I do as a brand identity designer is get to the heart of who you are and where you’re headed. The measure of good branding isn’t necessarily how long-lasting it is, it’s how well it expresses the soul of your business. Across all industries and sizes, the average company rebrands every 5-7 years. Remember when we were all wearing dresses layered over jeans, point-toe heeled boots, and rimless bedazzled sunglasses? We’re still the same people, we just dress better now.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I live in Hillsborough – a beautiful little gem of a town just on the edge of the Triangle. While you can get to either downtown Durham or Chapel Hill in 15 minutes flat, it feels like a world apart. If my friend was visiting Hillsborough for the first time, we would stop at Weaver Street in the morning for coffee, then head out to walk some of the miles of gorgeous trails that run through parks and woods and over streams. In the evening, we would stop at Vinyl to grab a beer while we hunt for treasure among the aisles of records. Then we would choose from one of several incredible restaurants in the walkable downtown area – everything from Italian to Indian, Mexican to good old Southern comfort food. We’d end the evening by catching an outdoor concert on the grass at the beautifully-restored Colonial Inn.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Simply put, I wouldn’t have a successful business if it weren’t for my husband, Chris. For whatever reason, he just keeps believing in me, supporting me, and going along with all my crazy ideas. I feel safe coming to him when I’m doubting myself or my abilities, because he sees the version of me that I sometimes lose sight of, and reminds me that it’s all going to be ok. I also have the incredible support of my friends – a collection of badass women who encourage & inspire me to keep going when things get hard. I’m so thankful to all of you!

Website: https://www.apcreativedesigns.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apcdesigns/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-pruitt-50370952/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amypruittcreative

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVFHTP2WOQK4pusOOKqbMKg

Other: Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/apcdesigns 

Image Credits
Elizabeth Ashley & Co