I’m what happens when an artistically inclined biologist can’t decide what she wants to be when she grows up.

Even though I was an artistic, creative child, I also loved animals, and believed the adults when they told me that a career in the arts would lead to a life of poverty. Therefore, my first degree/career was in Wildlife Biology (a choice I still have zero regrets about making). An education in both the arts and sciences has given me a unique approach to design—it has honed my analytical thinking, and encouraged practical, real-world solutions to design problems. Also I can tell you about mitosis.

Kidding, I don’t remember anything about mitosis anymore. I’m still very interested in frogs though.

Prior to becoming an independent contractor in 2012, I had spent six years working in both large and small agencies—a gamut of experience that allowed me to wear many hats and work with global brands, across a variety of projects in both print and digital media. I also got a chance to experience how a design agency functions and get a better mind for the business, all of which has proven valuable to running my own business. One thing I took away from working at a large agency was that I prefer working with smaller brands and non-profits, and having the freedom to decide which clients I want to collaborate with.

Today I work out of my home office in a small town in the Niagara region of Ontario, to deliver print and digital projects for clients large and small, from coast to coast. Given that most of my career was spent in Vancouver, that’s where many of my regular clients are, but I also have clients across central and eastern Canada. All of my correspondence happens virtually, so it doesn’t much matter to me where you’re located (as long as it’s in Canada—taking on US/international clients just makes my taxes way more complicated).

personal details

I rode motorcycles for 15 years—to the Yukon, to the Grand Canyon, and across southern Africa. In 2019 I sold my Honda CBF1000 and adopted a dog, and while I do miss riding, it’s hard to do a lot of motorcycle touring with (now) two mutts. My mother finds this to be a much safer passion.
If you put any stock into Myers-Briggs, my results consistently clock me as an INFJ (note that I skew pretty heavily toward introvert).
My spare time is spent reading, drawing, painting, hiking with my dogs, and frustrating myself with small DIY projects around my house.

what i do

WordPress websites (design & build), branding, print materials (posters, banner stands, business cards, annual reports, stationery, etc.), infographics, app design, package design, light illustration

what i don’t do

Marketing, advertising, SEO, digital strategy, programming, heavy illustration, banner ads (unless part of a larger campaign), copywriting

what’s in a name?

When I was going to design school, one of our assignments in drawing class was to draw whatever we wanted—the only requirement was for it to be in colour. So, being a fan of animals and biology (see: that time Leigh got a Biology degree), I rendered a tree frog in coloured pencils. My instructor was underwhelmed. While he was impressed with the technical skills, he was disappointed that I didn’t do something crazy with it, like wrapping it King Kong style around the side of a building. He said: It’s just a frog. It will only ever be just a frog. As an animal lover with a Biology background, I didn’t really see this as a problem. I mean, have you ever SEEN a frog? They’re extremely cool all on their own!

One of the fundamental differences between design and art is this subjectivity. The purpose of design is to communicate, while art can exist simply for the sake of itself. You don’t have to understand art to like it. Design has an audience, an objective, constraints, and considerations, and I like producing work that’s defined by parameters. Justafrog is a little nod to that, and a reminder that there’s more than one way to view the world, and the frogs in it.

meet the team

Ripley

Chief Anxiety Officer

Crash

VP, Underbite Development

Pixel

Chief Bellyrub Officer

Ash

Director of Chaos