Meet Jennifer Duran of Pace Creative Design Studio in Mesa

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jennifer Duran.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was a very creative kid growing up, so no one in my family is shocked that I grew up to be a designer. Art was always my outlet, especially during the times we moved. I was born in Georgia, then moved to Oklahoma, then to Rhode Island and then back to Georgia all while I was in school. It is crazy to think that I went to two different elementary schools, two different middle schools and two different high schools.

When we moved back to Georgia, I had the opportunity to take a graphic design class at my new high school and I knew then that design was what I wanted to do. I ended up earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree by double majoring in Graphic Design and Interactive Media Studies at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Unfortunately, when I graduated the economy crashed and very few agencies and companies were hiring, so I decided to take the leap and started to build my own freelance design business.

Starting out freelancing right after college is definitely not the easiest path, but you quickly learn more than just design skills. I freelanced for about 3 years full-time and then after moving to Arizona, I got a job working as a graphic designer for the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Scottsdale. Art and design have obviously been one of my biggest passions, but I also grew up very involved in the community. I volunteered a lot as well as becoming a Big Sister in college for Big Brothers Big Sisters in Ohio.

So when I saw this opportunity to work for the Boys & Girls Clubs, I knew I could combine my two passions of design and making a difference. After almost 4 years of working there, I decided it was time to go back to building my business again. It has been exciting to see how much Pace Creative Design Studio has flourished in the last 3 years since focusing on it full-time again.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Running a business is not easy, but it is really rewarding at the same time. My biggest struggle has always been the elusive “work-life balance.” I’m a workaholic, which at times can be a good thing.

I’m lucky that I have chosen a career path that I absolutely love, but sometimes I put so much into it that it leads to over stress and burn out. Not to mention, not spending enough time with my family and friends. I’m about to enter a new chapter in my life because my husband and I are expecting our first child in May. So I will be really focusing on achieving a better work-life balance.

Another one of my struggles has been my confidence. I’m at the point in my career where I am redefining myself as a designer and it has been difficult figuring that out. I am in an industry that is full of inspiring creatives (especially other women who own their own design business) that I really admire and I am impressed with what they are creating.

But sometimes constantly looking at what others are doing leads to self-doubt and questioning your ability to do what they do. I think we all experience this at some point (and most likely several different points throughout our careers) but I think that is why it is important to surround yourself with people who support you and can be your cheerleader when you are down and even when you are up.

Pace Creative Design Studio – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Pace Creative Design Studio helps passionate people and businesses make an impact with design. As a one-woman studio, I specialize in brand design and surface design. I truly take pride in hand-crafting unique designs for each of my clients.

Most of the projects I work on focus on brand design – designing logos, icons, brand patterns and brand collateral. I have worked with a variety of business from entrepreneurs to dentists to other small businesses, to create their visual brand identity from scratch. I love being able to dig deep into each business and learn all about their goals, core values, passions and more. All of those things are important to know because they dictate the design decisions for creating a successful visual brand design.

The other part of my business is surface design – licensing, selling or creating custom patterns, illustrations or artwork to companies. One of the biggest highlights of 2017 was having Target license two of my greeting card designs. So now I can walk into any Target store in the country and buy a greeting card that I designed. It has been one of my proudest moments in my career so far and I can’t wait to see what is next.

I think one of the things that sets Pace Creative apart from other design businesses is that my clients work directly with me. Design is my passion and I believe that great design expresses your passion. So it is my mission to create a great design for the people I work with. I’ve been creating all my life – painting, drawing, designing – it is in my DNA, and I bring that creativity and passion into every project that I work on.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
For me, success is a multiple level scale. At the base level, to run a successful business, it needs to be making money. I need to be able to help provide for my family, to pay bills and to just be able to live the life I want to live. If I wasn’t making any money than this would just be a hobby and there would be nothing wrong with that, I would just have to be doing something different in my career.

The other markers that I look at when I determine success are actually the ones that I value the most. Am I enjoying what I am doing? Do I still feel passionate about the work that I am creating? Do I feel like I am making an impact? Are people responding positively to my work? Answering yes to those questions makes me feel successful.

I am also a very goal driven person, so looking at the goals that I have achieved each year defines success for me. Having my designs in Target was one of my biggest goals and dreams (and I honestly thought it wouldn’t happen for a couple of years), so achieving that milestone last year has made me feel pretty successful. But when I achieve one goal that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop. I look at it as stepping stone to the next one and I have some big goals and dreams for my future!

I will constantly be redefining what success looks like for me and most importantly I try not to equate my personal success to how others define it.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.pacecreativedesign.com
• Email: jennifer@pacecreativedesign.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/pacecreative
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/PaceCreativeDesign
• Twitter: www.twitter.com/_pacecreative

Image Credit:
Julie Griffin Photography (www.jgriffinphotography.com/work)

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