Client Success Story: Where There is a Need

There's a wonderful testimony on my website that says, "Always remember to consider first the businesses that give where there is a need." Tinia Creamer, president of Heart of Phoenix Horse Rescue gave me a glowing review, and I'll forever be appreciative for the new business it has brought my way. So what did I do to receive such wonderful praise from someone who should be praised herself for her own work of rescuing neglected and abused equines?

When I started freelancing, I sought out opportunities to help organizations who truly needed the work. I didn't do it for the exposure or the credit. I did it because it was a way I could help a cause close to my heart. The wonderful thing is that it resulted in a wave of new clients who heard about what I had done, and I never expected it. It all started when I was reading one of my favorite equine magazines. I am very involved in the horse community (in case you hadn't noticed!) and have done a lot of graphic work for many horse farms, teams and organizations. I came across an article about a horse rescue in West Virginia called Heart of Phoenix. Their logo immediately jumped out at me. I could feel the passion of the organization's efforts, and really wanted to help their logo reflect that passion. I wanted to know the story of why this particular horse's photo was reflected within the logo. I thought to myself, an organization that selflessly does this kind of work deserves an amazing logo, and I’m going to give them that if they’ll let me. I reached out to the organization's president, Tinia Creamer, and offered my services. Organizations don’t always accept my help for many reasons, but Tinia jumped at the opportunity and was wonderful to work with. She explained to me the story behind the logo and the name of the rescue (Phoenix was was a horse who came to the rescue early on, and sadly could not be saved). The only images of Phoenix were of her last days, and despite being weak and malnourished (as a gross understatement), she was a beautiful horse. I wanted to capture her spirit, which was now free, as a phoenix is reborn from the ashes.

The original logo for Heart of Phoenix, shown below.

The new logo reflecting Phoenix's brown, black, and white colors. Phoenix was a beautiful horse and using full colors, rather than black and white, helped to reflect that beauty.

After the logo was finalized, I began to rework the website. Since it was such a great resource for information on horse rescues and adoptions, an extensive site map was needed. It was also very important to have a prominent "Donate" button, since as a non-profit they rely heavily on donations. We also included several items the rescue was in need of, and the goal amount for these items. We also provided links to PDF forms/applications for those who wish to volunteer, adopt, or foster.

As I worked tirelessly on this website (coded by hand, and finished within a few days), Tinia was with me every step of the way, supplying everything I asked for including high resolution images and videos for the website. It's not often that I get such beautiful imagery to work with when working on websites, let alone non-profit websites. It's a designer's dream to have such photos to work with.

Once the website was launched, I started receiving inquiries about logos and websites for other people across the US. The organization is based in West Virginia, and I was receiving calls from other neighboring states, and then their neighboring states. I wasn't expecting the exposure, I was just helping an organization in need, and it was one of the best decisions I ever made.

In addition to helping Heart of Phoenix, I had the opportunity to create the logo for the new farm they moved the horses to this year, Mulligan Farm. As a mulligan is a "do-over" in golf, this farm is a "do-over" for many of these horses who had led lives full of abuse and neglect, and are adopted to new loving homes. I was happy to work with Stephanie Davis, who worked tirelessly with Heart of Phoenix volunteers to make the new farm ready for horses.

So while this experience helped my small freelancing business to grow years ago, I'm still receiving new clients who have seen the work from Heart of Phoenix. And I would do it all over again even if it never brought me a new client, because it was such a deserving organization. And I'll continue to search for organizations in need of work as a way to give back to the community. Check out the news coverage on Heart of Phoenix and their relocation to Mulligan Farm on their website, www.wvhorserescue.org.