Studio H Can Provide Full Advertising Services
Hara Fernandes started Studio H in February 1991 as a part-time business.
The full-service advertising agency, specializing in print design, has grown to include two other employees and to serve clients such as the Rockwood Clinic. One of the company’s jobs is designing an international publication for the airline industry.
Studio H is located at 412 E. Sherman Ave., Suite 104, in downtown Coeur d’Alene. The business can be reached at 765-6593.
Fernandes responded to the following questions about her business: Q. How was this business started?
A. I started Studio H in February 1991 as a part-time enterprise. At the time, I was employed full time at Alamo Rent-A-Car in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., in the company’s in-house advertising agency. A love of graphic design motivated me to work harder on what I love. Eventually I left Alamo, but the company liked my work and continued to use me as a free-lance artist until the time when I moved with my husband to Coeur d’Alene. I worked for Coldwater Creek at first, eventually becoming art director for a Spokane advertising agency. Seeking greater control over my professional life, I turned Studio H into a full-time endeavor in August 1996.
Q. How many employees do you have?
A. Two. Shelly Croswhite has been with Studio H since February 1999 and has recently been promoted to art director. Shelly is an awardwinning designer. My husband, Charles, has recently joined Studio H as account executive and copywriter. Most recently, Charles was business editor for the North Idaho Business Journal and the Coeur d’Alene Press. Charles is an award-winning journalist.
Q. Please give some examples of the type of clients you serve and the type of projects you have produced for them.
A. Rockwood Clinic has been our client since we opened. We design all of its brochures and booklets; we design its quarterly newsletter; and we created and maintain its Web site. We’ve created many publications, posters, identity packages, etc., and we are responsible for the design of Airways, an 80-page monthly international publication about the commercial airline industry. You can see samples of our work at http:/ /www.studio-h.com.
Q. What growth has your company experienced?
A. Hara was sole owner and employee from August 1996 until 1998. In 1998, Hara hired her first designer, and after Shelly was hired on, there were two employees, until the first left for the East Coast to attend college. Propelled by steady growth, the in-home business moved to a 400-square-foot office space in downtown Coeur d’Alene in May. Q. What is your target market, in terms of customers?
A. Any company in need of materials to help promote themselves. Once a company chooses us to be its design firm, we identify its target market, conduct market research, determine how best to reach its customers and design the advertising material accordingly.
Q. What plans do you have for expansion?
A. With the addition of Charles as account executive, we hope to expand our customer base and add at least two more designers within the next six months.
Q. What is your biggest challenge?
A. Growing our client base to ensure consistent work volume.
Q. How much has the Internet impacted advertising and in what way?
A. The Internet has created a demand for Web-site design and maintenance, thus spawning a new service that agencies must offer. However, the Internet is simply a medium to reach a broad audience and another tool companies can add to their print collateral and broadcast advertising. The best marketing mix depends upon the company, the product or service offered and the desired outcome (i.e. increase in sales, name recognition, etc.).
Q. Given the impact of technology on your industry, what skills does a successful person in your business need to master?
A. In graphic design, the most important skill to master is not taught or learned. It is having a sense of design. This means instinctively knowing what looks good and what doesn’t. Following that, a designer should be trained on a Macintosh computer and learn Quark XPress, Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Photoshop. With those three software programs mastered, the design possibilities are endless.
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