2019: A Year of Firsts

2019 has been a year of firsts. Tessa De Jong Design launched early in the year, my husband and I both graduated from college and started full-time jobs in May, and I ran my first 10k in the fall (for an event brand I designed, too!). We traveled to Europe for the first time and a week after arriving back in the States, we closed on our first home. It’s been quite a year, but we’re welcoming every new season the Lord brings us to with open arms.

I’ve grown as a designer and business owner, as I’ve been stretched and challenged with each new project. In 2019, I created my brand, built my website, and started to plant seeds for where I hope to go with TDD! As I grew, I polished my services and worked to implement a streamlined design process that works well for my clients and me. It’s now the end of December and as I sit here typing the last blog post of 2019, I’m amazed at how quickly this year has come and gone.

Before the new year dreaming and goal setting takes my attention, I want to take a few minutes to look back on the amazing clients I was able to work with this year on incredible projects.

Below I’m giving you and inside look into the highlights!

Summer Celebration

Near the beginning of 2019, I was hired to redesign the logo for our local summer festival. After meeting with the client, it was clear that our main goal was to simplify the current logo while still keeping a summer-fun energy within the design. You can read more about the redesign process here.

Harvest Half

Another project booked at the beginning of 2019—designing the logo for the annual Half Marathon road race that was set to launch in the fall! What’s even more special is that I ended up registering for the race myself and running my first ever 10k. See the full logo suite presented here.

Classroom to Career

Classroom to Career is a program that supports local educators and businesses. The program’s focus is to provide an opportunity for school staff and administrators to see what is going on outside of the classroom, and to help in business recruitment and retaining employees. See the full project here.

The Gathering

This logo concept is for a Chicago-based ministry’s annual “Gathering” event. Business leaders from all over come together to better understand what it means to lead a business from God’s perspective.

Lizzy’s Sweet Treats

Ahh! This project was a sweet end to 2019. Working with my talented sister-in-law was such a dream + seeing her joy as I presented the full brand concept made it even sweeter. She also made history as my first “zero-revisions” client project. I wrote a separate blog post where you can read the creative brief and view the full brand.

One Vision Haiti

This project is so dear to my heart! In 2020 I plan to cover this brand in a blog post and share more behind-the-scenes of the redesign process, but for now you can read more about One Vision and see the branding in action on their website and portfolio page.

And that’s it for 2019, friends! It’s always good to look back and be reminded of all that has happened in just one year. I’m excited for the year ahead and have some fun content scheduled for the blog. Stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes, business/design educational posts, and brand design case studies!