Company:
Spot Color
Chantilly, Virginia

Business:
Design studio

Staff:
7 Full-Time

System:
Clients & Profits Classic 3.2
Macintosh
AppleShare

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s a visual design major at George Washington University, Jennifer Sterling knew she wanted to run her own design studio. She started her studio, Spot Color, during her senior year at GWU while working nights and weekends for the World Bank Group's in-house design studio running lino film and typesetting. In those days she'd work from 3 pm to 1 am after classes at the bank, then turned her remaining nights and weekends over to her own clients.

Jennifer thought Spot Color was a perfect name for her studio -- it tells clients that they will get exactly what they are looking for. (A "spot color" refers to an exact color match during offset printing. It is used by designers and printers to specify exactly what colors the clients will see on their printed pieces.) In 1992, Spot Color was headquartered in her basement. Like many new studios, Jennifer started her shop with a Macintosh Quadra 800, a box of Pantone markers, stacks of sketch pads, a fax machine (a gift from one of her first clients, which she still uses) ... and lots of junk food.

"Chief Spot"

For five years Jennifer juggled freelance work plus her job at the World Bank, where she had become one of the main designers.

The pace was grueling, and by 1997 she was ready leave the corporate world and devote herself to Spot Color. She did, and the studio thrived. She quickly hired a graphic designer and an illustrator, then added four more and an intern over the next couple of years. By November 1999, the studio moved from the now-crowded basement and into an office. ("Wow! Our own space!" Jennifer recalls.) Like most studio owners, Jennifer is known by lots of titles (e.g., "President," "The Big Cheese," "Art Director," "Hey You," etc.). But clients know her simply as the "Chief Spot." Spot Color now tackles a full range of creative work, from corporate identification packages to web site design, annual reports to rock concert t-shirts. Clients include large companies involved in internet development, international finance, business consulting, and airline publications. Spot Color also works with small companies in publishing, direct mail, and education. And they do pro bono work for local community programs, as well as the Nigerian Democracy Organization, International Adoption Agency, and Fire & Rescue Station.

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