Conversations with Tori Belle-Miller

Today, we’d like to introduce you to Tori Belle-Miller.

Hi Tori, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I fell in love with graphic design in college after taking a Magazine Design class. I really enjoyed working on the class assignments while other students complained about them.

To get myself as much design exposure and experience as possible, I secured two design-related internships — one with a local magazine in Columbia, MO, and another with a local media buying agency. After graduation, I landed my first “real” job with a financial company. My role involved creating marketing materials, landing pages, web graphics, etc., to promote VA loans and reverse mortgages.

After deciding to move back to North Carolina, I started doing volunteer design work to build my freelance graphic design business. Since then, I have worked in the nonprofit, education, and healthcare industries as a graphic designer while also freelancing.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
My freelance work has never been steady, so I’ve always worked full-time in the creative space as well.

I’ve considered freelancing full-time, but in the meantime, it’s been difficult to balance full-time work with freelancing, which has limited the growth of my freelance business.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I specialize in designing print collateral and signage, as well as branding, but I also create digital graphics and, occasionally, websites. Some of the work I am most proud of includes event-specific design work I have done for my current company.

It’s fun and satisfying to take an established (or newer) brand and watch it come alive through signage, environmental graphics, print materials, advertisements, swag, etc. I have a very clean aesthetic that I combine with unique, strong layouts.

If we knew you growing up, how would we have described you?
As a child, I was spunky, creative, fun-loving, and a bit sporty. I liked drawing, arts and crafts, making scrapbooks, singing, and listening to music.

Pricing:

• $75/hour
• Flat fee (per project basis).
• Require 50% deposit upfront.
• I either charge an hourly rate OR a flat fee per project, depending on the project

Contact Info:

• Website: www.vbmcreative.com
• Instagram: @vbmcreative
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/vbmcreative/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/victoriabellemiller

Image Credits
Marcello Aquino