Visionary Vehicle Works

Brand Manager/ Graphic Designer- Visionary Vehicle Works

In March 2025, while still in New York, I was hired to help launch a startup automotive garage. The company was founded by three men who needed someone to establish their brand identity from the ground up. My role included designing the logo, building the website, and creating marketing collateral such as flyers, branded merchandise, and banners. Working closely through briefs and team meetings, we shaped the brand’s visual direction to reflect their mission: breaking away from the automotive stereotype of being untrustworthy or "too corporate".

I helped shape a brand aesthetic that challenged negative industry stereotypes and instead positioned the company as a trusted, small-town garage. The final look offered approachability to resonate with the easy-going Midwestern customer, while being raw yet approachable, breaking from the polished corporate look.

Soon after, I was promoted and was given ownership of the social media accounts. My responsibilites included running paid ads, analyzing performance data, generating content, polishing account bios, engaging with similar accounts, and responding to comments and direct messages.

Website building
via Squarespace

I was tasked with building Visionary Vehicle Works’ website on Squarespace. I started by creating a sitemap and sent it to the VVW Team for reviewing. After, I found commercially usable photos that fit the brand’s aesthetic, designed a megamenu with subpages, and wrote all copy in a casual tone. Website building is a timely task, but with the help of Squarespace chatbot agents and some quick Google searches, I was able to troubleshoot every question and achieve the results I envisioned. (Have I mentioned how grateful I am for Google?)

After multiple rounds of revising, I ensured the website aligned with VVW’s vision. Feel free to check it out: www.visionaryvehicleworks.com

VVW Brand Book

Brand Book 1

Brand Book 2

Brand Book 9

Brand Book 1

1/9

Father's Day Campaign

Overview

This design style takes inspiration from 1980s editorial magazine ads. Brands like Volkswagen, Porsche, and Apple popularized the look, often pairing it with the classic Garamond typeface. The goal here is to evoke nostalgia for individuals aged 45–60—the likely audience purchasing a detailing service as a Father’s Day gift for their dad, who may be older and less able to clean his truck himself.

Our non-measurable goals included testing the effectiveness of Instagram ads for our business, building customer relationships, strengthening brand awareness, and introducing the brand to the local community.

Our KPI goals included:
25 message conversations by 6/7
6 interior detail bookings by 6/7

Views: 2,140

Reach: 1,314

Ad duration: 5/29/25 - 6/8/25

Ad spend: $59.76 over 10 days

Conversion goal: 6 bookings

Conversion: 0 bookings

Messaging conversations started goal: 25

Messaging conversations started: 10

Cost per messaging conversation: $11.95

Women: 28.5%. Men: 70.7%. Non-binary: 0.8%

Location reached: Minnesota only

Results from Father's Day Campaign

Instagram ads may not feel personal enough for local-minded customers.

Customers who prefer to spend their money locally may not connect with ads on Instagram, as the platform can feel impersonal compared to traditional, community-based marketing.

Older target audience is less responsive to online ads.

The demographic we aimed to reach (gift-buyers for Father’s Day, often ages 45–60) is less likely to engage with Meta ads. They may respond better to physical marketing such as flyers, postcards, or local newspaper ads.

Delano 4th of July Parade

Branded Promotional Swag Handouts

Visionary Vehicle Works signed up to participate in the Delano Parade. This is the largest parade in the state, which attracts between 10,000 and 15,000 attendees. This provided a major opportunity to showcase the brand to a wide audience and engage directly with the community. As you can imagine, the stakes were pretty high!

I was tasked to design t-shirts, flyers, banners, custom microfibers, and business cards. I was given a budget and was sourced these items. I counted back time to ensure delivery deadlines were met, leaving room to reorder or return in case of errors. Additionally, I prepared all Adobe files for print with correct specs and bleed. I coordinated with B2B vendors to confirm production timelines and quality standards, often requesting samples for review. Lastly, I tracked expenses to ensure the project stayed within budget, while filing receipts for tax purposes.

At the parade, we handed out 200 swag bags with branded microfibers, mints, and flyers with coupons. Our final product is shown in the image to the right.

I ordered:

200 count 4"x6", 2 mil clear plastic bags
200 count 12"x12" 250 GSM branded microfibers
250 count 5.5" x 8.5" flyers
44 oz bag of Lifesaver mints

The total brought me right up to VVW's given budget.

Tri-fold Flyer Design

The VVW team and I held several meetings to develop the tri-fold flyer for the parade.

We asked ourselves these questions:

What do parade attendees need to know about VVW?
At what point in the flyer might we lose their attention?
How can we design it so attendees are compelled to pull the flyer out of their bag?
How will different generations interpret the information?
What information is most important, and what can we leave out?
How can we approach the design from the perspective of someone seeing VVW for the first time?
How do we create trust through a piece of paper?
What contact method is easiest for anyone of any age to reach out?

We constantly reminded ourselves that parade audience didn’t have the same knowledge we did. We had to approach the tri-fold design from the perspective of someone experiencing VVW for the very first time.

Parade Float Signage

One of my biggest design challenges was creating a 12-foot by 2.5-foot horizontal banner, far outside my usual vertical 8.5" by 11" flyer format.

Structured the banner into thirds for visual appeal
Used high-contrast colors for easy reading
Applied bold fonts for better visibility
Included a photo for quick, easy recognition
Incorporated the logo for additional brand recognition

This project pushed me out of my comfort zone, knowing it would be seen by nearly 15,000 people. It strengthened my ability to adapt to new challenges!

Parade KPIs (7/4-8/4):

30-day KPI post parade results:

129 inquiries

98 service inquiries by phone
19 service inquiries by email
12 service inquiries through Squarespace

18 services completed

5 coupons redeemed
18 service jobs completed

The parade investment of $760 was recouped within just two weeks, allowing VVW to break even quickly while generating significant brand exposure. This translates to an average cost of approximately $5.89 per inquiry.

Photography

I handle all photography for Visionary Vehicle Works, shooting with my Canon and a 50mm lens. While my shots aren't always perfect, this setup allows me to capture the shots we need, when we need them. I then edit in Adobe Lightroom, often adding grain and a B&W filter to adhere to VVW’s brand image. On occasion, I bring images into Photoshop for additional cleanup.