Meet Katie Kassel

Education & Experience

College

I attended college at Iowa State University in Ames, IA, and graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design.

Editorial Debut

I interned at Meredith Corporation in Des Moines, IA, working for Better Homes & Gardens Special Interest Publications. I stayed on as a contributing designer post internship.

I had a front row seat to the whole editorial design process. Including but not limited to location scouting, photo culling, magazine design and layout, pre-press and press checks, photoshoots, working with editors and also within a small team at a huge corporation.

Small Nonprofit Office

After a move to Rochester, MN, I worked as the  Graphic/Web Designer and Communication Coordinator at the American Association of Neuromuscular and Electrodiagnostic Medicine (AANEM). I got my first taste of web design and website management. I also designed events and dense educational manuals for physician CMEs.

Corporate Team Player

My next role was in-house Graphic Designer at HDR, Inc in Omaha, NE.

I quickly learned to created large volumes of federal proposals, technical maps, and internal brand items. While mastering presentations, internal branding, and print design, I was introduced to WordPress and begin running an internal blog. This was the moment!

Agency Aficionado

I made the jump to focus on digital marketing and web design as a Graphic Designer, and later Art Director, at B² Interactive (now Hurrdat Marketing) in Omaha, NE.

I had a front row seat to every aspect of agency life—sales and business development, account management, graphic design, website development, SEO best practices, prioritzing content management.

This is where I really grasped how to create a cohesive strategy and learned how to articulate that strategy to others.

Auditing prospective clients’ brands and websites then offering ways to improve those properties followed by designing, developing, and launching, gave me the confidence to do my own thing.

Freelance Adventures

Creating a small graphic design business—now Kassel Creative—to provide custom design was the next step. It has not been without its challenges, but I get to work with the most creative, smart, interesting, hard-working entrepreneurs and small businesses.