Testimonials

Delighting clients is our passion.

Our work is designed to create longstanding relationships with clients. Here are what a few of them had to say. (We don’t like to brag on ourselves, but we’re happy to let our clients do it for us!)


I worked with Karen on our latest issue of the Carolina Day Magazine, and she was a dream. Not only were her designs beautiful and original, but she worked quickly and efficiently on a very short timeline. We knew we needed someone who would do quick, meticulous, and thoughtful work, and Karen delivered in all areas. She took on communications with our printer for us, which was such a huge load off of our minds. Her eye-catching work reflected the personality of our copy so well, and we've gotten nothing but praise for the final product. I cannot recommend working with Karen enough.

—Caitlyn Taylor, Marketing Communications Coordinator, Carolina Day School

Where do I start!? I could genuinely write a book on how essential it has been to have km design working on our projects. We have been using their services since 2020 to help refresh our advertising, strengthen our branding and tagline, develop an incredible view book that tells our school story, and complete some important work to refine the language in our mission statement. They offer innovative ideas and creative custom solutions while never losing sight of our school’s mission and core beliefs. Along with the guidance they provide from start to finish, their response time and their flexibility (yes, these pandemic years have required a lot of flexibility) have provided us with peace of mind in knowing we have a team dedicated to taking care of our needs. Without hesitation, we would recommend km design many times over!

—Sarah Goldstein, Director of Marketing Communications, Carolina Day School

Karen was wonderful to work with in the creation of our new view book for Carolinas College of Health Sciences (CCHS). Her attention to detail was excellent and her eye for design exceptional. What I found most beneficial was how she listened to what we were looking for and so wonderfully captured the essence of our college.

—Hampton Hopkins, Ed.D; President, Carolinas College of Health Sciences

Karen is an excellent designer, very professional, very skilled at translating ideas into stimulating and engaging visuals. She has gone above and beyond for us coordinating our projects from start to finish, bringing in quality writing to help us bridge gaps. She also will jump in at a moment’s notice if she can to get us out of a bind.

—Rolando Rivas, Director of Marketing & Communications, Belmont Abbey College

I had the pleasure of working with Karen on a corporate social responsibility report, and I can confidently say she is an exceptional graphic designer who goes above and beyond to deliver outstanding results. I was impressed by Karen's ability to handle all aspects of the project, from design/layout and photo selection to providing quality feedback throughout the entire process. Even when we faced unexpected challenges with client feedback and shifting timelines, Karen remained calm, flexible and dedicated to producing a final product that met the highest standards of excellence.

What distinguishes Karen from other designers are her strong copywriting and editing skills, which she generously shared throughout the process. Her insightful critiques and suggestions helped improve the quality of my writing and made the final product stronger. Karen's collaborative mindset and positive attitude made working with her an absolute pleasure.

I highly recommend Karen to anyone seeking a talented and dedicated graphic designer who will bring creativity, expertise and professionalism to every project. I look forward to working with her again in the future!

—Philip Tate, Principal, Philip Tate Strategic Communications, LLC

Karen brings so much to the table when working on creative projects. First of all, she asks good questions when we meet with clients, so we’re able to get started with plenty of clarity. Her account management ability makes sure projects run smoothly and stay true to their briefs. She takes large-scale projects from inception through production with incredible efficiency. Clients depend on her, and she gives them peace of mind.

As a collaborator, she’s excellent, helping me flesh out headlines and copy as well as anyone I’ve ever worked with. She also engages me in her design process, so we can deliver marketing materials that are relevant and compelling to each audience. I’ve worked with her for many years and on a variety of projects. Her design versatility allows her to create work that is on-brand for each client.

Thankfully, in addition to all of her talent, Karen is a pleasure to work with – always kind, helpful and generous. I’ve worked with hundreds of people over the years, and there’s nothing I value more than working with true professionals who make the process enjoyable.

—Jim Stadler, Attention Spans, Principal, Brand strategist and copywriter

Karen joined my team as lead designer on an ongoing, plain-language initiative for a Fortune 500 bank. After completing the corporation’s brand certification workshop, she hit the ground running, designing a multitude of customer-facing pieces with efficiency and accuracy. Karen has an excellent eye for detail AND design, making her a rare creative asset. She’s flexible, organized and offers valuable input. Maybe most importantly, she’s a team player and a pleasure to work with. You can’t go wrong hiring Karen!

—Deborah Bosley, Principal, The Plain Language Group

My firm worked with Karen to create a warm and professional intro to our company through a Client Welcome packet. Throughout the process Karen was patient and provided expert design and project management support. The end product is above and beyond what we had envisioned and we are already receiving raves from our clients and advisors alike!

—Erin Haubner, Director of Operations, Summit Financial Group

km design was great to work with producing our latest issue of UNC Pembroke's alumni magazine, UNCP Today. We were looking to modernize our publication and worked with km design to refresh the look and feel. The end result is a fresh, new magazine that tells our story and is a great representation of our brand!

—Jodi Phelps, Executive Director of University Communications and Marketing, UNC Pembroke

The Annual Report was a big deal for us. It marked the end of one journey and the beginning of another. km design understood how important it was to keep the fundraising energy going with donors. What they delivered was far beyond our expectations, and everyone was blown away.

—Jenna Westbrook, Executive Director, Union Academy Foundation

Karen is a true pro. What a valuable resource she is as freelance support to our creative agency. Karen helped support our team during an especially busy time when we were short-staffed. There were multiple pieces of technology, systems, and style guides to learn in a short period of time, and she sailed through it all, quickly getting up to speed with all of the intricacies of our client.

The work Karen produced was top-notch and demonstrated a keen sense of layout and typography. All executed within a super fast-paced environment, and requiring minimal direction.

Oh, and she is a really nice person, too! She got along beautifully with the rest of the team, right from the beginning.

I look forward to working with Karen again!

—Judy Curtis, Associate Creative Director, PureRED

Karen was a godsend – working onsite for us while two of our art directors were on vacation. She picked things up quickly and worked well with our team. I wouldn't hesitate to call her again and look forward to working with her in the future.

—Heather Nikoncyk, Traffic Manager, BooneOakley

We really enjoy working with Karen. The km design team is always professional and really takes the time to listen, so they can capture the essence of the message we are trying to convey. At Carolinas College, we appreciate the responsiveness, quality and creativity that km design offers. We value our relationship with them.

—Karen Alexander Lewis, Ed.D; Dean, Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, Carolinas College of Health Sciences

In 2017 we decided we wanted to take our alumni magazine to a new level and with that we needed a new designer. It was recommended to me that we ask Karen to tackle the redesign and all editions moving forward. Wow - am I glad we did. The magazine has a completely new feel and level of professionalism - and each edition just keeps getting better.

I think one of her strongest assets is that she truly listens to her clients. Of course, we met prior to the first redesign to share our overall vision, but we also meet after each edition to debrief and plan for the next one. She listens to any suggestions or areas that we'd like adjusted and also shares her thoughts and suggestions from a design perspective.

I highly recommend Karen McElmoyle for any graphic design projects. She is great!

—Ruthie Mihal, Manager of Alumni Relations & Development, Carolinas College of Health Sciences

Over the past three years, Karen has been instrumental in creating and launching the Town of Harrisburg's brand identity. Her creative expertise and responsiveness to the town's input and needs has paved the way for a seamless partnership. Karen works with our staff at all levels of the organization and has coordinated with our vendors on execution and production of her designs. In all cases, she's represented town interests with the utmost professionalism. She's sensitive to budgetary requirements, proactive in seeking creative solutions and flexible to client input regarding design decisions. Karen has been and continues to be a critical member of our communications and marketing team, and I feel confident recommending her to future clients.

—Ann Gibson, Communications Specialist, Town of Harrisburg, NC

Karen did a great job designing our annual report, and working with our staff to bring a lot of disparate elements together to create one cohesive document. One board member said, ‘I think this digital annual report is one of the most attractive, focused and readable I have seen. The graphics, layout, pictures and text are superb, and most important, it is “on message.’ Congratulations to you and your colleagues for your work on the report, and to the whole staff for the work featured in the report.

—Cordelia Anderson, Director of Marketing & Communications, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

I found out about Karen's work through Charlotte Mecklenburg Library. I had a special project and wanted to hire an outside firm to help. Due to her work with CML, I contacted Karen. She was responsive, offered great insight and had a strong copywriter that she worked with to help make the piece as concise and emotionally appealing as possible. The end project was professional and well-received by my CEO, Library staff and external stakeholders. It's a piece we'll be able to use for a while. Working with Karen was a pleasure!

—Kimberly Crowder; Director, Communications for Indianapolis Public Library

I have worked extensively with Karen McElmoyle through our corporation’s rebranding process. Karen developed not only a new logo to represent the new era of our company, but also designed all of our stationary materials, website, and brochures to give our company the fresh perspective we were looking for. Her creativity is truly exceptional and she was a pleasure to work...

—Ashley Packard, former Marketing Specialist, Boomerang Design

I have had the pleasure of working with Karen for the past 6 years both as a client and as a colleague. I continue to be impressed with her ability to bring great concepts to life. Her designs are thoughtful, eye-catching and impactful. She has also been able to provide unique solutions to very challenging design request. She is a joy to work with!

—Stacie Lowry, VP, Client Services & Digital Operations, Tivoli Partners

Karen brought great success to our rebranding process. Although she has a very calm demeanor, we learned to greatly appreciate the passion and talent she brings. Through her exceptional graphic design and inspiring integrated identity work, she far exceeded our expectations.

—Rob Johnson, Principal, Boomerang Design

Karen’s professionalism as a creative advisor for our library's fundraising efforts has been unmatched. Developing Charlotte Mecklenburg Library's annual fund campaign message and accompanying inserts for the holiday giving season has set the pace for an exceptional year of fundraising. I appreciate her quick response to all of my inquiries, and look forward to our continued successful working relationship. I wholeheartedly endorse Karen as a marketing expert who employs a customer-focused approach tailored to an organization's unique needs.

—Michael Lambert, former Library Manager, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

I have had the pleasure of working with Karen on several projects. She consistently provides creative designs that capture the essence of the product or service. I can always count on her to provide me with honest feedback and a willingness to listen. I highly recommend her work!

—Yvonne Levine, Principal and Marketing Strategist, YGL Enterprises, Inc.

I've had the pleasure of working with Karen for more than 15 years. Her designs are clean, elegant and strategically sound. She truly understands the magic of blending the message with the visuals to create great work for clients. Karen is especially gifted when it comes to branding. She designed Tivoli's logo, which instantly communicates who we are (partners working side-by-side, while paying homage to our Italian heritage). She's also a delight to work with—smart, flexible and fun!

—Lisa Bell, Owner and Creative Director, Tivoli Partners

Despite the number of designers soliciting work, good designers are hard to find. I'm glad to have found Karen. She has teriffic design sensibilities that are innate and then honed over years in the corporate/agency environment. She's a well-grounded professional. And she's intent on hitting her client's objectives rather than adhering to her own agenda, so the outcome is more certain to hit the mark. She's done great work for my company and I will use her services again without hesitation.

—Kevin Carlisle, Owner, Perfect Image

Karen has assisted us with conceptual ideas, design, initial implementation and quarterly production of our newsletter. Each quarter we receive outstanding reviews from employees, clients and others about the professionalism and quality of the newsletter. Karen is wonderful to work with and brings a passion for excellence to the project each time. She will keep you organized, on track and on budget.

—Tony Griffin, Vice President, Griffin Masonry, Inc.

Karen has great marketing insight and skills — especially with corporate identity and design work — to create solutions that are both meaningful and strategic.

—Mark Harrison, Principal, Opus 59 Creative Group

Not only did KM Design produce a striking image for my company, they also were easy to work with, innovative, responsive and imaginative. I cannot imagine working with another graphic design firm.

—Deborah Bosley, Principal, The Plain Language Group

Karen isn’t just creative, she’s smart. I would recommend her for just about any design or branding project and look forward to working with her in the future.

—Bob Davies, Principal and Marketing Strategist, candescence

Karen provided us with design services for a major re-branding of our logo and identity package. We could tell from our first meeting that she would be very easy to work with and we felt comfortable trusting her with such an important process. Karen really delved into the details to understand our business in order to produce the right image. The result was a beautiful, clean and fresh new logo and collateral that appropriately reflects what we do and will help us stand out from our competitors. I would recommend her work without hesitation to anyone looking for similar services!

—Erika Petty, former Director of Marketing, EnviroAssessments

Having worked with Karen on several occasions in the past on a project basis, she was the first one we turned to when we were looking for someone to come in and help us on a more continual basis. Karen is so pleasant and easy to work with. You give her a task and she sees it through and then some. She just gets it. She was very accommodating with her schedule at a time when our shop was crazy busy. She took it in stride and got the work done; everything from design and layout to preparing mechanicals to making change after tedious change. She is a true professional and worked great with our team to get the job done no matter what was asked of her. I don’t know what we would have done without her and I look forward to the opportunity to work with her again.

—Shannon Boggess, former Senior Project Manager, HMH

Karen’s work is amazing. I keep coming back to her because she has a fresh, inviting style that is perfect for our organization, and she always does a great job of completing projects on time and within budget.

—Sarah Goldstein, Branch Marketing Specialist, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library

Karen is easy to work with and able to take a vague idea with little direction and create professional-looking pieces that work for the audience intended. I worked with Karen over the span of several months until I was able to hire a full-time graphic artist and I was consistently impressed with the quality of the work she produced and her ability to complete effective pieces quickly with minimal direction. Karen is a top-notch graphic artist.

—Amy Wright, Marketing Communications Director, Wastequip