Today we’d like to introduce you to Sherry Kashani.
Sherry, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I always knew at a young age that I wanted to be an artist. My parents enrolled me in art classes thinking that it would just be a hobby. I later told my parents that I want to move to Paris and become a famous artist like Picasso. My dad’s response was “you will never make any money as an artist and you won’t become famous until you are dead.” Trusting what my parents said, I decided to enroll in an advertising course.
It seemed the next best thing to being an artist plus it could be a lucrative career. Our first project was to come up with a TV commercial for Snapple Iced Tea. We had to create storyboards of the actual TV spot and rename a new iced tea flavor. I still remember how excited I was sketching out the storyboards. To my surprise, the instructor decides to present my commercial campaign in front of the class as the best concept she has seen.
That summer after I graduated, I turn on the TV to see that my commercial idea was playing in front of me for Snapple Iced Tea. The name of the iced tea was slightly altered but the commercial concept was exactly mine. I could not believe it, I didn’t know back then that my instructor must have submitted the concept to the ad agency. I believe that was the moment in my life that I had that aha moment, I realized that I have a natural talent and a creative eye for design.
After graduating from UCLA, I worked in an ad agency for about 10 years. I worked my way up from an assistant to the creative director to becoming a senior art director. They paid for me to go back to school at the Art Center in Pasadena to get my design degree.
But during the recession of 2009, I got laid off. I decided at that point that it was a good idea to start my own business. I had gained enough experience and I knew that I could be successful at it with a few small clients that I had gained over the years. My parents again urged me to get a stable job. But I knew that this time around, I was ready to start building my own destiny. Today, I have built a growing boutique design agency that is located in Beverly Hills, CA.
We have been in business for over 9 years with clients all over the U.S. and across the globe. We have worked with clients like Disney to Cisco Systems. We currently staff other graphic designers and are ready to grow the business to even more heights.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It was not a smooth road starting out. My inspiration to start my own business was actually due to do something one of my professor’s at UCLA told me. She said that because I was a woman, I could never be a successful business owner. She said that I should just get a job working for an advertising agency. That it was a safe bet.
Her words stuck with me and actually motivated me to prove her notion wrong and to challenge myself that it was actually possible to be a woman and successful as a business owner. Thankfully I am blessed to have a multitude of female role models in my life that have built successful businesses. With their guidance and my tenacity, I was able to actualize my dream.
Please tell us about Kashani Design Group.
IDENTITY IS THE FUEL THAT DRIVES YOUR BRAND.
Kashani Design Group is a boutique design firm specializing in strategic development, design, communication and execution of the brand. Whatever the challenge, Kashani Design Group develops a unique solution that puts the brand experience at the core of its strategy.
STRATEGY… what you see is a strategy.
We partner with our clients to get to the heart of their brands, defining brand identities and navigating them effectively through the market. Strategic positioning, solid structure, expert market and consumer insights and sustainable innovation work together to ensure the growth of your brand.
DESIGN… from the big picture to the smallest detail.
We bring the identity of your brand to life by creating the experiences your customers engage with. The success of a design is built on the clarity of your brand. We begin our design process by thoroughly understanding who you are, defining what’s unique about you and what impression you want to communicate to the market. We design identities, interfaces, and experiences for organizations seeking to build their brands and implement them in visual and physical environments.
COMMUNICATION: Your identity is the fundamental message.
We design the visual and the verbal. As much as colors, shapes and structures, the words you choose and the tone in which you speak them to convey your brand. We extend your identity to branded forms of language by defining an understandable and ownable voice that resonates through all forms of communication. We develop messaging platforms that define what you offer and the audiences you want to address. We ensure consistency in telling your story across all possible touch points to establish a permanent idea about your business that lasts long after the content is read.
If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
Nothing. I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. I learned a lot of tough life lessons along the way, but they were all worth it. I am a better business owner because of it. Nothing good comes easy…
Contact Info:
- Address: 9595 Wilshire Boulevard Suite 900 Beverly Hills, CA 90212
- Website: http://www.kashanidesign.com/
- Phone: 310.300.8414
- Email: hello@kashanidesign.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kashanidesign/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kashanidesigngroup/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/kashanidesign
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