Amanda D. Olson

In high school Amanda turned her nose up at the idea of creating artwork on the computer. While she excelled in the fine arts and won numerous awards, she never liked computers and she couldn't see how her artistry could be affected by the digital world. She never dreamed that graphic design would someday be a passion.

That digital world sneaked up on Amanda when she hired into a copy writing position in the marketing department of a mail order catalog company. She worked closely with the art department where the paper products and catalogs were designed and where the on-staff illustrators worked. Amanda soon transferred into the catalog department and learned the basics of page layout and all the programs and processes involved in the design and printing of a catalog.

Taking the tutorials and the technology and running with it, she soon surpassed even the manager in technical know-how when it came to sprucing up catalog art and photographs. Amanda knew then that she'd found her niche.

Since her days at the catalog company, Amanda has worked for high-end printers, small local printers, and as a freelance designer/illustrator. She never thought she'd see the day that she'd be cutting paychecks and delegating work to other artists, but as the owner of ADO Designs, she has found herself doing just that.

Running ADO Designs from her home so that she could better raise her children, Amanda started with only a few clients and occasional work. As the client base grew, she soon found herself in a more demanding position requiring her to recruit other artists and production people to help keep up with demand.

Amanda truly enjoys her work and can only smile when she thinks back on the young girl who once sniffed at the technology which has now become her livelihood.