Surface Pattern Design for Whitney English
Pattern Designs for Whitney English
Roughly seven months ago, I was pouring a ton of time & energy into my first few surface pattern collections when I came across a post on Instagram from someone I’d admired from afar for over a decade: Whitney English.
Whitney is the original creator of the brand Day Designer, which she later sold to Blue Sky (this is the manufacturer who creates a huge chunk of the planners & notebooks for Target). She was looking for a senior graphic designer to join her team, & I couldn’t help but wonder if it was a sign that I was supposed to get out of my comfort zone & start collaborating with other creatives.
As someone who’s run my own digital marketing business & brand for over a decade, it had been awhile since I’d worked for anyone else. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to fulfill the time commitment required to be a part-time member of her team, so I left the thought alone (initially, at least…).
A few nights later, I couldn’t sleep one night wondering if I should apply for the position. With over 15 years of experience designing templates & marketing tools for female creatives & small business owners, I had a lot of experience in the layout industry, and Whitney is the queen of organizational products & planners.
Oh, did I mention that we were also neighbors? Like, three streets away, ‘I could have launched a rock into a slingshot and hit her house’ neighbors. That was a strange coincidence that I just couldn’t shake. Whitney had no idea who I was or that we were neighbors, but this Nosy Rosie recognized her & her family pretty much immediately after they moved in (not in a creepy way, haha).
In the middle of the night, not being able to sleep, I told my husband, “I think I’m supposed to apply for this position.” The next day, I filled out an application.
A month or so went by without hearing anything else about the job, so I assumed they’d already found someone and put the thought out of sight and out of mind. Well, kind of, anyway. I’d see Whitney or her kids out & about around the neighborhood and was always curious if she’d found someone to collaborate on design projects yet.
Out of the blue, I got an email with the subject line of “Interview with Whitney English.” At first, I thought it was just an automated message from her email list or something. After clicking on it and reading further, I discovered that her team had taken the time to filter all the applicants for the design position, and they’d narrowed it down to three of us who were potential candidates.
A couple phone interviews later, I was joining Whitney’s Slack channel & diving into design projects head-first. (By the way, she didn’t find out we were neighbors until my second interview, so no, I didn’t try to use that as leverage, haha.)
From updating the inner guts of her planners to getting to contribute patterns & ideas for her covers, I was thrilled to be able to work alongside Whitney & her team.
Here’s a peek at the Week on One Page planner for Whitney English that features my “Sonoma” pattern design.
If you’re waiting around for big things to happen, get out there and start reaching out to the people & companies you love. You never know who might wind up in your inbox.
Just when I was ready to give up on my surface pattern design career, a door left itself wide open - ready & waiting for me to come inside. Sometimes, when you’re looking to be let inside, all you have to do is knock.
