Meet: Kimmy Bartle
Kimmy, welcome to No Revisions! Tell us about yourself and your work.
I wear the multidisciplinary hat, and I wear it well, but digital is my main love. All things UX/UI, web design, and development make me so happy. I also have a lot of fun with art direction, visual identity, and social media. I like to take a holistic approach when it comes to brands. I picture myself like Cher Horowitz, coming in and doing a whole makeover and reframing how we think about things.
How did you get here?
I had access to Adobe programs at 8 years old. Yes, that's right. My dad is a photographer and book editor, so I would sit beside him and watch him work on Photoshop and PageMaker for hours. It looked so fun, I wanted to be just like him, so I ended up teaching all of these programs to myself before I even started middle school. As a precocious preteen, I took my first web design class with a bunch of college students, and from there, I think I was honestly just counting the days until I could go to art school. Haven't really stopped since! Then it all started falling into place after I graduated from my MFA. Grad school for art and design was utopian bliss, and it took me to many different places and countries. I studied in Los Angeles and then in Amsterdam, The Hague, Ghent, and, of course, my home, Peru. It's been really fun. I've worked with big-name clients that make me want to pinch myself. Experimenting and pushing back against trends has worked in my favor.
How would you describe your style?
If Dr. Seuss and Marie Kondo had a baby? I like things to be witty, lighthearted, and tongue-in-cheek.
What fuels your creativity?
Beauty is in the streets. – Atelier Populaire.
Going into nature or letting the hot water of my shower fall on my head activates something. My type-A brain lets loose, and I tap into my inner child. I get my best ideas like this. Really, she's wild.
Another space to inhabit is Are.na! Also known as my second brain. I like seeing research archives from fellow creatives while I connect my own pieces. Books of yesteryear and their quirky type treatments inspire me, reading the latest by Hito Steyerl or Laurel Schwulst, and I avoid Pinterest.
What’s on your desk right now?
A rainbow destress ball I squish, two different drinks, a plushie that looks just like my cat, and peppermint oil. It helps me focus. #neurospicy
What songs do you have on repeat while you work?
The entirety of the Midnights or 1989 (TV) albums. Last month, I’d probably said Silver Springs by Fleetwood Mac because what is a design session if there aren’t musical theatre levels of drama?
What is a project you really enjoyed, and what made it so enjoyable?
My friends might be sick of me already because I bring it up like a millennial brings up their dog – The Container Store’s Custom Closets!
Taking the website experience from e-commerce to immersive was so rewarding. It was an all-around rebrand. I was not only doing wireframes and dreaming up UI elements, but I got to elevate the visual identity and play a role in the curation of photography and photoshoots to come for the store and web. Every time I go to the Grove and see it in person, I simply pass away.
It also helps that I've been obsessed with the Container Store forever and go there every year on my birthday. God. How obvious is it that I’m a Virgo?
What defines a good from a great client for you?
Trust. The best work I have produced is when the client and I have synergy, and they let go of just enough for me to have the range to surprise them with the exact thing they had in mind but couldn't put into words. You need time and space to create, and I enjoy the downtime to really embody the brand. It’s almost like taking on an acting role. I go full method.
What defines a terrible client for you?
When the client wants to double as art director! I've had this happen a couple of times when I would take on a freelance client, and they would want to feel like they are designing it alongside me by literally moving things on Figma without real knowledge of best practices or accessibility. It can be fun if done correctly (say on a sprint), but when it's for control, well, that’s different.
What makes you different from competitors/peers in your field?
I don’t second guess my gut, and I have a multicultural point of view.
What the latter means is I’m always at the intersection of three or more cultures with visual languages so vastly different from one another. How I think about design has evolved with every new parameter I have been exposed to when I would be taught by or worked in different countries. The straightforward sleekness of the Netherlands, the unadulterated joy of Peru, the poppy and bright aesthetics of Korea, and the cool girl vibes of Los Angeles. They all swirl in my head and form this crazy cool melange. They broaden my point of reference.
What trends are you seeing in your field right now?
People are returning to what makes them happy over what makes them cool. The pandemic has played a big role in all of this. When I was doing trend forecasting for Samsung, the thing I kept coming back to the most was the idea of things playing different roles. We're not into boxes anymore. Things aren't as static or defined. There is a resurgence of Y2K, which, to me, translates to experimentation. Back in the 2000s, we (designers) did everything all at once, all together, and I'm seeing this eclectic approach more and more.
Why do you like working with No Revisions?
The trust built within. The name speaks for itself. Building with a network of designers you know you can trust enough not to ask for revisions feels progressive.
Want to work with Kimmy? Check out our Website Development service.