ImageWerks Wins Business of the Year Award!!

ImageWerks, lc Named Home Based Business of the Year by the Prince William County Regional Chamber of Commerce

WOODBRIDGE, VA October 28, 2009 -- At a private reception held last Wednesday evening, the Prince William County Regional Chamber of Commerce unveiled its 2009 Business Awards, which exemplify the dynamic energy of businesses in Prince William County, Virginia. ImageWerks, lc, is an innovative communications studio in Woodbridge, Virginia earned the Home Based Business of the Year award for 2009.

Kathy Strauss & GC Schow started their business in 1999 with one client—one project. It was a small local business that needed a logo & brochure. Since then, their client base has expanded from local individuals to large international corporations. They define their business with the mission statement: “ImageWerks strives to create stunning, innovative design work—to build strong business relationships—that allows their clients to communicate their mission.” “We are very pleased to have received this honor, said ImageWerks’, Creative Director, Kathy Strauss. “This is truly the icing on the cake as we celebrate our ten-year anniversary in business. We take great pride in our work and ability and look forward to another 10 years and beyond of growth helping our clients present themselves in a compelling fashion by providing ‘creative solutions for business.’”

Clients can count on ImageWerks to be with them every step of the way. Partnerships with writers, printers and other quality vendors allow ImageWerks to serve as a “virtual in-house” graphics department, taking customers all the way from the initial brainstorming stage to implementation of the final product. Another value-add is its “Advice without the cost” philosophy. Meeting fees are built into the design estimate, allowing clients to contact ImageWerks as needed, without worrying about a surprise when the bill comes!

About ImageWerks, lc:
Imagewerks lc is a design studio offering a high level of creativity, practical experience, know-how and development in a broad range of disciplines, including: advertising layout, publication design, packaging, signs, banners, multimedia and web design/hosting services, brochures, illustrations, logo design and related collateral, and photography. ImageWerks keeps its marketing skills current, using social media sites and helping clients to learn the ropes of Web 2.0 and other advances in the field. This online outreach, along with careful market strategy, has helped ImageWerks to succeed in the current downturn.

GC and Kathy are active in the community, volunteering their time and talents to groups such as Project Mend-a-House, Prince William County Library Foundation, American Red Cross/Prince William Chapter, and Literacy Volunteers of America/Prince William. Kathy is also in the 2010 Class of Leadership Prince William. A longtime Chamber supporter, ImageWerks has done many design projects for the Prince William Regional Chamber of Commerce, including work on the current logo.

Some of their clients include: The World Bank, Carleton University, UNDP, The Manoff Group, Rare Conservation, Family Health International (FHI), Prince William County Schools Education Foundation, National PACE Association, the National Center on Full Faith & Credit, Compton & Duling, City of Manassas Public Works, Prince William County Solid Waste Division, Jewelry By Design, and ReKonnect, RGS Title, and The Heritage Foundation.

www.imagewrks.net
Media Contact: Stacia D. Kelly (703) 597-2951
Media Contact: Kathy Strauss (703) 492-8215
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Two-sided Creativity

For a long time we've been telling people all about our business & our talents. They know that GC & I are graphic designers, we design logos, marketing materials (postcards, brochures, etc.).... layout publications for both formal and informal use (annual reports, simple Word documents, training manuals, etc.).... create presentations in PowerPoint... design trade show exhibits & posters.... all the way to creating interactive media (CDs, web sites, etc.). But, I think our most creative endeavor are our photography and illustration skills.

There is a mysterious side to the business of graphic design—especially for people that don't know what we do or for that matter, understand what we do. People assume that designers create stuff that comes out of a canned software package—but it doesn't. We literally envision what people think & then put it on paper. It takes me back to my old World Bank days when I started working in the evaluations department and most of my co-workers were economists. I was a publications designer and my office was colorfully decorated. I would get the strangest stares when they would walk by my office—it wasn't until someone walked in and made a comment, "We just can't figure out what you do! A Word file or a pile of papers comes into your office & within a couple of days, out pops this gorgeous book! How do you do it?" I just smiled & said........ "Magic!!"

Why do I call this post "two-sided creativity"? The reason is that GC & I have two very special skillsets... I'm a photographer & he is a fine illustrator, the nice thing is that these skillsets mesh perfectly together. We like to combine our two skillsets into "combination" projects (i.e., turning my photos into fine illustrations or paintings). We have done this numerous times for friends and personal enjoyment—but we have also been telling our clients about this! So, I decided that it's time to show the world samples of our combinations, as well as showing off some of GC's illustrations.

If there is anything that you see here that interests you, wows you, or moves you to ask us to do a project for you... call or email. Even better - leave a comment :-)

Possum Point

Blue Boat

Firebird 2004

Diane

Train

Pastel illustration for Hewlett-Packard brochure (section only)