We had the good fortune of connecting with Karen Smith and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Karen, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?

I think my greatest accomplishment in social impact was getting hired by a live event production company in Los Angeles to photograph behind the scenes at some of LA’s biggest charity events. While there were press photographers handling the red carpet, I was to capture candid moments, celebrity speakers and presenters on stage, backstage moments, live performances, and the guests arriving and mingling. These events included a fundraiser gala for the ABC Foundation (Associates for Breast & Prostate Cancer) hosted by Taye Diggs at the Beverly Hilton. Another was the LA Impact Awards for Family Equality, whose work is to advance equality for LGBTQ families. Nate Berkus and his husband, Jeremiah Brent were honored. Yet another inspiring live event was the Wonder of Women Summit at UCLA, which was a star-studded event promoting women’s mental health as basic health care. Lisa Kudrow hosted, with Goldie Hawn and Tipper Gore as contributors. There were others, including a daytime luncheon/fundraiser for A Place Called Home at the Skirball Cultural Center, and behind the scenes set photography for a Special Olympics commercial. Lastly, but probably the most impactful to me was having the honor of being in the same room as Activist & Congressman John Lewis. He delivered a powerful, heartfelt civil rights speech, followed by his acceptance of the Upton Sinclair Award from the Liberty Hill Foundation. I was by the entrance when he arrived, and I watched as he arrived with a small entourage, graciously shaking hands of the guests who waited in line to meet him when word spread through the ballroom that he was there. Out of all the celebrities I have encountered, Congressman John Lewis had the most impact on me.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Before I got into Graphic Design, I was working in social media management for small local businesses. I started using my photography for daily content uploads, but as time went on, I became responsible for print advertisements and content design, which is what led me to learning Publisher and Canva (in its early days). It was during my tenure working for an animal rights nonprofit organization that really thrust me into full-blown Graphic Design. I was working as a Campaigns Assistant and I had social media responsibilities, making simple graphics for Facebook and Instagram, uploading YouTube videos, and helping with PR and proofreading. Then our in-house graphic designer quit the company. I was only 2 months in, and I suddenly became his immediate replacement. I had to learn Photoshop… and FAST. I rose to the challenge. Soon I was designing all of the company’s campaign materials for social media, their website, and items for print. It was very exciting to be a graphic designer in the animal rights field, but wow, it was visually draining and distressing content. The company’s reputation was hard-hitting and angry, so I had to convey some rather angry energy through my designs. Sometimes the font had to be dripping blood, and the imagery was of brutal animal cruelty… It wasn’t easy to go into work each day and view animal torture footage and design powerful call-to action graphics. But I was doing it, and the response was as good as you can expect it to be. Nobody wants to log on to Facebook and look at that stuff, so we had to balance out the gory content with softer, cuter and sweeter content so we could still build our following on social. I am grateful to have had this experience on the front lines of animal rights…It is what got me the experience I needed to begin freelancing. I gained a wealth of knowledge in just a few short years of what it means to design hard-hitting, gut-stirring, emotion-grabbing graphics. I am grateful for the experience of working with people in the animal rights community, and I will forever be an animal advocate, dog rescuer, vegetarian, and volunteer. Now that I have some successful clients in the publishing industry and book cover credit on Amazon and “wherever books are sold”, I’m realizing every opportunity is contributing to my evolution as a creative, and each experience gets me closer to my ultimate jam. The publishing industry feels like the closest match thus far for me, since I’m an avid reader, spiritual seeker, and all around student of life. I wouldn’t trade any of my harder experiences for anything; they have all been stepping stones to my highest & best work.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

Most of my creative life was spent in Los Angeles, and I love live music, so I would take my best friend to live shows at places from dive bars to historic venues. The Theatre at the Ace Hotel downtown LA, McCabe’s Guitar Shop in Santa Monica where I saw Chuck Prophet perform every time he came to town…shows at the Hollywood Bowl, the Greek Theatre, and the Troubadour, too. I love beautiful outdoor restaurants that offer vegetarian fare, so we would definitely eat well and eat clean at places like Sun Cafe in Studio City, Malibu Cafe, Veggie Grill, and Casa Escobar in Malibu. Next we would venture deep into the Santa Monica Mountains for some of the most epic hikes imaginable. Paramount Ranch is my absolute favorite, and Meditation Mount in Ojai is a superior spiritual experience.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

I couldn’t have had the photography experiences without my friend Mari Fuentes. As an event and commercial producer, she is the person who I can thank for putting me in the rooms and capturing some very powerful moments.

Website: https://www.smitherineinteractive.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/smitherine_designs

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/smitherine

Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/smitherine

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smitherinedesigns

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