Word around town is…

Quote from Meryl Holland on a purple background featuring her portrait. The quote reads: "Karen has an intimate understanding of brands and the people who use them. Karen's work is differentiating and memorable. Her work is strikingly creative and most importantly, authentic to the brand platform created so that the client usage is own-able and actionable in every way."
Quote by Candy Deemer about Karen, featuring her photo and her credentials as an executive coach and author.

“Special Modern Design was able to convey the our vision and mission through a unique and well-thought-out brand, logo, and website.

We gave them some initial ideas regarding our product and we trusted them to come up with a great design that matched our vision.**We let them run with it and they did not disappoint!** They really captured the mood we were aiming for.”

— JOHN PATTERSON & NIKKI VALKO, C.S.A

(Nikki was the Principal Casting Director at Valko/Miller Casting)

pacafone.com

A smiling woman and man taking a selfie outdoors, with a partly cloudy sky in the background.
Quote from John Mc Wade about the complexity of projects, with a photo of him gesturing with his hands, wearing glasses and a blue shirt.
Quote from Janet Davas about her branding success, with a woman speaking at a microphone holding papers, wearing glasses, a necklace, and earrings, standing against a tan background.
A smiling man with a shaved head, wearing a collared shirt, outdoors with trees in the background.

I love Karen's approach to her work, which is marked by a unique combination of seriousness and enthusiasm for what she does. And she has a remarkable talent for zeroing in on the most nuanced attributes that ultimately capture exactly what you're going after.”

— DAVID KUBICZKY,
Realtor at Angeleno Living

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Two testimonial quotes from executive coaches, Ken Deemer and Candy Deemer, with their black-and-white headshots. The quotes praise Karen's impact on their company's rebranding and her creative contributions to executive coaching, set against a green and white geometric background.

Cake Monkey


Special Modern Design was able to hone right in on what kind of message I was trying to project with my brand and nailed it! Their logo design completely defined Cake Monkey Bakery and has been instrumental to the growing success of the company.

The gift box packaging speak for themselves. Customers, as well as food journalists, are always telling me what a beautiful website we have.

Our gift boxes are a big part of our business and SMD’s package design helps to sell them! In short, I love SMD and they will always have a role in Cake Monkey’s future.”
— LISA J. OLIN
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Karen did a great job of listening to my needs and responding to them. She‘d often bring something to the table that solved a problem in a refreshing way. This is the first time I've worked with a designer. Working with somebody else often brings out new ideas and different ways of thinking. This was definitely the case here. Karen pointed out opportunities I’d not considered before. Very cool.”

— MARTINS ZINBERGS
Owner/Craftsman, Waterbearing
Black and white photo of a man with glasses and a beard, wearing a dark shirt, sitting in a cluttered room with shelves and bottles in the background.
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Originally, I hired Karen with Special Modern Design because I needed a website and a logo. I wanted one that would distinguish NEXT CAREER from my competitors. But I got a lot more than that.

Karen created the strategic direction with a memorable logo (opening doors) that informed the rest of the design process. The real magic of what I got was the marketing and branding expertise plus the patience to guide me through it all.

— MICHELE CALDERIGI
Next Career, Executive Coach

We now realize that the previous company we had hired lacked understanding of what we wanted and talent, both of which you demonstrated. We are so excited about the designs you presented.


— Karin Schratter, ARC Design Group

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Karen has a natural ability that is rare in the graphic design world. She gets who we are, and she was able to generate the graphics that represent that visually."

— CHRIS PECK
founder of PECK, cmpeck.com

“I could feel that Karen really listened to me.”

— ALEX GLASSCOCK

Founder, The Ranch at Live Oak Malibu

Black and white portrait of a man in a blazer and white shirt, sitting outdoors with a blurred background.