CASE STUDY
PAPERbyCourtney
PAPERbyCourtney was born out of my need to exercise creativity & business skills at the end of my college career. Inspired by my personal life & travels, I handcrafted greeting cards for every occasion and illustrated decorative stickers with the hope of bringing a little joy to each recipient. Through this experience, I learned a lot about customer service and social media marketing.
Displaying design work in every step.
PAPER by Courtney
Beginning with my own unique logo that I would set up with my Etsy shop, each design I made, whether it was a greeting card or sticker, used my design muscle. I started with a sketch, scanned into Adobe Illustrator, digitally modified to perfection.
Phil 4:13 Bible Verse Sketch
This was made with a Micron pen on a notepad.
I Can Do All Things Through Christ card
After scanning into Adobe Illustrator, cleaning it up and adding some watercolor background, it turned into the perfect card!
Custom birthday card
For a music lover!
Bible verse stickers
Based on my best-selling cards.
Diet Coke sticker
Made out of a personal love for Diet Coke. Another best-seller!
Happy Birthday, Home Slice sketch
Created with a dark gray Tombow calligraphy marker.
Happy Birthday, Home Slice!
Finished card, made with kraft cardstock.
Shipping a retirement card
Packaged with a thank you note.
Became an expert at a craft.
A lot of the designs were crafted on paper using skills I gained in calligraphy and painting. After each design was created, the more intricate part was replicating it into a physical good – learning the intense depths of paper, ink, folding, and packaging.
Built & marketed a business successfully.
Making the art was the first step, but navigating an e-commerce site like Etsy was another beast that I conquered. I learned how to optimize my store for Etsy’s search algorithm, gained a following on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, and dabbled in creating advertisements in each of those spaces. I managed the cost of goods sold, balanced the books, and handled all customer service requests (ensuring their happiness triumphed above all else). Which ultimately led to return customers for PAPER by Courtney!
