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.
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!
