I'm Samantha Zimmerman and I run Sam Z. Designs as an independent freelance design and consulting business.  In my professional life I’m a graphic designer, web designer, and social media manager.  I work and manage my business from home, which is such a blessing when it comes to work life.  In my spare time I do work as a Charity Cosplayer and enjoy video game streaming through Twitch.

A little about my professional background and experience:

As a designer, I've worked independently on/off for the last 5 years and I'm quite happy to say I went full-time freelance at the end of 2017.  In 2018 I also had the pleasure of becoming a member of the Squarespace Circle Program and a Shopify Partner.  Genuinely, I feel that without the opportunities presented to me, I would not be the amazing person I am today!

Before I went full freelance I was the Marketing Director for a real estate business in Elmhurst, IL.  I ran an in-house print shop and managed their online database that centered around keeping up the necessities for their brokers and agents.  A significant part of the work I did for them was self-propelled and had a solid spotlight on the real estate industry.  Altogether, I worked one-on-one with 30+ real estate agents and specialists, each with their own concepts and ideas for their designs and needs.  While maintaining the company brand and image, I likewise dealt with their online networking, social media, and web presence.

Prior to the real estate business, I worked for a growing IT consulting business in Naperville, IL.  Amid my residency there, I had the amazing opportunity to to add website design and social media work to my growing list of services and skills.  Additionally, I worked with brand and logo improvement and offered benefit services through blog and email creation and monitoring.  I worked with both print and digital design work for websites, online networking, developing brands, print materials and so forth.

I have a solid focus on vector designs and concepts from designing shirt and apparel artwork, while I was employed with an apparel company whose focus was on screen-printing and embroidery.  Many of my apparel/vector designs are accessible on my "corporate work" page.

Not at all like numerous other designers, I began my design work while working in retail.  As a supervising clerk, I had the opportunity to work with print designs and materials, online networking materials, social media, email, and many other elements.

Customer service is #1 in my book and I've worked with so many wonderful individuals throughout the years.  I always cherish working one-on-one with my clients to build up an arrangement that works with their budget, needs, and capabilities.  And as my motto goes.....

Software Skills & Abilities: 
Adobe Creative Suite - Illustrator, Photoshop, Muse, Indesign, MyPortfolio.com, Behance
Microsoft - Office, Powerpoint, Excel
Google Products/Programs - Hangouts, Keep, Gmail, Drive, Docs, Forms, Sheets, Slides, AdWords, AdSense, Analytics, Google My Business, Google+, Youtube
Online Design & Website Tools - Adobe Spark, Canva, Picmonkey, Wordpress (basics), Wix, Squarespace, Pablo, Webs.com
Social Media - Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr, Youtube, Google+, Periscope, Linkedin, Dribbble (Management, Advertising, Profile Creation etc.)
Scheduler Apps -  BufferApp, HootSuite, Grum.co, Later.com 
Video Game Streaming - Twitch, Gamewisp, Mixer, Betterttv, Streamlabels, Streamquest, AnkhBot, Xsplit Broadcaster, OBS Studio, StreamElements, Streamlabs OBS, Nightbot, Streamlabs Chatbot, Kappamon, Youtube
Blog/Newsletter Development and Design - MailChimp, Medium Blog, Wordpress, Constant Contact, Mailer Lite, Business Catalyst etc