Upon completion of a University of Minnesota–Split Rock workshop with the renowned nature photographer Craig Blacklock, Carolyn designed a limited-edition, hard-bound book highlighting favorite images from the class.

Split Rock was a long-running program that offered week-long residential workshops in creative writing, visual arts, and creativity enhancement. Most workshops, including Digital Nature Photography, were based out of the University of Minnesota Cloquet Forestry Center. The northern Minnesota location allowed Craig Blacklock to take students to enchanted bogs, deep forests, and Lake Superior’s rugged shoreline.

Classroom instruction focused on technical aspects of DSLR photography with additional lessons on composition, color, and artistic expression. Each student was able to choose two of his or her favorite images to be included in this heirloom-quality, leather-bound book.

The image above shows photos by Therese Cacek, Megan Kamrath and Cathy Jordan.

Click to see another project Carolyn designed focused on our natural world.

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You might think of the invitation as a throw-away aspect of a fundraising event. But what if the invitation results in a tangible impact on the bottom line?

When a trio of Florida-residing Minnesota natives wanted to host a reception to raise funds for two Minnesota-based programs close to their hearts, the team at The Saint Paul Foundation knew the invitation needed to make an impression. The tagline “When one looks inside, the view is often quite different” accompanied x-ray images of seashells.

The two programs highlighted at the event were the Community Sharing Fund, which makes grants to individuals and families in crisis, and The Jeremiah Program, which helps low-income mothers become self-reliant. In both cases, the hosts wanted guests to take an empathetic look at individuals who may present a façade of self-reliance, but may have been dealing with issues relating to housing, healthcare, childcare, self-esteem, and lack of education or opportunity.

Click here to see another project Carolyn designed for The Saint Paul Foundation.

“I just wanted to send a quick note about the fabulous donor event invites your designed for us. They were unique, beautiful, and really made an impact. Every single person who RSVP’d showed up for the event, which is unprecedented. I attribute it to the stand-out impression those invitations made with every attendee. Thanks for your superb attention to detail, creative flair, and your unflappable and flexible approach to challenging timelines and several rounds of adjustments! It was truly a pleasure working with you. Thank you.”

– DIRECTOR OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS, THE SAINT PAUL FOUNDATION

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After a false start (and a frustrating dead end) with a different graphic design firm, Prime Mortgage hired the freelance team of Julianna Newstrom, marketing consultant, and Carolyn Porter to update their visual identity.

Prime Mortgage’s refreshed visual identity was defined by classic typography, a warm color palette, diverse and welcoming imagery, and a wood grain element used across all marketing materials. Julianna and Carolyn developed the tagline, “The smart way home®,” which reflected the company’s dedication to delivering financially sound home mortgage financing solutions.

Carolyn created materials used across the company: letterhead, envelopes, business cards, folders, postcards, notecards, banner ads, statement stuffers, display signs, sell sheet templates and more. She even worked with the internal team to ensure brand elements were applied to the company’s website (website programming completed by separate vendor).

An unexpected result of the refreshed visual identity, according to Sally Turrittin, one of the company’s founders, was the positive impact the new look and marketing materials had on loan officer recruitment.

“Our experience with Carolyn Porter of Porterfolio was truly a surprise on the upside.  … It was so refreshing to hear her ideas, see her work and realize we would be the recipients of a far superior product at a lesser cost. The hassle factor was also eliminated with her… she is remarkably efficient. Overall Carolyn is a gifted creator, highly articulate and I would never engage anyone but her.”

– SALLY TURRITIN, PRIME MORTGAGE

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When Guidant (now part of Boston Scientific) wanted to promote its suite of health care reimbursement resources, which included online and phone tools, webcasts, a technical toolkit, and PDA software, they hired Carolyn to design and art direct this handy reference tool.

This desk-size reference guide came in two versions: one for customers, and a second version with additional tools and information just for sales reps. A two-tab system made immediate identification of the versions a breeze.

The project required multiple custom photos, which included model selection, location scouting, prop creation, in-person art direction, and aggressive schedule management. Companion materials, which used some of the design elements Carolyn developed, were completed by on-staff designers.

In conjunction with companion materials created by the on-staff designers, GuidePoint marketing materials won an Award of Excellence from IABC Minnesota.

Click to see another project Carolyn designed for Guidant.

“We simply could not have accomplished the project without your creativity and responsiveness.”

– PROJECT MANAGER, GUIDANT

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Each year the Travelers Foundation invests millions of dollars in education, arts and culture, and community development programs, along with charities their employees support. Travelers hired Carolyn to create two of their annual reports.

The Travelers Community Foundation provides financial grants and gifts to “create strong communities and offer pathways to success.” Travelers targets its giving to achieve three outcomes: Academic and Career Success, Thriving Neighborhoods, and Culturally Enriched Communities. Travelers also contributes to organizations that aid in developing communities through small business support and neighborhood revitalization.

The annual report includes data on specific grants and programs supported, along with images of and stories about organizations who have been grant recipients.

Click here to see another annual report Carolyn designed.

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The Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra hired Carolyn to design a high-end brochure that would inspire patrons to include the Orchestra’s planned giving program, The Encore Society, in their estate plan. The biggest challenge was to present complicated financial information, including tax implications and estate planning considerations, in an easy-to-understand way. 

Since thoughtful estate planning can be a lengthy process, a second goal, according to the client’s project brief, was to create a brochure patrons would hold on to for years.

The design solution featured an excerpt from a composition commissioned by the Orchestra, photos of current Encore Society members and information on their estate planning choices, a translucent fly sheet, and a pocket that contained inserts that could be updated as needed. A custom envelope repeated the same excerpt of music.

The suite of materials included a list of reasons people should include the Orchestra in their estate plan:
For the passions that have yet to be pursued.
For the music that has yet to be performed.
For the musician who has yet to take the stage.
For the audience that has yet to be assembled.

The result? According to Carolyn’s client, a member of the orchestra’s Board of Directors stated the brochure was “the most beautiful piece ever created for the Orchestra.”

Click to see another project Carolyn designed for the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra.

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