Hi! Thanks for visiting.

I'm Brittany Gardner — owner and designer of Wax On Paper. Thanks for checking out my site, feel free to reach out with any question or if you just want to chat!

What is WxP?

I started Wax On Paper in 2017, working with clients who offer a variety of services. As a freelance designer, I have had the opportunity to work with hospitality, tourism, home service, medical and many other industries to help them create and emphasize their brand and visual voice.

The name "Wax On Paper" was inspired by childhood imagination. When a child has a crayon in hand and an idea, anything is possible. When that idea hits paper, it is art, it's a beautiful idea come to life. Just like any other beautiful art, we put it up in a museum with the artist's name and medium listed. While I don't literally create websites with crayons, creating websites always starts with imagination and thinking outside the boring box of the typical. I push my client's designs beyond the out-of-the-box templates and create unique, branded experiences — meant to be owned and put up on the fridge like that child's drawing.

Growing Up

As a kid, I was constantly creating, I loved art, colors, everything that went into creating something awesome. I played with different media, from paint brushes and crayons to glass mosaic and collages and took all kinds of art classes over the years just to find what I liked best. From day one, I knew I would do this forever, the only problem was figuring out how to do that — and still make money! Sorry, but the starving artist thing never seemed like me.

Cartoons were my key to that goal. I watched Disney and Nickelodeon as much as (or more) than the next kid, but I was obsessed with drawing them. I would practice the characters and start to create my own. Also I should mention, I was really into computers and having a programmer as a Mom, I knew how to use them. So, I knew I had to combine the two interests to make my dream of being a cartoonist come true.

There was a point when the only answer for "What do you want to be when you grow up?" was "Cartoonist" — nothing else even crossed my mind.

That is, until I took my first Commercial Art class.

Junior year of high school I enrolled in an off-campus trade class that focused solely on graphic and advertising design, and boy did I absolutely love it. I was hooked from the first project — which incidentally was a cartoon assignment. I put everything I had into this class, loving every ad, logo, and random project they threw at me, and (not to brag, but) luckily being notably good at it along the way.

Career

After graduating Art Institute in 2011, I landed my first full-time design job with the company I had been interning with. As a startup app (Blue Calypso) ad designer, I created simple digital ads in different sizes for inside the app and when users shared to social. This was a great first job experience but more was to come... soon.

I quickly found a new opportunity at a big marketing agency, Javelin Marketing Group. We worked on direct marketing collateral with big brands such as AT&T and Proactiv. Here, I learned the ins and outs of working with a big team, clients and the day-to-day of a designers life. My main job was some production work — as in fixing photoshop flies and making text edits — but I was involved in all types of projects at various stages. Pitch work and concepts were my favorite parts of the job, this allowed me to be a bit more creative beyond the brand style guides. Over 3 years at Javelin, I was ready for a change (and promotion). I started looking for Art Director jobs available in the DFW area. I sent my resume and updated website to several agencies hoping to have a lead somewhere.

My break came when I got a call from Aria Agency, a small boutique agency in Addison. After short introductions and a few meetings in person, I was offered an Interactive Art Director job that I swiftly accepted. We were a passionate, hard working small team, and work was finally awesome! The projects were interesting, the creative was — creative, and I was getting to learn new skills. We focused on Travel and Tourism clients, creating digital ads, websites and print work for a range of cities and attractions — and we were good at it. So good in-fact, we were acquired by a larger agency, The Akins Group, and gained more clients and more work! Unfortunately, this change came with some drama and I was let go shortly after.

But as they say, when one door close another opens. And well, open: Wax On Paper!

I have given my all to my freelance business since 2017 and hope to keep going for many years to come. As the work and the clients change, I strive to always remember why I do what I do and really, it's simple — I love it. I want to solve problems and help people and their businesses present themselves professionally and clearly. And most of all, I want to make the world a brighter, happier place with great design.

Personal

Currently, I live in Dallas, Texas with my brilliant developer husband, Nathan, and our demanding cat, Lady Meow Meow. When we aren't saving the world one website at a time, we seek out adventures outside, by going on hikes and bike rides while enjoying nature and each other. I enjoy cooking and coming up with different meal ideas in the kitchen and watching dark comedies in my free time.