designFORMARE (pronounced “for-mar-ay”) was opened in 2006 by freelance graphic and web designer and entrepreneur Amy Suzanne Taggart. The firm became designFORMARE INC. on January 1st, 2012.
Click here for the definition of formare.
We are a virtual business and do not follow a set schedule. Hours are by appointment only.
Meet TeamFORMARE!
Amy Suzanne Taggart – Fabulous President/CEO/Nerdette
>> Specialties: WordPress theme design/coding, HTML/CSS, Adobe Master Suite CS5.5, Audio/Video editing
Amy was born with a paintbrush and easel in hand! Inspired by two very creative Aunts, she spent most of her time drawing and painting and always looking forward to art class. A career in Art or Design was not something she considered however. Very fond of music and having taught herself to play the guitar, she wanted to become an audio engineer, working with and recording bands.
At the age of 17, Amy took courses in Audio Engineering, Video Production and Music Business at the Art Institute of Seattle (against the school urging her to consider graphic design instead!). It became apparent that she was excelling in the video production program and decided to make that her major.
In 1996 Amy graduated with an AAA degree in Video Production (with Honors!). She worked in the industry for 4 years, working her way up to Production Manager, before being laid off when the company she worked for changed ownership. It was during this time of unemployment that Amy decided to teach herself HTML coding and began creating simple websites for herself, local bands and musicians, artists and photographers. She continued to do this on the side while working in the video post-production industry, eventually deciding to go back to school.
In 2002 Amy graduated from the Art Institute of Seattle with a 2nd AAA degree in Graphic Design (again with Honors and also made the Dean’s list!). Having been in school it was difficult to keep a job in the video industry so Amy found herself working in life insurance. Not creative at all, but she had continued to work on the side with bands, creating websites, CD layouts, logos and posters. As demand grew she found it difficult to juggle the requests with her day job and was encouraged to quit and start her own design business, designFORMARE. Starting out she thought she had made a mistake and thought about looking for a job again. A chance posting in Craigslist united Amy with a local business coach and from there she was fortunate enough to work with some great people in that industry, many of whom referred her to others, as a Virtual Assistant. (Amy is no longer a virtual assistant herself but does offer VA services via her team).
Through word of mouth and referrals designFORMARE’s client list began to grow and grow. Amy found it difficult to balance business and personal life as a result, doing everything herself. It became clear that it was time to expand. As of 1/1/2012 designFORMARE became designFORMARE INC. We are now building up a team of professionals who together make this your one-stop-shop for all things design.
Amy also enjoys living an active and healthy minimalist life, following the Paleo Lifestyle and strength training. She’s an avid bowler with aspirations of becoming a PBA pro-bowler some day! She also enjoys riding motocross, target shooting and driving her mustang. Oh and cats…she loves cats and the color purple (if you couldn’t tell)! 
Carrie Anderson – Online Business Geekette
>> Specialties: WordPress Theme Customization, Adobe Web Premium CS5.5, 1ShoppingCart systems, eCommerce & Marketing Facilitation
As a service-based entrepreneur, Carrie offers creative, technical, and administrative solutions to online business entrepreneurs and professional organizations. She brings to teamFormare 20+ years of experience in a number of areas including numerous software and hardware environments, the advanced functions of various desktop applications, creative design and high-end technologies, and managing multiple projects, objectives and deadlines.
In her spare time, she enjoys anything scifi/fantasy, fine art, home improvement, playing the piano, and spending time with her beloved Leonberger dogs.
Susan D. Johnson – Design Wizard
>> Specialties: Logos & Identity, Social Networking Design, Book Covers, Custom Website Design and Client Care
A reformed corporate workaholic, Susan now thoroughly enjoys the freedom of setting her own standards of “wow!” (not to mention how many dogs are allowed in the office and what qualifies as “appropriate office attire”). She takes great pride (and pleasure) in creating art that works for her clients and maintains a firm “no settling” policy. It simply is not allowed.
Susan adores what she does and by combining her unique intuition and creative vision, she strives to become her clients’ invaluable partner for success.
Susan currently lives on the Oregon Coast with her three dogs: Harmony, Scout, and Toby; three cats; and two fish. She believes in kindness and honesty and being true to one’s self. She loves deeply, misses her mom like crazy, and travels the path of least resistance whenever she remembers to see it. Nature is her touchstone and both she and the dogs adore the beach! She loves to puzzle when business is slow; Los Amigos Burrito is her staple; music keeps her grounded and connected. Flowers, photography and cheese are also at the top of her favorite-things-in-life list. She’s divorced, owns her own home, and goes a little nuts if she doesn’t have a creative outlet. Her favorite color varies from day to day, jewelry is her weakness, and she’s a Taurus through and through.
When she’s not in the office, you might find her working in the yard, at the beach with the dogs, coloring, curled up reading a book, beading, or exploring the gorgeous state of Oregon, dogs in tow and camera in hand. Or … you might not find her at all.
Pamela Cook – Marketing Guru
>> Specialties: Online Business Branding, Social Media Promotions, PPC Campaigns, Mobile Campaigns, Internet Visibility and Search Engine Marketing Strategies
Whether it’s integrating a promotion into your social media platforms, setting up a mobile marketing strategy, or launching your online visibility, Pamela will help develop a strategic plan perfectly suited for your business or promotion. Navigating the constant changes on all of the social media platforms is her gig.
Kari Schuerch – Creative Guru
>> Specialties: Packaging, Social Media, Print and Web Design—Basically all things creative.
Kari Schuerch (Shirk—it’s Swiss-German…don’t even try to read it) graduated from Brigham Young University-Idaho with a BFA in Graphic Design; and loved it so much she came back to teach just a few years later.
After three years of corporate brand strategy, packaging, and print design, Kari decided to try the big bad world on her own. And now…she loves everything about it. She is devoted to innovative work and hearing the sound of happy clients. She can’t stay away from Pinterest and Design Blogs.
Kari is crazy about good food, books (all kinds), and running extremely long distances. If she’s not in the office, she is coloring, reading children’s stories, and taking her kids to the park. She has a taste for Fine Art, Indie Music, and all things European—including her Belgian husband.
Kathy A. Smith – Resident Wordsmith
>> Specialties: Website Content, Bios, Press Releases, Articles, Blog Posts, Tweets, Facebook Posts, Squeeze Pages, Sales Pages, Articles, Teleseminar/Webinar/Live Event content, Autoresponders, Marketing Emails
Kathy is a seasoned freelance copywriter and ghostwriter, who has worked with coaches, authors, speakers, Internet marketers, and other small business owners for the past 12 years. She is also an accomplished freelance newspaper and magazine writer with over 70 published articles in business, health, and maritime publications, including Reader’s Digest.
Her superior writing talents include the ability to quickly assess not only a client’s personality and their key message and write accordingly, but she is also a whiz at compiling intricate and complex material, and making it easily readable for the average person. Clients are always amazed at how she is able to write on target, oftentimes having had only a brief conversation or a few notes thrown at her.
Kathy’s special fascination is with ships and the sea. She writes frequently for many prominent maritime shipping trade publications. She lives with her artist/sculptor husband and their Maine Coon cat on Vancouver Island, British Columbia in a quaint seaside town.
Kendall Gjevre (place finger over G, then say it). – Online Technical Support
>> Specialties: Web Designer, eCommerce Specialist, Graphics Design and Marketing Support
Transplanting herself to the Northwest after many years in West Coast Corporate America, Kendall has concentrated on meeting the online needs for entrepreneurs, solo-preneurs and small business. Her tag line of “Taking care of technical things while you grow your business!” is born out of hand-holding clients through the “letting-go” process of trying to do technical things that waste valuable time. Kendall loves to create eye-catching web graphics, customize WordPress themes to suit company branding and implement marketing activities for product launches. She loves to find ways to “make things easier” for those trying to do business online. Currently she is designing a line of easy-to-use-and-modify website and marketing graphics.
It’s been a long journey in the IT field, beginning with selling Apple II computers in downtown San Francisco and teaching clients how to operate the first personal computer software programs. Throughout the years Kendall has maintained a continued love of learning all this new technology and finding ways to help clients succeed in growing their businesses.
Operating her own BIZ… allows Kendall to attend nearly 70 baseball games and 40 basketball games annually, earning her the Bleacher Mom award. Her co-workers include one miniature Australian Shepard dog (who she prefers to most people) and two cats.
Rebecca Jennings – Personal Assistant
>> Specialties: Mom, Virtual Customer Service, Scheduling
Rebecca has always had an interest in customer service having worked as a receptionist for 7 years following graduating high school. Her biggest passion however is being a wonderful mother to her two children Evan and Sabrina. Being able to stay home with her children, have a flexible schedule and continue to work in the business field is something that she figured would never be a possibility.
A chance meeting with Amy at a friend’s party ended with Rebecca finding out all about the wonderful world of Virtual Assistance. Rebecca now assists the designFORMARE INC. team as needed via email customer service, scheduling and virtual office work. For many new clients of designFORMARE INC., Rebecca is the first point of contact and a VERY pleasant one!
Rebecca enjoys spending time with her family, the great outdoors (hiking and biking mainly) and experimenting in the kitchen.
Want to Join TeamFORMARE?
We are always looking to work with others who are passionate about what they do! If you are in need of additional work on an as-needed basis we’d love to meet you and see if you might be a good fit on the team. designFORMARE INC. works with independent contractors and businesses only. We are currently looking to add team members who love doing any of the following tasks:
- Virtual Assistance
- WordPress Design
- WordPress Coding
- HTML / CSS Coding
- Programming (PHP, MySQL, etc.)
- Video and/or Audio Editing
- Copy-writing & Marketing
- Transcription
A college degree or schooling in your trade is ideal but not totally necessary to be considered. We’ll entertain applicants from entry-level to seasoned veterans…we’re mainly looking for people who are naturally good at what they do and have a true passion for their work.
If this is you, please complete the following intake form and we’ll be in touch with you. Thanks!
