Design Evolution

How the work has grown.

Every designer starts somewhere. Here is where I started, and how the work has changed since. These are old practice pieces and early client mockups, kept off the main portfolio and shown here instead, side by side with what I build now.

A little honesty

The graveyard of designs past.

Every designer has a few projects they look back on and wince. These are mine, and I am leaving them out in the open on purpose. Each one taught me something the next project needed, and together they are the reason the work looks the way it does today.

Era 01 · 2017 and earlier

Where it started.

Early logo work, made while I was still learning what good design looked like.

An early circular logo design for a photography business, with a camera icon and a ribbon banner
An early logo for a photography business.
An early logo design featuring a cartoon cat character and hand lettered text
A playful logo concept with a cartoon character.
A mockup sheet showing several early logo design concepts together
A sheet of early logo concepts, all from the same season of learning.
An early colorful paint splash logo design with bold lettering
A bold, colorful splash logo from the same early period.
Era 02 · 2024 to 2025

Learning the web.

Practice mockups and early client concepts, built while I taught myself how a real website comes together, from color palette to layout to launch.

An early website mockup for a coaching client, shown on desktop, tablet and phone with a matching brand board
An early website mockup for a coaching client, with its brand board.
An early website mockup for a second coaching client, shown on desktop, tablet and phone with a matching brand board
Another early coaching site concept, same practice period, different brand direction.
An early website mockup for a third coaching client, shown on desktop, tablet and phone with a matching brand board
A third coaching site concept, exploring a softer color palette.
An early website mockup for a local moving and freight company, shown on desktop, tablet and phone with a matching brand board
A concept site for a local moving and freight company.
An early website mockup for an IT consulting business, shown on desktop, tablet and phone with a matching brand board
A concept site for an IT consulting business.
An early website mockup for a self-care subscription box shop, shown on desktop, tablet and phone with a matching brand board
A concept site for a self-care subscription box shop.
An early website mockup for a beach photographer, shown on desktop, tablet and phone with a matching brand board
A concept site for a photographer, built around a beach theme.
A phone mockup slide from an early portfolio, showing a scrolled website with the word Growth overhead
A slide from an early portfolio deck, tracking my own growth.
A before and after branding makeover, from no branding to a full logo and brand board for a boutique
A branding makeover for a boutique client, from no branding to a full brand board.
Era 03 · 2024 to 2025

Building brands.

Full brand systems and full-page site designs, as the work moved past single mockups into complete identities.

The Marie Gems logo on a purple leopard print banner with a ribbon of color
An early Marie Gems logo banner.
A repeating pattern of a Creative Gems logo with a diamond icon on a marble background
A repeating logo pattern built for a Creative Gems concept.
A full page website design for a beach photographer, cropped from the top, showing the hero and welcome sections
A full page design for a photographer's site, hero through welcome section.
A full page website design for a coastal cleaning company, cropped from the top, showing the hero, services and trust sections
A full page design for a cleaning company, built as its own complete brand.
Era 04

Then and now.

My own shop, Marie Gems, is the clearest before and after I have. Same business, same brand, a year of growth between the two screenshots.

The Marie Gems homepage as it looked in November 2025, cropped from the top
Before · November 2025Marie Gems, an earlier version of the site.
The current Marie Gems homepage, with a Ready to Press DTF Transfers headline over a purple product photo
After · CurrentMarie Gems today, live at mariegems.com.
Where it stands now

This is the work I build today.

The portfolio holds the real, current work: live client sites, my own shop and a few labeled concept builds.