Tell us about Kore Design Group and what you do for your clients? Kore Design Group is a local small business. We work together with our clients to personalize their brand. We design Websites, Logos, Brochures, Flyers, Business Cards, Social Media Posts/Management, and any other visual aspects that their business may need. While our team is small, we are able to provide a personalized service you do not always get from marketing and creative firms.
Oris how and when did you develop a passion for web design and coding? You seem to have such a knack for creative work. I’ve always loved technology. When I was about 12 years old my dad bought our family a computer. At the time, computers were ridiculously expensive, I decided to take it apart to see if I could put it back together. Thankfully, for my sake, I did. My senior year of high school, I took the school’s first ever web design class. We used Microsoft word to build newsletter sites. I enjoyed it a lot and was hooked! As I started my career in IT, I learned a lot by doing research and trial/error. I’ve always had a passion for design and anything computers. I always did freelance as a part time gig while working full time at Capitol Records. Two years ago, we decided to start Kore and took the leap of faith 6 months ago to go at it full time!
Yasmin what was your background prior to starting Kore Design Group with Oris? I studied Psychology and was a Probation Officer for 6 years (crazy right?). It was a very stressful job! I later worked at the US Attorney’s office in Nashville. After years of working and not having enough time with Sofia (my first born), I decided to stay home when Oliver (my second child) was born. Meanwhile I encouraged Oris to start our business because I knew his work was great. Oris has taught me everything I know about design. I love the creativity behind marketing. I love creating beautiful work for our clients.
What types of clients do you work with and what type of content do you create for them? Our clients consist of new business owners who are in need of brand identity and existing business owners who want to re-brand or update their look.
Why are your children so cute? Aww thank you! They are the sweetest. Well, they have Chilean and Cuban mix in them, that might be why!
What is the most favorite part of your job? You know, it’s all fun! Meeting with clients and seeing their faces when they get the work you have designed for them is great! We get to work with all kinds of business owners. We have worked with Realtors, Dance Instructors, Doctors, Dentists, Marketing Firms, Donut Shop owners (yum). The greatest gift of it all is having more time with our kids. That is priceless and we feel blessed to be able to do what we love and have that time.
How hard was it for Oris to leave his corporate career to start Kore Design Group? I worked at an awesome job with amazing benefits at Capitol CMG (Universal Music Group) in Brentwood. I was the Systems Engineer and managed most of the IT infrastructure. They also trusted me to do some web and design work for them. The more time went on, I found my passion steering me towards the design side of technology. I worked doing freelance work for years, until Yasmin helped me realize I could do this full time. We started Kore 2 years ago and I continued to work full time. It was scary to let go of that steady income and benefits, but we worked really hard that first year to be able to finally have the courage to leave the corporate world and focus on our own business full time. I couldn’t have done it without Yasmin, she managed the daily tasks for a year while I worked full time. This really has been a team effort.
How do you see the business growing and expanding from here? We are looking to expand our business and we now offer our clients print services. I love the idea of being a one stop shop for them. We hope to branch out and sell some designs in the form of clothing and merchandise! Look out 2019! Our biggest success has been because of referrals, we are forever grateful for our clients that not only trust us with their work, but also are confident that we will do our best with anyone they refer to us. We try our best to stay positive and encourage one another to keep pushing. We now have 2 part time contractors/employees we work together with and we hope to keep growing in the years to come!