A woman with shoulder-length brown hair smiling, wearing earrings, a patterned cardigan, and a black top, standing indoors with a wooden window frame in the background.

HI, I’M SUZI

I’m the owner of van der Sterre Design, a freelance graphic design studio based in Canandaigua, NY. I specialize in clean, thoughtful print design and branding, turning complex content into clear, engaging visuals for publications, events, and campaigns.

Before launching my studio in 2017, I spent over a decade as an in-house designer for national professional associations. That experience taught me how to create designs that connect, whether it’s for members, donors, customers, or communities.

Today, I partner with nonprofits, associations, small businesses, and creative professionals who need reliable design support that blends strategy, clarity, and polish.

If you’re here, you might be:

  • A nonprofit or association looking for design that elevates your communications.

  • A small business ready for a brand that builds trust.

  • An event or marketing professional in need of cohesive, engaging materials.

  • A self-published author wanting to bring your story beautifully to life.

When we work together, you can expect open communication, collaboration, and thoughtful design—delivered on time and built to make an impact.

Let's Talk!

 FAQs

  • I offer a range of print design services tailored to the needs of my clients. These services may include:

    Book Design: Designing custom cover artwork and interior typesetting for books, magazines, or other publications, ensuring readability and visual appeal.

    Editorial Design: Creating direct and meaningful designs that are specialized in layout and composition of publications magazines or newspapers to engage your readers.

    Branding: Designing quality, custom visual identities that represent the essence of a brand and builds trust with new and existing customers.

    Brochure and Booklet Design: Creating visually appealing brochures, booklets, annual reports, whitepapers, etc. for businesses to showcase their products or services.

    Event Branding: Designing marketing and onsite materials for galas, corporate events, and conventions/conferences that capture the theme and spirit of the occasion.

  • I enjoy working with a variety of clients and my simple, clean creative style is a good fit for various industries. Before reaching out, make sure to browse through my portfolio to ensure your vision and my style is a good match.

    When working with clients, I value:

    Open and honest communication: This is the cornerstone of a successful collaboration. I trust my clients to communicate their needs, goals, and preferences for each project. Clients can trust that I will listen carefully, incorporate feedback effectively, and explain my rationale based on my expertise.

    Collaboration: Working together effectively, we can make amazing things!

    Effective project management: Both my client’s and my time is valuable. Working within a set timeline that I provide is so important to establish clear expectations.

    If this all sounds good to you, let’s work together and create something amazing!

  • Discuss: Fill out the form on my Contact page to schedule a 15-30 minute call to discuss what you’re looking for, what you need, and your vision. This high-level chat will help me estimate your project accurately and determine if we’re a good fit. Next, I’ll provide an estimate and contract for the package that best fits your needs. If everything good and you are ready to move forward, I will need the contract signed and returned. A 50% non-refundable deposit is due at this time to officially book your project on my calendar.

    Discover: On most projects, I send a short client worksheet to get started. This will give me a deeper understanding of your company background, goals, audience and competitors. At this point, I might have some follow up questions that could come as an email, phone call, or meeting.

    Design: Once I’ve gotten all the information I need from you, it’s time to start designing! During this time, I will present you with drafts and you will have the opportunity to review it and provide feedback within the agreed upon timeline. A specified number of revisions will be set forth in the contract.

    Delivery: When we are happy with the design, you will receive an invoice for the remainder of the balance. Once final payment is received, I will release the files to you via Dropbox. You get to share the beautiful design with the world!

  • A 50% non-refundable downpayment is required to book your project in my calendar. The remaining 50% will be due upon completion of the project, before final delivery of files.