Kamloops This Week
Graphic design for Kamloops This Week, covering real estate ads, print production, digital advertising, and motion graphics.
I started working at Kamloops This Week around 2014, focusing mainly on real estate advertising. Most of my work came through sales reps, with new ads, revisions, and last-minute updates constantly flowing through them. The pace was quick, the turnover was constant, and staying organized was essential.
My days were spent designing everything from small classifieds to full-page real estate ads in InDesign. I also used Photoshop daily to resize, clean up, and retouch property photos so they were ready for print. Once the images were prepared, the layouts came together quickly.
Eventually, one of the ad designers left and I stepped into his role. From there, I had my own regular clients and handled their advertising on a consistent schedule. Sometimes the source files were… creative. One time, I asked for a logo and received a photo of the side of a truck with the logo printed on it. I rebuilt the entire thing in Illustrator so it could actually be used properly. That kind of problem-solving ended up being a surprisingly normal part of the job.
As the company expanded into digital advertising, we began creating animated web ads using Flexitive. Depending on the project, I either designed and animated advertisements in Photoshop or worked directly within Flexitive's system when needed. This gave me the opportunity to take the production and layout skills I had developed for print and apply them to digital advertising as well.
During that time, Kamloops This Week also launched a podcast called Kamloops Last Week, and I created an animated logo sting for the show in After Effects. It was a fun shift from print-heavy work into motion and gave the podcast a recognizable animated identity for video and social media.
Kamloops This Week officially closed its doors in 2023, bringing that chapter of my career to an end. The experience itself was huge for me: tight deadlines, high output, lots of different client personalities, and a constant stream of real-world print and advertising production. I built long-term professional relationships, learned how to stay calm under pressure, and developed practical design and production skills that still show up in my work today.
And, as a fun bonus from that chapter of my life, I also happened to meet my husband there.