about plaidfish

aimee lesatz grover, designer
one husband, three babies, a house full of animals, a yard full
of flowers and a love for sending cards, art and graphic design

Plaidfish Communications began in the spring of 2002. After working at various graphic design/internet companies in the city, I learned a great deal about user experience design and the rat race of the corporate world. I decided after awhile that it wasn’t the place where I wanted to spend the rest of my life. I felt like I was getting further and further away from my true passion for art, design and photograph; and more into document preparation, boring client meetings in stuffy rooms and spending time with people that didn’t really care if I contributed or not. On the train home, I spent hours daydreaming of working in my own studio with my cat, Emma perched on the windowsill, client meetings on the patio, and having the freedom go take pictures if the sun was just at the right angle. On the 5:26 pm Metra train home from Chicago, all of the ideas were sketched out and Plaidfish was born.

Today Plaidfish Communications is a thriving graphic design/photography business with many additions to our portfolio, including an online community for kids with cancer, a promotional brochure for a local artist and a complete re-branding of a nearby environmental consulting firm. My vast client list includes a number of small start-ups, in addition to many large established businesses. Teams are formed depending on the needs of a project and can include project managers, content strategists, information architects, designers, html developers and engineers. I have an excellent list of contractors, all of whom I’ve worked with in the past. Depending on the needs of the project I can manage these contractors, or put you in contact with them directly.

Just recently, we  started our own greeting card and gift business with SendOutCards. With SendOutCards we’re able to build an additional income stream through giving – such a neat concept. Not only does it help us keep in touch with our friends and family, but it’s helping us create a business where we’ll be able to spend more time with our friends and family. It’s neat too because we’ve been able to incorporate it into our service offerings. Good stuff.