MISSION STATEMENT
Paper Heart Design Co. is a graphic design + communications firm connects small businesses, nonprofits, and creatives with their community through graphic design, brand development, and storytelling.
Our vision is to use the power of storytelling to create connections and elevate your brand.
We believe in creativity, integrity, and purpose driven work. We believe clear communication is a game changer. We believe collaboration leads to elevation. We believe in the power of stories, and yours deserves to be told.
Hi, I’m Annie Stout and Paper Heart Design Co. is my design firm. I am an artist, graphic designer, and multi-passionate entrepreneur.
I grew up in metro Detroit where art was always on my mind. I always knew I wanted to be an artist. My mom kept a little book when I was in school that had a spot for a school photo, report cards, and notes. Each year had a “What do you want to be when you grow up?” line and I always wrote in some kind of artist. I took a graphic arts class my senior year in high school and that was the first time I thought to myself that I could make a viable career out of art. I was drawn to the preciseness of digital art. I was thrilled by the option of the Ctrl+Z command.
I studied art at Central Michigan University, where I graduated with cum laude honors in 2007. I earned both a Bachelor of Applied Arts, as a double major in Graphic Design and Sculpture, with a minor in Art History, and a Bachelor of Science in Art Education, with a minor in Industrial Education. I was obsessed with learning about all the ways one can create. I wanted to take every class then, and I’m constantly learning new skills and experimenting with art to this day.
Paper Heart Design Co. was founded in 2008. It is a full service graphic design studio specializing in small business logo design and visual identity development. I also have a blog where I share color palettes to inspire, sell my artwork, create public art, and have fun merch for creatives. I also run an online creatives community on Facebook called Art is a Record, and recently self published a book by the same name with my good friend, Liz May.
The book, Art is a Record: The 2021 Letters, chronicles a year of intentionally connecting over art, the creative process, and friendship through letters. Liz and I share stories of the role that art has played in our lives. We look at life as a creative person and the joys and frustrations that go along with that.
My goal for Paper Heart Design Co. is to encourage people to do more of what makes them feel alive. I help small businesses create branding and marketing materials, so they look professional when they share their wares with the world. I help myself by connecting with community, creating freely, and accepting that making bad art is normal. I believe talking about this helps other creatives know they’re not alone. I truly believe that creating makes the world better.
I am also a proud committee member for Public Arts Midland, Co-Chair of the Art Seen Festival, and committee member for the Safe & Sound Child Advocacy Center’s Annual Art + Advocacy fundraiser.
My motto comes from Elsie de Wolfe, “I’m going to make everything around me beautiful- that will be my life.”
