Customer Service by Design - KG Graphics, LLC

Pittsylvania County native Kristen Gusler knew early on that she wanted to pursue a career in design. Her high school art class led to a fine arts degree from Longwood University, which eventually helped her open KG Graphics, LLC. “It was clear to me early on that even though the industry is always changing, there’s always a need for” graphic design, she said. After graduating college, Kristen spent a few years doing in-house design for a local company. While that was nice, she always felt inspired to create her own space.

“My grandparents were business owners,” Kristen said, and that is where her drive originated. She added that her father helped push her to pursue her art by teaching her as she was growing up. “He was a huge inspiration to helping me determine my career and sharing a love for art,” she said.

During her time under the leadership of others, Kristen worked on the side to build a client base of her own. Once she felt confident enough to step out, she began working independently from her home in 2009. In 2013, she moved into her current shop. “At that time, it was just me,” she said, “then a few interns, then one of those became a full-time employee, then things just started progressing from there.”

Customer Service by Design KG Graphics, LLC — This machine is also used on the “back side” to adhere designs to items using ink and stencils. By Sara Coates

When she was first getting started, Kristen said, she “started out with one laptop in a very small – 250-square-foot – room.”

Now, there are 10 employees in the 5,500-square-foot shop. That includes Kristen’s husband, Ryan. As the owner of KG Graphics, LLC, Kristen does a little bit of everything. She handles and oversees operations on the “front end,” which includes overseeing, checking, and reviewing designs. She sets up and helps with projects as needed, but has less time to dedicate directly to design. On the flip side, Ryan handles most things on the “back end,” which includes production. In addition to the pair, there are three designers, one office administrator, and four others helping with production in the back.

A typical day in the shop is about what one would expect. Orders are taken in various ways, including emails, phone calls, texts, and walk-ins. Designers communicate with customers until ideas are finalized and sent to the back to come to life. Production comes in many forms as well, including screen printing, embroidery, heat press, decals, signs, posters, banners, and so much more. A full catalog of services and samples can be found in their portfolio online.

Some of Kristen’s biggest accomplishments include working on Danville’s current city logo and assisting with the Caesars Virginia campaign as they were working to be voted into town. Being from the Pittsylvania County area, Kristen has a unique opportunity to give back to the place she loves and witness the growth of her business and skills in real time. One thing she loves about Danville is that it’s “just the right size,” having that small-town feel while still being big. “The people are friendly and everyone helps each other,” she said.

Although she knew it before, this became even more evident to Kristen during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 when she and her company created a wildly successful “Support Local” campaign. Looking for a way to give back, Kristen and her team decided to design “Support Local” t-shirts that individuals in the community could buy and then select any business to give the proceeds to. “We started this out of the goodness of our hearts, but the exposure undoubtedly benefited us a lot,” she said. “We raised about $10,000 for others within a few months and got the opportunity to meet a lot of people we had never worked with before.”

Kristen believes a lot of her and her company’s success has been due to them putting out good work and unique designs from the start. “We also try to give back to the community when we can,” she said. A benefit of working with Kristen and her team is that they share what they create on their socials and website to publicize themselves, which in turn gives their clients free advertising.

“It also really helps that we’re a one-stop shop,” Kristen said. As opposed to their competitors, they are “not your average print shop” due to their strong focus on design. Customers can come to KG Graphics, LLC for a rebrand and get unique, eye-catching designs with the business cards, t-shirts, and merchandise to match.

She said some of the “coolest” and “most unique tasks” she and the business have undertaken include “working with Buitoni on a custom box created to promote a new product to showcase for grocery stores” as well as creating “tons of business startup designs and logos. It’s awesome,” she said, “to be a part of a starting business with [its] overall image and then watching [it] grow from there.”

Although Kristen never knew she would achieve this level of success, she is content and grateful. “I wouldn’t change anything about the journey,” she continued, “I think we did things the right way and everything has flowed well.” Kristen talked about how her team took things slow so that they would be able to obtain proper equipment as it was needed to gain new skills without becoming overwhelmed. She added, “We strive to create the best work we can. We focus on producing quality work, delivering jobs on time to customers, being fair and honest with all we do, and having great customer service.”

Kristen is always seeking to gain new customers and reach more people, so that is her biggest goal for the next year. She mentioned the possibility of reaching more schools, as that is an area the company seems to lack in. Aside from that, “I think we’re finally past all of the major hiccups,” Kristen concluded, “of course there will always be little ones, but I think we’re finally settled in the groove of running things smoothly over here.”

She added that she is grateful for “an amazing team here that brings everything together. They have helped get KG Graphics to where it is today.”