Una Healy Design

Women in Business Entrepreneur of the Year 2018

An award winning creative graphic design & branding studio, helping other businesses to grow and stand out

Graphic design, an early passion

I have always loved making and designing. From a very early age I was drawing and designing. It was something that has always been part of my life. At 14, I realised I could make money from drawing caricatures.

After school I studied Visual Communications in IADT. On leaving college, there were no jobs for design graduates in Ireland. I moved to London and began working with agencies there. By year 3, I was being head hunted by graphic design studios, yet I wanted to come home to Ireland. We were still in recession. The only way to come home was to set up a business. Not a great time for any startup!

Starting Una Healy Design

On returning home, I worked on various design projects, as people approached me to help with their businesses. I illustrated children’s books, designed brands for businesses etc. Work grew organically, until it became a full-time operation.

Growing my business with help from the Women in Business Network

I met Pauline Logan, the coordinator of the Women in Business Network and she told me more about the network.  I never looked back. That was the rocket fuel that grew my business from a small interest, to a business that now designs for major corporations, government departments, banks, new businesses and not-for-profit organisations.

The Women in Business network is a friendly and easy place to meet like-minded people. I've met some amazing women and made great friends along the way. The fact that we can suggest topics for talks and workshops to the network means that we can tailor these learning sessions to our own individual business needs. It’s an excellent way to learn about growing your business. I learnt about search engine optimisation and social media, about pitching and presenting, planning and growing a business. Not only learning from experts but learning from the wonderful women I’ve met along the way has all led to the growth of my business.

What are the challenges and opportunities of being self employed

Working for yourself gives great freedom, from a business and creative perspective. Everything you do is for the benefit of your own business. The other side of this is that, in the beginning, you are responsible for everything from the ground up! Sometimes that can be difficult. Seeing my business grow organically year on year has been wonderful and given me the desire to want to grow it bigger and better every year. So even though this business started very gradually, it is now growing at a much faster pace. And that is like a bug…

Our unique services

Faced with so much information about branding and visual communications can be daunting for a business. Una Healy Design demystifies that. We make it easy and outline step by step processes where a business can implement visuals, whether online or through print. We help take people’s ideas from their heads and put them down on paper to tell their story. We work to make brands cohesive and strong. We offer a one-to-one service and love that we get to know our clients well and this in turns helps them to use visuals to the best advantage for their business.

Achieving for others business

I love meeting clients and learning about what they want to achieve. New businesses in particular are full of infectious enthusiasm! I get to tell their stories visually. I can help someone's business to grow and watch it flourish by helping with their branding and visual communications. The variety is great, every job is different. The love of designing is a constant for me. The pride I feel when I help another business is the cherry on the cake!

Personal Satisfaction

I love that the creative part of my brain has plenty of scope on a day to day basis.

At the end of the day, I can stand back and see the physical result of what I've been working on. Graphic design gives and has given me great flexibility. At different phases of my life I was always able to work within graphic design

Next steps for Una Healy Design

To continue to grow the business at its present rate and to work with and build teams of people who are experts in their fields in collaborative ventures. 

Further Information

www.unahealydesign.com