Today we’d like to introduce you to Karl Bischoff and Laural Bischoff.
Karl and Laural, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
We are husband and wife, so the beginnings of Kural Design are rooted in the beginning of our marriage. We met in New York City circa 2002. We bonded over our love of films and our drive to ‘create’. Karl’s background is in photography and photography production. Laural has a BA in Theatre with a focus on production and direction. After making several short films using Super 8, 16mm and digital we both started temp work in publishing and at creative firms. In 2008 we tied the knot and decided to branch out on our own focusing on print and online marketing. After 3 successful years in NYC we made the move to Chicago in 2011 to grow our family both business wise and personally. Our son was born in 2013 and in 2015 we transitioned to Evanston.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
One of the challenges we face is to constantly adapt to a rapidly changing industry. The targets have changed for us and for our clients as well. When we first started with J.C. Penney, the work was primarily printed look books and within the first two years the demand switched to digital look books. Karl remembers teaching Laural how to write and edit HTML code in a matter of 48 hours so we would meet a deadline.
Another challenge is knowing our strengths and weaknesses. Being a small business means we have to be scalable on demand. We are fortunate enough to have two incredibly talented freelancers working with us on a continuous basis. Garrett Tershel, our web developer, understands multiple programming languages and is constantly keeping up-to-date on various web trends. Garett enjoys solving complex problems by developing structured plans and collaborating with us. Curtis Balom, our writer / technical writer, specializes in crafting content that tells a story by building on the brand identity and strategy.
Please tell us about Kural Design.
Kural Design is a strategic marketing collateral firm. What does that mean? Well, we create print, web, identity, digital, and film communication pieces for clients.
We are most proud of our relationships with our clients. Our loyalty, drive and hands on or off approach, as needed, is what sets us apart from other firms.
We believe in total brand alignment. Whether a client has an established brand / identity or we are creating their origin story …. Every aspect of the brand needs to share a consistent message.
What are your plans for the future? What are you looking forward to or planning for – any big changes?
Our future plans include self- marketing. The old adage applies to our company – “The shoemaker’s children go barefoot”. We frequently dedicate all our time to our clients and not enough on marketing our own business. In addition, we want to further our education in emerging fields. We want to explore marketing techniques tied into Smart Home products and A.I. and use that knowledge to help our clients and to have Kural Design excel in the marketplace. Lastly, we’d like to continue building and reaffirming relationships with our current and prospective clients.
Contact Info:
- Address: 1603 Orrington Ave
Suite 600
Evanston, IL 60201 - Website: kuraldesign.com
- Phone: (312) 473-2341
- Email: info@kuraldesign.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kuraldesign/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kuraldesign
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/kuraldesign
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/kural-design-evanston
- Other: https://plus.google.com/+Kuraldesign
Image Credit:
Karl Bischoff
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