Recspec

I adore Laurel, and I can absolutely say that my business wouldn’t be the same without her amazing skills as a designer and developer!
Not only did she quickly grasp the way that I needed my website to function, Laurel completely nailed my aesthetic and voice from our very first meeting. I really appreciated how prompt and understanding she was of my specific requests, and how she never made me feel like I was inconveniencing her for asking for exactly what I want. She also anticipated a hundred little thing that I never would have thought of to make my site smoother and prettier, just ’cause she’s not happy until every detail is just right.
On top of it all, six months later, she’s continued to answer my random questions and make little tweaks and not so little upgrades to my site, so I was never left with a product that looked good right after it was designed but that I couldn’t update or manage on my own. And she’s designed some amazingly beautiful posters and promotional materials for the store, all with similarly stellar results.
The icing on the delicious cake of all this creativity and technical know-​how is that Laurel is just an all-​around bad ass babe, so sweet and fun and cool to hang out with… how many web developers can you say that about? Just go check out her website and see all the awesome pies this girl has her fingers in. I’m constantly impressed and I’m sure you will be, too.

Laurel Barickman is the Graphic Designer for my small business and I can say hands down that her skilled designs and next level conceptions have increased my business significantly. The image that she has helped us convey is far more unique, professional, and modern than all of our competitors. Our friends and customers are constantly asking where we came up with our designs or which company we use. It’s all one brilliant, creative lady! She was the first and only option for us as a designer. Very easy to work with, professional and friendly. She listens to every one of her client’s ideas to create a non-​traditional and inspired conception. She’s an absolute joy as a person and a designer and we’ve never been disappointed. We stand behind her so much that we have her designs proudly plastered all over our food trailer! Highly recommend.

Laurel Barickman saved me– I am a technophobe & also aesthetically critical to an unreasonable degree = worst possible client scenario! I really needed my online presence updated but I was completely stumped with the design. While I didn’t trust computer people to make my site an honest reflection of me, I couldn’t find design people to make my sight professional, easy to navigate and maintain. I was stuck.
Then a wonderful soul recommended Laurel and everything fell into place beautifully. She figured me out in 10minutes and worked with me PATIENTLY until I felt happy with the design. She taught me everything I needed to know about maintaining my sight. It all works perfectly. All this talent and left/​right brain excellence AND she’s warm & fun to engage with to boot. I feel so grateful — thank you Laurel — you’re a good one!

Laurel Barickman is a wonderfully talented video projectionist. I’ve worked with her multiple times and her work always adds immensely to any event. She’s a can-​do person and a real treat to work with.

I worked with Recspec to design the website
, and I couldn’t have been more pleased with the result. Laurel took the time to understand the mission/​vision for the company and presented us with a very beautiful and functional final product.
I’ve worked with Recspec many times since the building of the website, and have recommended Laurel to lots of folks in need of design. She does it all!

If you’re seeking a capable and creative web and graphic designer to revitalize your online and visual presence, you have found the golden ticket in Recspec — Laurel Barickman is one of the most brilliant and intuitive designers I have ever had the pleasure of working with. The most common conundrum I come across when seeking a designer in that past was that usually you would either find someone with an excellent graphic design sense who was less interested and capable in making a site fully functional, or an awesome code geek who was all about the practical web stuff, but lacked aesthetic vision. Finally, in Laurel — we find both! She is all about form and function. Her harmonious sense of what looks good visually is always fresh — even when going for a vintage-​y or weathered look, which is something she excels at.
Laurel is always learning new things about how to make your site work better for you, and she dives in feet first to make it happen. She’s fast as hell, her pricing is incredibly fair and good, and she is an ace when it comes to personal branding. She’s the kind of designer that understands what her clients want better than they understand that themselves. Each site or logo she creates looks exactly like the client — she really grasps their essence, and works hard to turn that into something marketable and amazing looking. Laurel has designed four websites for me, with more I’m sure to come. Each one is exactly what I wanted — except even better than I ever could have imagined. She designed my partner’s site, and sites for many of my good friends. Oh, and — she’s a whiz when it comes to Wordpress blog integration, which is something that many designers I had consulted in the past were not willing or able to learn how to do. This means that she can set up your site for you with a blog built in, that you can update and add to as you like! This is a HUGE component of each of my sites, and without her CSS and Wordpress magician skills, I feel I never would have been able to have the sites I dreamed of.
I also do events and parties, and hire her regularly to do video projections, which add a major visual component. She creates gorgeous video collages that really transform a space. Obviously, I have a lot of love and respect for Recspec — because not only is she totally awesome, she’s also super sweet and patient with people who do not fully understand the internet and all that! I love working with her, and will continue to in the future — I can’t imagine anyone else who could do what she does!

There is often a disparity between the grandiose design that exists in my imagination, and the one that is put on paper by a designer. I am fully willing to take partial responsibility for what is probably due in part to my inability to articulate what’s in my head, and maybe a misunderstanding where the language of aesthetics is conncerned.
And then I met Laurel. Clouds parted, the sun shone brightly, and I’m pretty sure I could hear the faint sound of a harp being plucked in the distance…
It was like she was in my head, flipping through my mental sketchpads, and she knew exactly how to bring these ideas to fruition! When she needed more clarification, she asked the questions that helped me be specific, and also helped me to clarify in my own mind, what I wanted in a webpage.
She was also FAST. I’ve been in business for two years and had made other attempts at creating a website, to no avail. I also had problems with designers in the past dragging out the process, and I wasn’t happy with the direction they were going in the first place. Laurel was on top of our deadlines, always responded promptly to my emails and her aesthetic is always SPOT ON. Some people do one particular style well, but Laurel is one of those artists who can span the entire spectrum– from frilly to metal– and nail it EVERY TIME.
And now that the job is complete, she continues to help me with little things that come up. I know that I can email her with what might be a stupid question, but she’s always fast to give me a straight answer back!
I can’t recommend her enough and whenever a friend is in need of a website, I always refer them to Recspec!