Jenni Sheets Parsons - Graphic Designer // Project Manager
Jenni Sheets Parsons - Graphic Designer // Project Manager
I am a pisces and miss being near the ocean but am very fulfilled here in Cincy. I moved here about 8 years ago from North Carolina. I was smack-dab in the center of the state. 2 hours to the mountains or 2 hours to the ocean. You're probably thinking, "Why Ohio?!" Honestly, I have found that this area is rich in the arts. I have more opportunities here to be the real me; I would've never had these opportunities back home. The only downside is being far from my family, they are all in North Carolina but I try to see them as much as I can.
I was recently married to my most favorite person on the planet, Tyler. I am also a dog mom. We have a pup-son named Doc and he is so much fun. I love my little family and we generally enjoy doing a lot of nothing. We hang at our house most of the time watching movies. Tyler has quite the BluRay and DVD collection - I think it's at 850+ titles. We enjoy horror movies the most but watch anything and everything. If we aren't watching movies and cuddling with the pup, we are most likely somewhere eating delicious food.
Not only am I a kick ass designer and project manager (per my own opinion) but I am a singer and performer. My original major in college was vocal performance. For the past 3 years, I have focused all my music-driven efforts on singing lead for my a cappella quartet, Half and Half. We are the highest scoring mixed quartet in the nation and have been invited to compete for the World Championship title in Germany in April 2022 representing the USA (insert USA chant here). I know what you're going to ask and yes, it's exactly like Pitch Perfect but with a much smaller budget. I love this part of my life - it is allowing me to travel to places I never thought I would go and with some of my favorite people.
I have been working within the creative space for 17 years. I started out at a vinyl sign shop designing and applying graphics right out of college. Then I moved into a CAD designer role for folding cartons at Ameritek in Greensboro, NC. My "adult job" was my first corporate gig at Ecolab. I was honored to work there for 6 years before moving to Cincinnati. I have been working at Cintas for the past 7.5 years. With that said, working in an internal-agency type setting has taught me a lot about design and processes. Having both internal and external customers has challenged my design mind for the better. I have learned how to be creative while following processes and also keeping my customer top-of mind.
I am very artistic, yes. But oddly enough I am quite Type A. I love lists...I have lists of lists I need to list - you feel me? My most current corporate role has me split between designing for a single division and also project managing across 4 divisions and with category managers, marketing managers, planners, printers/manufacturers. Some are right here in the office and others are in China, Mexico, Haiti, etc. To put it frankly, I can work with anybody from anywhere.
The normal workload is 17 projects but my average is 40+. I get things done. I keep people on task. I am trusted by my customers and am often requested as project owner. I have learned how to really prioritize. Sure, everyone's projects are "top priority" but with 40 of them and 1 of me - you have to figure out the day-to-day balance.