About Colleen Gratzer

Hi. I’m Colleen Gratzer. I'm a designer, accessibility specialist, educator and mentor. I’ve been in the design industry since 1997.

I’m chief creative officer and accessibility specialist at Gratzer Graphics, which I started in 2003 as a design business.

I did all the things, taking on anything and everything, catering to pretty much every client whim.

After about 10 years, despite always being busy and making good money, I found myself completely fed up with my business.

I wasn’t in control of it. Clients were.

I found it difficult to get new clients and I wasn’t getting the work I wanted. I wasted so much time writing proposals, responding to RFPs and having meetings with clients that went nowhere.

They would always pick someone else—

  • A designer who charged less,
  • A designer who charged more,
  • A designer with more experience in a particular niche or industry,
  • A designer who wasn’t even usually better skilled,
  • A designer who was clearly more confident with selling (which would make me sweat bullets).

I was drained from dealing with late-paying clients.

I was fed up with bully clients.

I had no focus.

I hated the sales process.

I felt stuck. I cried a lot out of frustration.

I invested in coaching and some business and marketing courses. Some of it helped, but I kept wondering when I would gain some real traction.

Then one day in 2016, I got into accessibility by accident.

I was interested in it because it merges design with technical, and I like that. I also liked that my work would help more people—people who shouldn’t be excluded in the first place—and have bigger impact.

At first, I wondered if I’d just invested in new skills that I would not be able to put into practice much. After all, I really didn’t have any clients asking for this work at that time.

But what happened next was totally unexpected.

My business took a huge turn—for the better.

I started talking about accessibility, and I started getting that work. At first, it was here and there, and then it was like a snowball effect.

Soon, clients started coming to me from all over for this work.

I become so much more confident when talking to clients—in meetings, presenting work and explaining design decisions. The work was more profitable too.

I got a ton more respect than I had in the past.

I differentiated myself from the competition. I started winning way more projects than in the past, and the sales process became so much easier!

Clients stopped questioning my pricing.

I got almost no pushback on my designs.

This was the change my business needed. This was the change I needed.

But I knew I wasn’t the only designer out there who had dealt with these same exact issues.

So in 2018, I started Creative Boost and the Design Domination podcast.

My mission is to help designers gain confidence, clarity and a competitive edge over other designers.

Accessibility is one way I help them do that.

Accessibility guidelines are vague, confusing or overwhelming. Many designers find themselves fumbling around Google or in a frozen state about what to do for accessibility.

I help designers who see accessibility as the responsible thing to do or who want their work to have more value and reach more people. I break down accessibility practices into plain-English, practical steps with clear examples. I teach the rules without reading the rules.

International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) seal.I am a member of the International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP).

Brand Academy Certified Branding Expert seal.I'm also a Brand Academy™ Certified Branding Expert.

The Design Domination Podcast

On the podcast, I share my real-world graphic design and business expertise—what I've learned, what I’ve done right, what I could have done better, accessibility insights and more. Hear more about why I started the podcast.

Appearances

I've appeared on several podcasts and blogs and at events:

  • U.S. Department of the Interior
  • CreativePro.
  • G D U S A.
  • WP Accessibility Day.
  • Able Tech.
  • Josh Hall Co.
  • The Admin Bar.
  • Chax Chat podcast.
  • WP Elevation.
  • Page Builder Summit.
  • Agency Trailblazer.
  • Logo Geek.
  • Just Creative.
  • This Design Life.
  • Freelancers Union.
  • Main WP.
  • Permaslug.
  • Atarim.
  • Smart Web Creators.
  • The SDM Show.
  • Creatives Ignite 2020.
  • Nailing It!
  • Design for Geeks.
  • Canvas Rebel.