They call me Brim...
Or Ashley. Brimley was my maiden name, and as my 5th-grade teacher put it, "there's too many Ashleys in here!" and that's how "Brim" began.
I am a Michigan-made designer located in Charlotte, NC. Legally, I'm now a Smalley, but don't call me "Smalls" or you'll be killin' me! I have been married to my best friend, Phillip Smalley, since 2024. We live with our household mascot, Edmund, a spunky black pug who fulfilled my lifelong dream of becoming a pug parent.
I have a passion for not only creating clever and neat designs but also cultivating good experiences, whether that's through the click of a website or the moment someone touches a business card. Paper is my jam, the smell of a Sharpie ignites my imagination, and pushing pixels is part of my daily workout. I was raised by a family of left-brainers who balanced out my right-brain thinking to create an imperfect perfectionist. I find beauty in mixing analog and digital processes as well as using patterns from nature and human behavior to inform my design.
My main squeezes are graphic and web design, but I also dabble in illustration. Outside of design and the digital world, you might pass me running on the nearest nature trail, running and/or veering to look at a butterfly, or sniffing books at the local bookstore.
I have had the pleasure of teaching an introductory course in typography in the same room where I learned typography basics at Michigan State University. If I have to share one takeaway from the experience, it would be that if you ever get the chance to teach, take it; you’ll end up learning more than you can imagine.
I graduated from Michigan State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Art with a concentration in Graphic Design (yes, back before they had a Graphic Design degree).
