Clients Testimonials

I’m the director of a small pottery school that offers ceramic workshops in the summer. There are several other schools in the US that offer somewhat similar classes, so it is important to create a unique image for our program so that we can highlight the uniqueness of what we’re doing. Also, speaking from a simple logistical point of view, it is crucial that we show up high in a search results for our product. Masa Uehara not only created a beautiful, aesthetically pleasing site for our pottery school, but she dedicated herself above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that our site appeared toward the top of the page on the important search engines; indeed, our site shows up at the very top of the page on Google Directory for a key search phrase. Masa is very easy to work with and is full of great ideas. She asks important questions which help you to clarify what you are trying to communicate. In two weeks, we had our site up and fully functioning, and were getting our first applications over the internet. I highly recommend her services.
—Ben Parks, Director, Tuscarora Pottery School  www.tuscarorapottery.com

Your creations of my website, brochure, and business card have brought DRAMATICALLY increased bookings (sales). Thank you, Masa, for artfully interpreting my needs and skillfully implementing the nuts and bolts. Expect a call soon as the website expands.
—Carl Vast, Musician  www.vastmusic.com  

Masa Uehara is a true expert in the field of web design. She is very knowledgeable and a dedicated professional in every sense of the word. Masa is easy to work with, responsive to suggestions and finds a creative solution to every challenge. She has excellent follow-through, communicates clearly, and respects deadlines and the needs of her clients. Masa has designed a website for us that is attractive, accessible, and very user friendly. It's also an excellent reflection of who we are as an organization. Another plus is that Masa knows how the Internet search engine world works and makes sure that our website not only looks great but that it is also getting maximum exposure on the web. Masa also designed an attractive brochure for the festival and handled all the printing arrangements insuring that we got the best price and highest quality product possible. We couldn't have found a better designer!
—Sierra Storytelling Festival  www.sierrastorytellingfestival.org

Thank you for the beautiful design work as well as the vast functional improvements you made to the Marys River Watershed Council’s web site. Not only is our organization easy to find on the internet now, we have a very professional and tasteful website for people to enjoy! I have received many compliments on the improved look and feel of our website—from our own board members to the Governor of Oregon’s staff! We found your services very professional, your work completed in a very timely manner, you were terrific to work with, and responsive to our requests and questions. We would not hesitate to hire your company again for any future web needs.
—Sandra Coveny, Director, Marys River Watershed Council  www.mrwc.net

Masa has been our web and graphic designer for the past five and a half years. She is wonderful to work with and very professional. We always recieve great compliments on our website from customers searching for eyecare services. Also, she makes it very user friendly. She has designed our logo, the shopping bags, the marketing mailer, the gift cards, and the overhead sign outside the clinic in the shopping center arcade as well. We at Grass Valley Eyecare highly recommend Masa Uehara Design!—Tanya Markis-Meyer
Grass Valley Eye Care   www.gveyecare.com

Starting to work with Masa was a huge leap forward into my own identification and connection of my work to the business world. She was able to recognize accurately what elements needed to come together to create an effective, rounded, and powerful identity. Her choice of the font, colors, style of presentation and the overall look she gave to my website, as well as my logo, the brochures, the advertisements, the product tags, and the point of purchase display have created a synergistic strength. I know for a fact that her creativity and clarity have been a big part of my current success. —Maya Hill, Owner, In Your Nature

Partial Clients List

Food Bank of Nevada County (Grass Valley, CA)

Sierra Storytelling Festival   
  Queen of the storytelling festivals (Nevada City, CA) It has a feature of online ticketing.

Carl Vast
  Guitarist for corporate and private events. It links to over 30 music clips.
  Music booking service (Healdsburg, CA)

Tuscarora Pottery Workshop
  It offers summer courses.  (Tuscarora, NV) Most enrolments come from this web page.

BriarPatch Co-op
  Natural Food Co-op   (Grass Valley, CA)

North San Juan Fire Department
  Information on community volunteer service (North San Juan, CA)
  The site is now maintained by a volunteer.

Grass Valley Eye Care  (Grass Valley, CA)

Marys River Watershed Council (Corvallis, Oregon)

Holly Tornheim   Wood Sculptures and Table Art (Nevada City, CA)

Jenny Long  Painting & drawings (Nevada City, CA)

Best Friends Animal Clinic (Grass Valley, CA)

California Basket Weavers Association  

Bruce Boyd, AIA

Masa Uehara Professional Biography

WEB DESIGNER/DEVELOPER, GRAPHIC DESIGNER, MARKETING CONSULTANT
Extensive experience in graphic design and web site design. Successful in creating web sites that are search engine friendly, clean, visually exciting, yet easy to navigate and quick to download. Strength lies in ability to bring classic graphic design training into web and multimedia design.

• Problem solving             • Team player
• Project management      • High aesthetic standards

TECHNICAL & COMMUNICATION SKILLS
Computer: Flash, Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Fireworks, Macromedia Director, FrontPage, Image    Ready, FreeHand, Illustrator, Final Cut Pro, Premiere, QuickTime, Adobe InDesign
Languages: Bilingual in Japanese and English
Calligraphy: Japanese and Chinese

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
MASA UEHARA DESIGN—Nevada City, CA   1990-Present
Web, Flash, Graphic Design, and marketing consultation
Some of the highlights include:
• Full service web design projects including nsjfire.org, tuscarorapottery.com, vastmusic.com,    inyournature.com, ADADorg.com, sierrastorytellingfestival.org
• Designed posters and T-shirts for California Indian Basketweavers Association for 2000 and 2001.
   2000 art was reprinted the following year by popular demand.
• Designed brochures for the Sierra Storytelling Festival for the past 9 years.
• Designed a website and an identity package for Carl Vast, guitarist: brochures, business card,
   and ads.
• Designed a complete package for In Your Nature: website, brochures, business system (logo,    business card, envelope, stationery), product tags, ads, price lists, order forms, and point of    purchase display.

HEALTH NET FEDERAL SERVICES—Sacramento, CA   1994-2001
Multimedia Specialist     1999-2001
Designed web pages, shot and edited videos, and created multimedia training CD ROM as well as designed and produced printed products.
Some of the highlights include:
• Created an animated introduction in a special file format as part of the Health Net Federal    Services president's presentation on a super-sized screen to the Federal Government in    Washington, DC
• Developed architecture of comprehensive web site for Denticare AVP division and designed the   website which linked to more than 130 forms and brochures seamlessly, thus contributing to a   dramatic advancement in communication efficiency for beneficiaries and providers.
• Played an active role in shooting an introductory video, and then played a major role in creating
   an interactive multimedia CD ROM (Macromedia Director, Flash and Final Cut Pro), increasing    effectiveness of provider training.
• Created splash pages and navigation graphics which gave appropriate, high-quality "look feel,"
   thus increased visits to intranet sites dramatically. Received unsolicited compliments from    Vice-presidents and Directors.

Senior Graphic Designer    1994-1999
Managed and executed the preparation of print and on-line marketing products, handling all aspects of project work, from client consultation and conceptualization through design and production to delivery.
• Designed 8 multi-language brochures in a way that cut printing costs roughly 50% by reducing    the number of the (print press) plates.
• Developed a logo usage manual and standardized the usage of over 20 corporate division logos.
• Handled an extensive variety of design assignments including on-line graphics, splash pages,    logos, posters, ads, brochures, booklets, manuals, newsletters, company collaterals, trade show
   booths, outdoor billboards, T-shirts, and point-of-service products.
• Gave technical support as liaison with Information Technology department: troubleshooting,    coordination of equipment repair, evaluation and recommendation of software and hardware. 

PAT DAVIS DESIGN—Sacramento, CA    1993-1994
Graphic Designer
Managed projects, designed, and executed all aspects of creating printed marketing products from client consultation and concept through design to electronic prepress and print supervision.
• Art-directed photo shoot and designed a full-color product catalog.
• Wide variety of design assignments that included billboards, logos, business systems, invitations,
   brochures, posters, packages and newsletters.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
UC Davis Extension (1997-2000): Web and Multimedia Design Certificate Program, with courses in:
Web Page Graphics, Web Page Creation and Authoring, Internet Architecture and Services, Desktop Digital Video Editing, Multimedia on the Web, Multimedia Authoring and Scripting, Multimedia 2D Graphics, 3D Graphics and Animation, Multimedia Creative Direction, Multimedia Project Planning.

EDUCATION
• Advanced Study in Graphic Design, California State University,
   Chico, CA
• Certificate Program in Graphic Design, UC Davis Extension
• Graduate Study in English Literature, Ochanomizu Women's University,
   Tokyo, Japan
• BA and graduate study in English Literature, Kobe University, Japan

Please call or email us today for a quote at 530.292.9500 or design@masauehara.com.