Fairwind’s owner and creative director, Julie Melano, started her design career in 1996 while working toward her Bachelor’s degree in Art from Southern Oregon University, focused on graphic design and photography. Upon relocating to Portland, she began dabbling in web design, and that work experience opened some interesting avenues in her career.
Around 2006, Julie began taking on freelance clients, conducting business under the business name Melano Graphics. However, for most of the next 15 years she committed herself to working as an employee for various notable graphic design and website development firms throughout the Pacific Northwest, from California, to Oregon, to British Columbia.
In 2018, after almost a decade in Canada, she and her husband became Canadian citizens. Julie is a dual Canadian/US citizen, and she maintains clients in both countries. Over the years, Julie has had the pleasure of helping approximately 700 businesses with their design needs, with projects ranging from logo design, to website content formatting, to full-spectrum brand development, to social media, to design for extensive e-commerce and database-driven websites, mobile apps, and software applications.
Julie started Fairwind Creative with the purpose of devoting all her energy and creativity as a designer and marketing strategist to help promote a healthier planet through the use of green technology and ethical practices. Fairwind’s creators and industry partners work continuously to strategize ways of transforming and “greenifying” antiquated marketing techniques.