DESIGN EDUCATOR
& Brand designer 

your modern

Ashlea Spitz

Meet Ashlea

You’re a high-value creative who believes life is what you make it. And as for what you’re making?

Together, let’s mix up a cocktail of creativity and passion with some profit on top. 

Figuring out what to do (not to mention how to do it, when to do it, and even why you should be doing it) isn’t always as easy like a Sunday morning.

And effortlessly navigating life as a stylish, modern, high-value creative determined to find your way, grow your gifts, and build a profitable design business that allows you to live your best life? Lol! 


the only problem...

Pass the spicy margarita!

*CLINK!

Once I earned my degree in business marketing, working in advertising and promotions made me realize my love for the creative brilliance behind it all. I then returned to college and earned a digital arts degree, taking the typical corporate journey before being headhunted to work as a motion graphics artist at City TV, where I then ventured into designing branding and user interfaces for a leading biometrics company and pioneering the UX/UI for one of the first live streaming video sites in the world (pre-YouTube days!) generating more than 1M views in the first day.

And then, life threw me a curveball.

My Story

Actually, pour two. It’s time to sip and share.

I started in the same place a lot of my students begin: Spending a small fortune on formal education, only to waste my talents working for someone else’s dream (while my dream was left on the sidelines; starved and neglected).

Ashlea Spitz 2021

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Mine was realizing, amidst a challenging time in my life, that it was time to design my future. I left my stable job (with its hard-to-leave salary), and started my own freelance design business over 17 years ago, bringing in a quarter-mil in only my second year of business – with no help.

Just me. Figuring it out all on my own.

(If that sounds like a humble brag, hold that thought, because I’ll come back to it.)

Then, I was invited as a guest speaker for a design class a local University, where shortly thereafter I was asked to consider a regular teaching opportunity. Evidently, I said YES, allowing it to steer me in a direction I never thought my design career would take me in.

… and fast forward to today, I am happily living my dream! 

Every cloud has
a silver lining. 

I’VE WORKED WITH CLIENTS FEATURED IN:

In an age where digital sharing has become prolifically ordinary, the lost art of knowledge sharing feels extraordinarily special.

Giving back to the community that gave me the very opportunities that made me who I am today and inspiring go-getting creatives to design their dreams brings me so much joy.

And being able to help you skip the stress of figuring it all out yourself (because let’s be honest: that isn’t fun), means I can help you become more purposeful, profitable, and powerful faster than ever.

…Sparing you the 20+ years it took me to develop the experience and expertise I have today.

Keep growing, keep giving...

I  believe ...

In giving back, community over competition and that love and kindness spent are never wasted.

In making higher education fun (seriously – you’ll soon love learning).

In solving complex problems with simple solutions that are reliably repeatable, scalable, and results-driven.

In finding joy in even the smallest of things.

Your time is precious and that the energy you spend should show a return on your investment.

We should never stop creating, learning and evolving.

Secret confessions

Somehow 3 of my dogs ended up having names that resembled Italian drinks Belleini, Moka & Chino. My other 2? They got the french names Chloé & Léon.

I swam with WILD sharks in the Bahamas (…and I’m petrified of fish, so this was a BIG deal! *Sweats*).

I once rappelled down a 40-storey building to raise money for a kid’s charity.

I’ve learned to fly a Cessna plane.

I LOVE interior design and use my home as my canvas.

My first design software experience was with Microsoft Paint in the 80's!

Secret confessions

I *love* adding pointless things to my Amazon cart (no, but really, I needed it. Lol!)

As a kid, I would sell my paintings and tickets to our backyard plays.

I’m a sucker for shoes (and chocolate).

I’m great at problem-solving and being positive (but horrible at doing the dishes).

I don't judge but who are we kidding, I will likely judge your font choice! Lol!

I’ve taken my 20 years of experience building and maintaining a successful design business, blended it with my history as a professional design educator teaching at the University level, and then shaken in the practical knowledge I gained empowering Fortune 500, corporate, and internationally publicly traded companies to reach their brand and marketing goals.

My approach

the Result?

A cocktail of complete professional development tailor-made for go-getting creatives.

From scaling your side-hustle into a successful design business through to growing your professional creativity, clarity, conversions, opportunities and results, I’ll teach you step by step how to cultivate the skills necessary to earn more doing what you love (all while being praised and appreciated as the modern, high-value designer you are). 

Ashlea Spitz 2021

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Built and maintained a successful design business since 2005

Over the years...

Generated multi-millions in revenue

RGD 2021 Design Educator Award Honourable Mention for Western Canada

Serving on the Board of Education for the RGD (Registered Graphic Designers) 2021-present

Earned a Master of Education in Curriculum Development & Instruction: Post-secondary,  Specializing in Digital Design (2020)

Over 16 years developing & teaching modern graphic design curriculum and developing programs for accredited Canadian Universities and Colleges

Program advisory board member for several institutions (BCIT, VCC, UFV)

Ashlea Spitz 2021

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Elected to VP National Design Education for DESCAN (Design Professionals of Canada, previously GDC) supporting design scholarships 2016-2019

JUNG KWON,
PRODUCT DESIGNER

Ashlea is the best instructor and mentor I’ve ever had. Her teaching skills are exceptional, and her design skills are top-notch. Moreover, she is a great person. Everything I had learned from her helped me to land a designer job that I always dreamed of. I highly and proudly recommend Ashlea to anyone who wants to learn design!

ISABELLE LAU,
SENIOR GRAPHIC DESIGNER

Ashlea is an amazing instructor and mentor who really fine-tuned my skills and prepared me to work as a professional graphic designer. She is patient, insightful and really opened my eyes about print and digital design. She reignited my love and excitement for graphic design and I can’t thank her enough for kickstarting my career as a graphic designer. If you are looking to learn and grow both your talent and technical skills as a designer, Ashlea will be there every step of the way.

KARISSA MACAPAGAL,
DIGITAL CREATOR & DESIGNER

Ashlea was my instructor at VCC for the Graphic Design program and it was an absolute pleasure being able to learn from her. She is a truly passionate and caring educator that inspires her students to think big and design with intention. Through her knowledge, guidance, and insight into the industry, I felt confidently prepared to go out into the workforce as a young designer. I strongly recommend Ashlea and all the value that she brings as a design educator and mentor.

A. BECAUSE I GENUINELY CARE
B. ITS MY DUTY TO GIVE BACK
C. I LOVE TO SEE MY STUDENTS SUCCEED
D. ALL OF THE ABOVE

Why do I teach:

A. ITS UNLIMITED
B. COLORS/PATTERNS/TYPOGRAPHY
C. Creating a visual language
D. THE AMOUNT OF GOOD IT CAN DO

What I love most about design:

A. STARBUCKS
B. HOMESENSE
C. SAKS FIFTH AVE
D. SEPHORA

I can usually be found at:

A. ACHIEVE CLARITY IN THIER BUSINESS
B. BUILD CONFIDENCE & DRIVE
C. INCREASE THIER PROFITS
D. ALL OF THE ABOVE

The creatives I serve:

A. Rosé
B. FRENCH 75
C. JALAPEÑO MARGARITA
D. COSMOPOLITAN

My happy hour go-to drink:

A. FAMILY
B. FRIENDSHIP
C. HONESTY
D. ALL OF THE ABOVE

What I value most:

A LITTLE MORE ABOUT ASHLEA

Q/A

Get to know me

© 2023 ASHLEA SPITZ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED / WEB DESIGN by PIXSOUL MEDIA

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you are resilient
you are innovative
and you are a mother f*ING

boss!

Just in case no one's told you today...