The Short:

Merry Poet is a hands-on design studio founded by Danielle Burr in the bustling suburbs of Salt Lake City, Utah, who loves to create clean, simple and meaningful designs. This space houses my process, inspirations, and new work as designer. Just think of it as casual conversation that you and I are having at lunch, at that great place we both know and love.

Merry Poet started as a wish in passing in what now feels like over a lifetime ago. It was one of those wishes that you either loose over time or, like in my case it will keep you up until the wee hours of the night tugging at your very soul. As you can tell her tugging won... and my adventure began. I mustard up all the knowledge and confidence that I had and decided to take a stab in a direction, any direction. Even as unfocused and carefree as that direction was, it filled the void that I was left having after dealing with the complicated corporate design world day after day. But this is where the wrench always gets tossed into the story. And my story is no differ. I couldn't keep straddling the line of what I truly wanted and what I was being asked to do. Something was going to break.

Each one of us has a story and a life. We have talents, passions and dreams, but most importantly we have a purpose. For much of my life I was pompous enough to think I understood mine, and frankly I may still be pompous enough to think I have it all figured out. But the truth of the matter is I really had no idea what I was doing. I pushed around at life like a child does with peas on his or her plate. I never really committed, never really got those darn peas on my fork, and most certainly never ate one. But somehow I always got dessert. But that changed. Remember that wrench? Well that wrench gave me a wake up call. That wrench, kneaded me like I was some of the most stubborn doe it had ever seen. It worked me over, and in the end.. well I got baked. And here I am, fresh out of the oven.

Danielle Burr received her Bachelors of Fine Arts degree from Pennsylvania College of Art and Design. Immediately after graduation she left her home-town and moved to the midwest where she worked as the Senior Web and Print Designer for a local marketing agency that dealt with fortune 500 corporations, small start-ups and everything in between. As she continued to build upon her passion for design, her understanding and drive pushed her to explore many other avenues of user interaction and user expereince design. She enjoyed the marriage that was bening create with truly understanding the power of a brand and the beauty behind how someone uses it.

Danielle's philosophy for her business, Merry Poet, came as a realization in the power of design. "Design should be used to influnce us in a postive way and never take away our agency. It should not desive us or manipulate us into thinking, believein or buying anything.. but rather uplift us, support us and utlimtanly leave us and the world a better place."