WinshipPhillips: Life By Design By: Noelle Bartl Imagine growing up in the small village of Tularosa, New Mexico (population 2,800) in the shadows of the
Ken and Becky Phillips in 1983.
Her job, however, included crazy hours and little pay, so to allow for more creative opportunities, Becky started her own freelance design firm. Her clients included JCPenney, various non-profits and healthcare leaders.
Sacramento Mountains and
Meanwhile, in 1989 Ken and a colleague opened an
being told by your high school
advertising and design agency called Griffith Phillips
counselor, “You aren’t college
Creative, Inc. During the 14 years under Ken’s creative
material.” You’ve been raised
leadership, their clients included mobile giants
on your grandparents’ farm,
Verizon, Sprint and Northern Telecom to name a few. In
not knowing that you could
2002, Adweek Magazine named the firm #33 of the Top
question your counselor’s
50 Agencies in the Southwest. Ken often hired Becky as
advice to pursue a technical
a freelance designer to work on client projects.
vocation as an auto mechanic.
Realizing they worked well as a team, Ken and Becky
Your friends prepare to go to college while you continue
started their own firm, WinshipPhillips, in 2003.
to draw and sketch in your free time until graduation.
Together they handle a multitude of projects including
Then, while framing some of your artwork at a shop in
corporate identity, advertising, graphic design and
Alamogordo, the owner asks, “Are you an art major? If
corporate communication solutions for clients in the
not, you should be! You can major in art at ENMU.”
non-profit, healthcare and fine art arenas, as well as
And that clandestine conversation changes your life path forever. This is exactly what happened to Ken Phillips (BS 82) who never knew one could study art in college. He packed up and drove to Portales to earn a degree in commercial art with a minor in drafting from ENMU. Now, imagine growing up on the other side of the world, where sandy beaches and coconut palm trees are the norm. Ken’s fellow classmate Becky Winship (BFA 82) was born on the island of Cebu in the Philippines, where
print and exhibition projects for galleries and museums. After 33 years in Dallas, the couple relocated their business to Santa Fe, New Mexico where they retained most of their Texas clients and gained new ones. Together their work has been featured in Adweek, Communication Arts, Print, Graphic Design USA – People to Watch, Dynamic Graphics, HOW, LogoLounge and more. Ken and Becky believe the creative process should be fun. That perspective is the basis for their long-term client relationships and success.
her parents were missionaries. At 8 years old, Becky’s family moved to the United States. Similar to Ken, Becky enjoyed drawing, sketching and “art of any kind.” Her Portales High School art teacher was instrumental in guiding her to ENMU’s commercial art program where she focused on illustration and package design, as well as a minor in marketing. After graduation, Ken and Becky both moved to Texas. They began dating which led to marriage, and the two made their home in Dallas. For six years, Becky worked for a small design firm that created collateral and packaging for various clients including Frito-Lay. While working there, she created an illustration that was on the back of Funyuns bags for over 20 years! She jokes that this is her “claim to fame.”
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Green & Silver | April 2018
WinshipPhillips is the creative partnership of Ken Phillips and Becky Winship Phillips (pictured). The creative firm has been recognized by the Dallas Ad League, Press Club of Dallas, American Advertising Federation, International Association of Business Communicators and many more.
