Meet Venroy Joseph, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of veJov Design, LLC, a Black-owned graphic design firm based in Pennsylvania that has been creating funeral programs since its founding. However, when the pandemic began, the agency began to receive a much larger demand for funeral programs for loved ones.
This has led Venroy and his staff to become more creative and unique with his designs. One of their most unique ideas was a funeral program designed as a passport for a woman who loved to travel. The pages throughout the “passport” program included stamps of every country she visited.“I read her life sketch and discovered that her love for traveling began on school trips. On those trips, she always wanted to see new places and carried a camera with her wherever she went—there was no stopping her. She traveled to more than 20-something countries,” Venroy says. “I wanted to capture the essence of who she was and have people who came to her funeral learn about her remarkable life. My approach to designing a funeral program is similar to what I do with any branding project, by finding out about them and presenting them in a way they are understood to their particular audience.”
He says that his company has created more than 55 funeral programs, and they create each one to be as personable and unforgettable as the person they are creating them for. “Funeral programs are meant to honor a loved one, and we go the extra mile to make sure the loved one is remembered,” he adds.
More than 1.7 million people have died from COVID-19 to date, according to the Johns Hopkins University data report, and more than 11,000 deaths have occurred in Pennsylvania since the beginning of the pandemic, according to a New York Times database. As a result of the growing number of deaths, there has been a rise in private funeral services during the coronavirus pandemic. Before coronavirus, about one in every 100 obituaries mentioned a private service; now that figure is one in 10, according to a USA Today analysis of Gannet newspaper obituaries.
veJov Design, as a small Black-owned business, is working hard to stem the impact of the pandemic. While many small-owned businesses have been forced to close down, veJov Design has been able to hire more employees and garner additional business.
“Our office has transformed into a virtual environment where we can work with our clients seamlessly, without missing a beat,” says Venroy. “Despite COVID-19, we are moving full-steam ahead and looking at things strategically to keep going.”
For more information or to request a quote for graphic design services, visit veJov.com or call 610-228-2630 or email engage@vejov.com.