Crayon Evangelist

Who: Kimberly Kay Railsback
Company: InteQ Corp.
Age: 31
Has held title for: One year
Previous title: Freelance consultant

Kimberly Kay Railsback turns high-tech into high art. As crayon evangelist at InteQ Corp, a management-service provider in Bedford, Massachusetts, Railsback oversees all of the company's graphic-design needs. Where do her colorful ideas come from? Railsback draws inspiration from her design kit: a box of crayons. Favorite shades? Black, of course, and slime green.

Why crayons?

I'm an old-school designer. I think better on paper than on screen. So I often use crayons for initial sketches and then execute the concept on my computer. But even then, I'll sketch over a computer printout. Digitally, I lose a certain creative dimension.

What do you preach?

Visual impact. My job is to spread the gospel of great design. I energize the company around building a single, powerful corporate image.

What is great design?

Form and function. Legibility matters, but so do kooky, bold images. The truly great stuff blows your mind.

So you think outside the box. Does that mean you color outside the lines?

Never! You have to stay within the lines. I should know: I won 15 coloring contests as a kid. Okay, so I lied about my age a couple of times. I was pushing 14, I think, in a 12-and-under contest.