03Nov

The Website Hosting and Maintenance Lowdown

An instance we see often: your designer asks you about your hosting and maintenance plans when you commission a website. Hosting and maintenance? What does that even mean? Can’t I just build a website and let it exist? What does hosting mean? Who’s entertaining it? What kind of maintenance could a website possibly need? Hosting and Maintenance Keywords To make this not all sound like absolute gibberish to you, let’s go over some keywords. Domain: Simply put, a domain name (or just 'domain')...

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25Oct

Project Content We Need Before We Can Start

When you hire a designer for just about anything, they’ll probably ask you for project content. A problem we frequently face is that the phrase “project content” is intimidating to people. They don’t know what we need or want, so they don’t know what to give us. Or they have so much in mind but don’t know where to start.  So what happens? They don’t give us anything, hoping we’ll (...we don’t know, make stuff up?) and figure it out as...

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18Oct

Got Your Final Design? Think Again

There’s so much more to choosing your final design than seeing a cool shape you love and running with it. At the same time, it’s also somehow not as complicated as people make it out to be. We’re going to provide a list of questions to ask yourself before choosing your final design. These questions will streamline the process while also ensuring your boxes are checked to help prevent a need to rebrand in the future.  The advice we’re giving will...

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11Oct

Descriptive Words That Are Not as Helpful as You Think They Are

Misinterpreted, or rather, differently interpreted, descriptive words are the source of many of our hours-long meetings. We spend these meetings trying to get on the same page about what a “trendy, dynamic logo that pops” looks like when a client is unhappy with what we deliver. The problem with these words? They’re open to interpretation. A vast, wide, macro-chasm of interpretation that design goes to die. Descriptive Word Pitfalls We run into one of two problems when people use vague descriptors. The...

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05Oct

The Time to Order Client Gifts is Now

It’s surprisingly not too early to order your client (or employee!) gifts for the holidays now - even though we’re only halfway through September! Why? Certain products will come from the other side of the world, the turnaround time and shipping/supply chain issues etc. can mean that they still get here just in time. Order Time Varies It may feel silly to place an order in September that you plan to hand out in December. That feeling compounds if the order manages to...

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24Aug

Design Inspiration in Unexpected Places

You can find design inspiration in unexpected places if you just keep your eyes open. We often get clients in here who have an idea of what they want.  We also get our fair share of clients who have not the foggiest clue.  Our favorites, though, is when they sit down and say something like, “ok don’t judge me, but I was looking at my shampoo bottle and fell in love with the way they listed their organic ingredients…”  Design Inspiration Comes in...

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15Aug

Business Cards and the First Impression

Business cards are often the first impression potential clients and customers get of your business. The message your business card sends will dictate what clients think about your company—positive or negative.  There’s an old warning about never getting a second chance at a first impression. The unfair part of these impressions is that they’re hard to overcome, for better or for worse. A great first impression leads to some flexibility with future mistakes or problems. A poor first impression leads to...

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05Aug

Your Design is Only as Good as it is Readable

Any design is only as good as it is readable—and that’s a universal rule. Whether it’s a billboard, flier, or logo, it needs to be crisp and easy to read.  Complex designs can be so pretty. All the lines, script-y fonts, intersecting angles. It’s pleasing to look at. We really do get it. But designs that land on the simpler side translate better to screen printing and embroidery. They look less cluttered on a business card or flier. It directs the...

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22Jul

Color Theory and Psychology

Color theory and psychology was its own module in our graphic and web design education. That’s how important it is in the realm of design. Choosing your brand’s colors has more to it than choosing your favorite colors and running with it. Did you know there’s a psychology behind each color choice? Each color will imply something about your company whether or not that’s what you’re trying to portray.  Why Color Theory and Psychology Matters Next time you’re out, notice that many...

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20Jul

Trusting the Design Process

We have a story about how important it is to trust the design process when you hire a designer. Many clients become discouraged when their designer doesn’t come up with the perfect design on the first try. Remember, though, that we're not mind readers and will almost never be able to do it on the first try. Embrace that change happens and edits and re-works are common throughout the process.  Change is Hard Whether you’re a startup or are undergoing the massive...

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