Near-field communication cards, or NFC cards, are a hot new wave for business marketing.  Using these cards, you can upload your contact information directly to a contact’s phone. The benefits of NFC business cards are almost infinite, which makes them a no-brainer for most business owners. But there are times that a traditional business card is still beneficial!  Direct vs. Relationship Marketing To understand the differences between NFC cards and traditional business cards, you must first understand the different types of marketing. Relationship marketing is a strategy of management and marketing that focuses heavily on customer experience, including retention, and satisfaction. Treating a client to lunch while delivering your pitch would fall into the relationship marketing category. You’re not necessarily making a sale right now, but you’re building a relationship with the person you’re talking to. Eventually, they’ll hopefully come to know, like, and trust you down the line.  Lifetime

Vehicle wraps can be an investment that pays off when small businesses use them as a marketing tool.  Vehicle wraps can be great for small businesses such as local restaurants, plumbers, electricians, and landscapers. They’re also used by delivery and transportation companies such as UPS, FedEx, and DHL. Easily identifiable vehicles make their services stand out against other cars on the road. You’ve likely also seen them on service companies such as pest control, HVAC, or plumbing!  However, many are surprised to learn they work well for non-profit organizations as well! Charities and community organizations need visibility in order to operate. A vehicle wrap is an effective way to raise awareness to their cause and can promote their events.  That being said, there are pros and cons to investing in a wrap, which we’ll get into. But first, it’s important to understand what we mean by “vehicle wrap” because they’re

These are tips you can do daily to build brand trust in your company, regardless of size. In today’s market, it’s not enough to just have a good product – today’s consumer wants to support brands they believe in. You need to invest in your brand so people know, trust, and like you and therefore want to support you. Anyone can utilize these 5 simple tips to keep you top of mind as a trustworthy company that people love and want to support – AND they’re totally free of cost.  Tip 1: Transparency Builds Brand Trust Be honest and transparent about your products and services, business practices, and especially your pricing. Customers appreciate transparency. It helps build trust when you’re not advertising a product for $499, but the actual total at check out is $699 (or, possibly worse, comes with a catch).  When a customer knows exactly what to expect

When is it time to hire an in-house designer? We recently did a blog post on why it’s oftentimes cheaper to hire a third-party design company.  However, that isn’t the right option for every company for every occasion. There’s a reason why many large companies have their own designer within an entire marketing department. So when is it applicable for a company to hire an in-house designer? In-House Designer Requirements The biggest requirement to hiring an in-house designer is – unsurprisingly – having enough work to keep them busy. Even if you’re only hiring a part-time in-house designer, you need at least 20 hours a week of work. In today’s competitive market, it’s hard to find educated and experienced designers willing to work less than that. Life is expensive and they need to be able to pay their bills. The unfortunate truth is that any less than 20 hours a

These 5 website tips will help you generate trust in your brand, no matter your industry. The truth is, people shop from brands, and having great products or services isn’t enough anymore. In a world full of social media, long memories, and brand activists, the art is seldom separated from the artist any more – for better or for worse.  And you know what? That’s actually fine. Your brand has something to say, and it’s something that resonates with other people, we promise. These website tips will help you find those people and generate trust in your brand so that they know, like, and trust you – which ultimately leads to sales and conversions.  5 Website Tips These simple website tips are easy to implement yourself or request from your designer. Even so, they’re surprisingly overlooked by many businesses of all sizes!  This article was originally a social media post,

The importance of consistent branding cannot be understated for any business – especially one that’s just starting out.  A brand is, in layman’s terms, what people say about your company when you’re not around. Believe it or not, your brand is so much more than fonts and colors. Many companies don’t realize this, which can lead to confusing consumer messaging and unflattering opinions.  What Branding Encompasses Sure, your branding palette will consist of your logo, submarks, primary and secondary typeface, as well as primary and secondary (or even tertiary) colors. Those things are quantifiable and easy enough to stick to – in theory, anyway.  However, in less quantifiable terms, your brand is also your vibe. That vibe is communicated through the colors, fonts, shapes, and materials you use. We touch on this a bit in our post about color psychology, as well as our business card post. Have you ever

Believe it or not, hiring a third party design company is usually cheaper than in-house designing. Every small business hits a point where they realize they can’t do it themselves anymore. Deciding which marketing materials you need then getting them designed and coordinating their production takes a lot of time and effort. Time = money. Effort = burnout. The obvious solution is to outsource this task.  But do you hire a designer and have it all done in-house, or do you hire a third party design company? The Cost of In-House Designing In-house design can be surprisingly expensive! To make it worth an employee’s time, you have to offer at least 20 hours a week. The cost of living these days does not allow for super light part-time gigs and employees expect work that will allow them to pay their bills.  Industry-standard is $15-$25/hour, depending on experience and your location.

Knowing the difference between illustration and graphic design is key for any business owner looking to hire help with their marketing needs. Many graphic illustrators on gig sites such as Fiverr market themselves as graphic designers, but actually lack the skills or education needed to be a true graphic designer. That being said, many educated graphic designers are bound by the rules of design and lack the creativity and freedom to act as an illustrator. So what’s the difference? What is an Illustrator? Illustrators create works of art that turn an idea or subject into something visual. In short, illustrators create art pieces, or digital drawings. It can be as simple as clip art and stock images or as complex as digitally painting the illustrations in a children’s book or graphic novel.  Many illustrators have art degrees (or some kind of classical art training) and work with real-world tools such

AI graphic design, and AI art in general, is a controversy that’s seemingly everywhere right now. The ethics of AI art are being questioned, and that collides with people (and business owners in particular), who want to simplify life. As a graphic design agency, we have been pulled into the AI controversy by proxy. AI Art and the Artists AI works by scraping the internet for images or text that match the request given to them. It then combines the elements of art or text to spit out what should be an original piece that took inspiration from hundreds, thousands, or even millions of different pieces.  However, artists – especially those who stick to a particular style – have been complaining that AI art is “ripping off” – or duplicating – their style, and the AI user is using their art without permission. The artist has not been compensated or

Fabric projects as a marketing tool are often overlooked – possibly because many people don’t know they exist! SEG (silicone edge graphics) fabric is a versatile way to market, promote, or even decorate your business.  SEG fabric is used by large companies like Old Navy in their retail locations, but isn’t exclusive to large company budgets! It’s one of our favorite projects due to their versatility and accessibility. What is SEG Fabric SEG Fabric in this context are large strips of fabric with a silicone edge (or beading) that slide into the channels of a large metal frame. This frames the fabric tautly, stands it upright, and doesn’t require any wrapping or clamping like canvas does.  The frames can be freestanding, mounted/attached to walls, and they come apart for convenient storage. It’s helpful to not need to find a place to store clunky, fully assembled metal frames. The fabric can