05Jan

What to Expect From Your Complimentary Consultation

The complimentary consultation is an important part of any graphic or web design project. Obviously we can’t speak for all graphic and web design companies, or guarantee that they all offer this service, so we will be speaking largely about our own consultation.  There’s truth to the saying “knowledge is power,” and we believe in open communication with our clients. Because of this, we thought we’d let you know what to expect when you have an appointment for a complimentary consultation.  A...

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13Dec

The Total Hierarchy of Website Photos

Website photos come in a hierarchy as far as how well they serve you (and, you know, bring in business). A lot of companies find it easier to purchase (or even download free) stock photos on their website. However, we’re going to plead a case for why every company should upload their own, quality photos whenever possible. Consumers Want Real Consumers are increasingly sophisticated and are often not “fooled” by stock photos. Almost every carpet cleaner out there uses the same stock...

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07Dec

Signs It’s Time to Rebrand

Rebrand is one of those dreaded words for companies. For some, it’s up there with recession, or even downsize. However, sometimes a rebrand breathes new life into your company. Some argue that any respectable brand will undergo a rebrand at some point.  And, not all rebrands are created equally. Some companies completely change courses, down to changing their names. Others just need to bring their company’s image to the 21st century while still remaining the same at their core.  If you’re not...

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07Nov

Logo Placement: 20 Great Places to Put Your Logo

Logo placement is a concept that many of our new clients have questions about. They’ve put in the time to get a logo that works for them. They’ve come up with (at least loose) branding for their company. But it grinds to a halt there. They know it needs to be on their business cards, website, socials. Now what? The Key to Effective Logo Placement The key to effective logo placement is to choose locations that make sense for your industry. We...

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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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