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’) is what you call your website. It’s what comes after “www.” in a web address. You can purchase (or find a free) domain name from GoDaddy or Bluehost. These companies are domain registrars.  Website maintenance: Website maintenance is the process of keeping a website up-to-date and running smoothly as well as performing optimally. Maintenance includes tasks like ensuring all the links on your site are working, regularly

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 we go. After all, it’s much easier to look at something you don’t want and make corrections than it is to pinpoint what it is you do want.  Unfortunately, we can’t read your mind. And it’s a waste of billable hours (and therefore your money) for us to guess, entering a stream of revisions as we try to make our way through the absolute hardest way imaginable to come

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 be specifically talking about logos, just to give it context, but these questions apply across multiple designs from your logo, to your website, to billboard design. The Design Process First it’s helpful to understand the design process, and imperative to know you don’t need to choose the first one sent over. Your designer should send you multiple concepts at a time. Some of these will be a slight variation

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 first one is the client has no idea what they’re asking for or what they mean when they use these words. All they know is what they’re looking at isn’t it. The second: the client knows exactly what they want – they have the image in their head – but doesn’t know how to ask for what they want in a way that doesn’t leave a ton of

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 go through processing, customization, shipping, and ends up on your doorstep ten days later.  However, what feels even sillier is placing the order in November and getting it on your doorstep in January, when it’s either too late to hand out, or is handed out with a sheepish apology for tardiness.  It’s hard to say which shipping time you’re going to get, so we always recommend placing

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 Many Forms When people hear the word “inspired” they feel like they need to sit on the bank of a serene lake at the top of snow-capped mountains when the air is crisp and you’re sipping on a hot coffee while you watercolor from your soul. Interviews with musicians and artists talking about their inspirations enforce this. “I was inspired by the intricacies of hand-tatted lace and

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 low trust and requires you to go above and beyond what would already be considered “above and beyond” to move that meter even a little bit. What Your Business Cards Say About You Business cards may actually be more for form than they are for function, believe it or not. They give a quick glimpse into how you conduct business and handle yourself. If you treat business cards simply

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 eye through the information hierarchy more smoothly. And, to our knowledge, no one credible has ever said that something has to be wild to be stunning. On the flip side, plenty of credible sources have advised that busy looks are not good looks. In fact, even Coco Chanel advised removing one accessory before going out. Why? Because simple design always wins. The Rule of the Drive By We have

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 (most?) fast food restaurants have red and yellow signage. These colors are used to stimulate, bring comfort, and evoke hunger. These colors were chosen deliberately by those companies a long time ago for these specific reasons. “You’re hungry, eat here and you’ll feel all better.” If you’re a massage therapist building your brand, you may want to stay away from stimulating, energizing colors and opt for colors that

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 task of rebranding, change is hard. The road to change is hard, too. And we get it. It is, after all, our job. We understand that the first draft of your new logo/website/marketing materials will never be the final draft. We just need you to understand that, too. These changes will never be an easy hole-in-one. This is especially true when we have very little information up front