Do I really need a brand?

Do I really need a brand?

You have a small business, so isn’t a small-budget, $100 logo good enough? It’s tempting to cut down the cost of investing in your brand. It seems intangible. It can even seem superfluous. But before you do that, consider this: Your brand — not just your logo — is...
5 Reasons You Need a Brand Vision Board

5 Reasons You Need a Brand Vision Board

It’s not necessarily a step that seems crucial. After all, you have a business plan, right? You probably have some examples of certain brands and logos you like, right? So why bother taking this step? Lots of reasons. Here’s the short list: Nobody can see...
Branding: Why You Should Care

Branding: Why You Should Care

  Ever hear these phrases? “Slap together a logo.” “Whip up a brochure.” “Throw together a banner.” These are things I hear sometimes as a graphic designer. The overarching theme: Design is a superfluous layer of eye candy necessary to get a product or service to...
5 Tips For Hiring a Logo Designer

5 Tips For Hiring a Logo Designer

So, you need a logo. How do you know if the designer you’re hiring is going to provide professional design work? Is it just finding someone who can use Illustrator or Photoshop? Should you use a cheaper online service? Here are five tips: 1. Review their work. Does it...
5 Tips for Small Brands

5 Tips for Small Brands

I love entrepreneurs. I get them. (Because I am one.) And I work with a lot of them. Small or big, new or old. Brands are my world. I became an independent graphic designer over five years ago after a decade of being ‘behind the scenes’ at a couple...
The Power of Design

The Power of Design

A friend of mine once described the feeling you get when you’re shopping and you see something you like. “It gives you those… happy chemicals! You know?”     Yeah. I do. I’m no scientist, but I’m sure I could dig up some facts...
Green + the Grain

Green + the Grain

Local + Organic on Wheels Designing the logo for Green + the Grain was a delight. A pretty dedicated consumer of fresh, organic food myself, it makes my job pretty darn fun when a project is right in line with my own lifestyle. I worked with one of the owners, and her...