Protecting the integrity of your brand not only boosts your image, but also your bottom line. If you’ve recently commissioned a great new logo and you’re not sure what to do with it, be careful not to fall into common traps like mishandling your logo or expecting it to do too much. Read more in our latest blog where we answer the question, “WTF Should I Do with My Logo?”

No marketing plan can succeed without a creative counterpart. Research has shown that design-led companies consistently provide a greater return to shareholders compared to other companies as it distinguishes your business from competitors and promotes your values in alignment with your market. So, how do you find someone who is qualified to do the job, who you can trust to take care of your business as they would their own?

Many new entrepreneurs believe that specializing their business will limit the pool of potential clients they could work with. They enter the market trying to be everything to everyone — appealing to every demographic and meeting every cost expectation.

As a business owner approaching your next major project, you’ll likely need some creative help. You could hire a freelancer, a design studio, an agency, or you could recruit a new employee. But when they all seem to offer the same work such as logo design and websites, how do you choose your creative superhero? Besides cost, what is the difference?

I begin every potential partnership with a meet-and-greet. It’s important I get to know the client as well as the business. But clients are sometimes surprised when we dive into the mission of the brand instead of their favorite colors.

Your graphic designer emails you a proof and asks if you have any questions or changes. Now’s not the time to be distracted by beautiful design, you must thoroughly inspect the proof. If you’re new to working with creatives, and you’re not sure what to look for, here are some general proofing tips:  

In marketing, there is a single document that unites all of your creative ambassadors in planning new business communication strategies. The information contained in this document becomes the directive for what your advertising needs to do.

Many people think that design is all about “making things pretty.” It’s this misconception that puts creatives first on the chopping block when budgets get tight. Unbeknownst to some, experienced designers are valuable problem solvers. Design is not just a veneer. Good design is how something works and how something helps—functional solutions that are a product of Design Thinking.

The pandemic has everyone evaluating what efforts are necessary to keep their business moving forward. But don’t do this on the fly. Pivoting your business for the new normal might include changes to your business model, which means a lot of strategic thought, effort and time to get your ducks in a row.

With design technology so accessible, it’s easy to think that you can save money by creating your own logos and layouts with clip art and system fonts. But beware: People know amateur design when they see it and it makes them suspicious.

Your logo should never be the largest element in your marketing piece. One more time for those in the back… YOUR LOGO SHOULD NEVER BE THE LARGEST ELEMENT IN YOUR MARKETING PIECE! That is the #1 sign of an amateur piece.

How many times have you walked into a wine shop and thought, how different could these 25 different $10 red blends really be? Then, how often do you default to choosing a bottle based on the label you liked?