Is it worth it for a new or old business to invest money in their brand identity? For many business owners, creating and improving their brand mark, image and appearance is left out of the branding ceremony. Most understand the value of excellent customer service, delivery of their product or service, strategic location, good employees,…
I started my morning meeting someone at their coffee shop to discuss their branding needs. It was a comfortable and accessible place with good customer service. The coffee and bagel for worth coming back for. I would estimate that at 8 am they were approximately 30-40% of capacity in terms of available seating and space.…
How often do you reevaluate your marketing materials? Are they dated or no longer even accurate? Are you using typefaces that are not part of your graphic standards? Does your logo represent your product or service? Does it resonate with your target audience? If you don’t feel you have “the eye” to make such judgments,…
What is your key message? Susan contacted me the other day via ichat. She was holding a small brochure in her hands and wanted to know if we should re-design it or create something fresh. We talked about this brochure project several weeks ago. Now it had re-surfaced. First, we discussed the details of the…
In 1992, the city of Clayton sent out a postcard announcing a contest for a new city logo. The prize for the winning design was to be a free one-year membership to Center of Clayton, the combination community center and health club near our home. My husband and partner, Gary Kodner, and I decided to…
Monday morning, my client, Chloe, emailed me with a couple of quick questions. Chloe handles the marketing for her company’s subsidiaries, and she always seems a little breathless. She wanted to know if we had ever designed any banners, table runners, or roll-up displays for a particular subsidiary. If we had not, she wondered how…
It was approximately 1985, while I was working at PGAV Design, that I designed the St. Louis Riverfront logo. The client was the Riverfront Development Committee / Downtown St. Louis, Inc. Our department was a team of seven designers. For this assignment, each designer had the opportunity to develop rough layouts. The project was intriguing,…
When Magnus Accounting Solutions contacted N-K, they were in the early stages of their start-up and needed a new logo identity. The company had a name but no marketing materials. Magnus specializes in small- business accounting with temporary/flexible services. What did they need for their new company? We identified the following and provided a creative…
This article, “A quick list for authors” was originally published on the St. Louis Publishers Association website, addressing book design. I’m a graphic designer. You’re an author. Your manuscript is ready for layout . . . or is it? Here’s a list of tips and mistakes to avoid. 1. Your manuscript • Can you afford…
Author and ghostwriter, Bobbi Linkemer, hired me to design a cover for her memoir, Words To Live By. The concept was a typographic solution: one word of the title, “words” was emphasized; the point size was dramatically larger than all the other type, and the letters were stacked vertically. Next to it, I added a…