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My Current Web Design Job will be Obsolete…Kinda

There are great resources out there for small businesses and start-ups to build their own websites.  There are templates and content management systems that are easy to use and look great.  Sound like if companies can build their own sites, graphic designers won’t really be needed?  Yes and no. Yes. For some companies, they just […]

What's Wrong with Email

Don’t get me wrong, I love email as a tool.  Attaching files, giving a list of changes, and connecting with a client in their own time are just a few reasons why email is great.  Still, email is the death of communication, especially with a creative process. I’ve made the huge mistake of just emailing […]

Anatomy of a Website Redesign

As a web designer, it’s crazy that we’ve had the same site for years without an over-haul.  We’ve always gotten compliments on it, so we’ve just been revising and adding to it as it is.  Finally, enough is enough. What is wrong with the old site Sure in 2005, this was the state of the […]

Take Yourself out of the Equation

As a graphic designer, I ask my clients to take themselves out of the equation and let me look at their marketing from their client’s point of view.  Don’t tell them what you want to say…tell them what they need to hear or want to hear.  Maybe they don’t care what your mission is, but […]

Don't Make the Mistake of Looking at Successful Branding if You are a Start-up

Designers and marketing experts all bow down to Nike, Apple, and others due to their great branding that has lead to their success…Don’t make that mistake. The logos we all know and love are not the logos companies had as successful start-ups. Apple’s original logo was Newton sitting under a tree. Nike was a brand […]

Chicago Graphic Design Firm

Chicago graphic design firm.  Chicago marketing firm.  Why repeat “keywords” online?  It’s called search engine optimization or SEO for short.  Chicago graphic design firms and chicago marketing firms are keyed into these terms as the will drive business to your site.  As you can see, I’m repeated the terms chicago design firm, chicago graphic design […]

Starting a Business – With No Design Budget

Ideally, you have a good sized marketing budget when starting a business.  Getting clients is what starting a business is all about…it’s a given that you can do the work or provide the product, or you wouldn’t be starting a business. You need to market your business. These days, it’s harder to get a business […]