Design

You’ve been there, sitting in front of your computer—late at night, maybe—with a hard deadline looming and the as-yet unfulfilled promise of three layout options hanging over your head. You need some inspiration, perhaps served with a side of distraction. Here are five fantastic web sites that I’ve turned to for ideas, and, diversion. The…

There’s a new Helvetica! Helvetica’s been redesigned! Your favorite typeface just became obsolete! As I’ve touched on in at least one previous post, any time a graphic design story makes the major news outlets, I cheer a little. When Helvetica, one of the world’s most ubiquitous and recognizable typefaces, gets an update– well, it should…

2019 arrives with two overreaching design trends on the horizon, seemingly at odds with each other: bold experimentation and risk-taking on the one hand, and a continued reliance on—and evolution of—historic design elements on the other. This year should be a particularly interesting one for graphic design, with one foot in the future and one…

It’s not every day that graphic design makes the front page, at least at least not as the topic for discussion. Uber’s made the news again recently, with yet another new logo—their fourth in recent years. Dunkin’ Donuts just announced that they are dropping “Donuts” from their well-known logo. Even the Ad Council replaced its…

The myth of the Five Dollar Logo, and why it matters for your brand strategy. The conversation always goes something like this: “So, I’m starting a new business and well…I need a logo. Interested?” If we’re on the phone, what usually follows is a pause. If we’re communicating by email, there’s usually a suspiciously long…

A little over a year ago, we gave our predictions for the graphic design trends we thought would go big in 2017. So, just how accurate was our crystal ball? Illustration would return in a big way: true Our designer Ryan (who wrote this piece!) works with at least two large firms who’ve hired illustrators for…

We could also call this post, “how to avoid being spoofed on Saturday Night Live.” As evidenced by a recent SNL sketch which lampoons the font chosen for the movie Avatar, proper typeface selection—awareness of which was once generally considered limited to graphic designers like myself—has entered into the mainstream consciousness. That’s a good thing, and…

So, now that you’re sold on the virtues of working with a small design firm, what comes next? What’s the onboarding process like and what should you and your company expect in the weeks ahead? Onboarding with a small design firm We’ll set up an in-person meeting, preferably at your place of business. We’ll want…