Eric is the creative lead at Shew Design, working across design, copywriting, and web development. He’s drawn to the connections between a client’s words and their meaning, and between a complex idea and its clearest form.
As with any project, planning can help you save money and time on your web project. Here are some tips that can help you prepare for a successful web design project. Build a great team A team of people who are actively engaged in the project from beginning to end makes a huge difference in …
Replace or repair? First, do no harm. In many cases, it makes sense to modify rather than replace a logo design. A logo modification can correct issues that are not working in the existing logo while preserving its essential qualities and ideas make the logo a better fit for specific uses (for example social media, video, etc.) modernize the logo by …
Some organizations use the same logo for years without needing to change them. Others seem to restlessly change them every few years. A logo is always an investment. Nothing says more about a design studio’s work than the logos they create. Some hold up year after year, where others last only a few months. The difference emerges from attention to detail, thoughtfulness, …
“all websites look the same” It was a long time coming, but the tools for creating responsive websites work, and work very well. Perhaps too well, because the approach people use for building websites is creating strangely uniform results. The banner, the three columns, the icons, the logo in the corner—perhaps we’ve seen these things a few too many …
When are you finished with your website? You never are, a challenge that makes it difficult to measure progress or evaluate results when a website project is in the works. As a result, a website design process can become a painful, month after month affair that never seems to end. Here are some strategies we’ve used to create …
The process of selecting a web design agency can be difficult. An abundance of companies, technologies, and processes make the selection process challenging and confusing. And with your website often being the first point of contact your audience has with your organization, it’s important that your website opens the right doors for you. Here are some …
time, quality, money A time-honored project management principle is that you can pick only two of the above for any project. Whether this idea is true or not, the concept of framing your next web project as a balancing act can help you save time and money. Here are some simple strategies for creating websites on a …
First do no harm! A rebranding process is an opportunity to rethink and realign your organization’s core marketing and communications. It brings assumptions and challenges into the forefront and opens the door to planning ahead. Yet, a rebranding is not always beneficial and may create more problems than it solves. Here are some guidelines that you can use for thinking …
Brand building success. As traditional media is eclipsed by new media, the concept of brand building continues to change in unexpected ways. Speed, adaptability, and collaboration are more important than ever before. Success means meeting today’s challenges, but tomorrow’s as well. Here are some strategies we’ve found helpful for building brands that stand up to …
six things to look for in a website redesign Every website is different; yet, the best sites always have a few things in common. As you consider a website redesign for your company or organization, ensure it uses the following: a clear message that creates clarity about your company or organization, what it does, how …
paying attention to your audience We recently offered to make a referral to a partner company that was declined because of terminology. The client wanted “SEO,” the company didn’t want to sell “SEO,” and the connection wasn’t made. Unfortunately, both sides of the equation were ultimately interested in the same business objective: increasing visibility and …
approaches for creating value and awareness while dispelling confusion A big part of writing and design is taking complicated messages and making them easy to understand, but also making them interesting and important to the audience. Mark Twain once said: “I would have written you a shorter letter, but I didn’t have the time.” A misconception …
how web design and messaging can strengthen your brand The most valuable piece of property in the world is the seven square inches your prospective client sees when pulling up your website for the first time. This small parcel of real estate has the critical job of connecting with your audience, either by communicating information …
If you use WordPress or another content management system, you already have the ability to provide new and prospective clients with documents through your website. This capability opens up doors for new ways of interacting with people and can help your audience use your site to solve problems and strengthen their connection with your brand. …
Families of logos and icons are powerful ways of connecting with clients and customers. Where a single logo communicates a single thing, a family of logos talks about similarities, differences, relationships, and choices. Families are about marketing systems and they can benefit your organization’s branding strategy. Visually, a family of icons has one shared element …
We learn the importance of saying thanks at an early age. “Thank you” communicates appreciation, gratitude, and respect. It’s a message that never gets old. Strangely, many businesses and organizations forget about saying thank you or say it in such a perfunctory way that it seems more like an automatic response than a meaningful expression. We believe relationships …
We have used our letterpress quite a few times to print onto presentation folders for clients. We recently completed a proposal delivery system for 2020 LED, including a letterpressed presentation folder and updated proposal template. We appreciate the contrast of the rugged 100% recycled stock and the clean blue lines. Combined with the updated proposal …
Carrying a camera with us wherever we go is something we do by default. The use of textures in graphic design has a long history. We often incorporate textures into our work, and on a recent camping trip to Yellowstone National Park we captured a number of textures to add to our library. These images …
Animals As Natural Therapy has an annual fundraiser live music event at their farm, and this year we donated the Bluegrass Bash poster design to help increase awareness and attendance.
Long time supporters of the Subdued Stringband Jamboree, Chuckanut Builders wanted to have shirts designed and produced to wear and show their involvement with this popular event. In collaboration with Blank Studio who created the illustration, we created the below Chuckanut Builders t-shirt design for the ChuB team.
