marketing - Shew Design

selecting a web design agency: five qualities to look for

August 22, 2017April 19, 2016 by eric shew

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 that your website opens the right doors for you. Here are some tips for identifying an …

websites on a budget: negotiation and collaboration strategies that work

January 25, 2017April 4, 2016 by eric shew

time, quality, money A time-honored project management principal is that you can pick only two of the above for any project. Whether this is 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 that can help you save money. create and deliver …

rebranding: when (and when not) to do it

January 15, 2018March 29, 2016 by eric shew

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 …

simple ways to keep content and branding fresh

April 15, 2016November 8, 2015 by eric shew

the cost of complexity Keeping your website and social media feeds up to date can be time-consuming and complicated, so it’s worth taking a little time to invest in a planning process to ensure you are getting the most out of your investment. The problem some organizations encounter is undergoing a complicated and detailed process, and then falling short when it’s …

landing page strategies: making the most of the most valuable real estate in the world

May 12, 2016November 1, 2015 by eric shew

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 …

Six ways online libraries can strengthen your brand

January 15, 2018October 27, 2015 by eric shew

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. …

Six ways logo families can benefit your organization’s branding strategy

January 15, 2018October 16, 2015 by eric shew

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. Visually, a family of icons has one shared element that ties things together. This can be a …

Thanking your clients and customers

May 12, 2016September 28, 2015 by eric shew

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 …

Poster design for KulshanCLT’s Annual Community Party

December 14, 2015August 24, 2015 by eric shew

We recently completed this Poster design for KulshanCLT’s Annual Community Party. KulshanCLT wanted to hold their annual event this year in a location that most people could bike or walk to. When the Boundary Bay Brewery location was chosen, we decided to incorporate beer and biking into the design in a playful way.

all together now

December 15, 2015September 9, 2014 by eric shew

With so much marketing taking place through a multitude of different mediums and applications, the tendency is for messages to become ever more fragmented — and more easily forgotten. start with a vision Don’t think of standards and consistency until you have clear vision about why you are important to your audience and are able to distill …

standing out, fitting in

December 15, 2015June 5, 2013 by eric shew

“Just to make this stand out” is to design what “Trust me. This is going to work” is to buddy movies. Both phrases tend to lead to fiascoes of one kind or another. Making things stand out – i.e. making things clash with their surroundings – can be a crucial part of design, but too …

clean up your navigation through analytics

August 28, 2017October 24, 2012 by eric shew

Most things are more complicated than they need to be. Navigation is no exception. You can fairly easily see what links people use on your website using traffic evaluation tools such as Google Analytics. More importantly, these tools can show you which links people don’t visit. This can help you make informed decisions about revising …

minimalism, trust, and some really good chocolate

December 30, 2016June 8, 2012 by eric shew

Research plays a crucial part of creating good design, and so a designer’s life is essentially a never ending series of opportunities to learn. The best designers are really the best at learning. That’s what I like to say as I help myself to a generous handful of research. My third. “That’s Callebaut, 54%,” Kevin …

a timely debate

January 16, 2016March 29, 2012 by eric shew

For over a year now, our company has been working with RE Sources for Sustainable Communities and Climate Solutions to create messaging and graphics about the coal train issue. An overview of the issue can be found here. It has been a challenging project. Challenging in the sheer complexity of the issue: the impacts of …

the devil uses Archer

January 17, 2016March 18, 2012 by eric shew

I thought The Devil Wears Prada had a wonderful insight into the culture of design and the mindset of designers. You may be able tell at a glance that I am somewhat a stranger to fashion, but there was much of this movie I could relate to – none more so than the scene …

Komen and Planned Parenthood

January 25, 2018February 16, 2012 by eric shew

Shew Design - Komen vs. Planned Parenthood

The public feud between Susan G. Komen for the Cure and Planned Parenthood is an object lesson in successful strategic thinking. It’s also a sign of what is to come in terms of captivating and motivating an audience. For those of you who haven’t followed the controversy, Komen recently announced they would (in effect) not …

“simpler is better,” a strategy for making adaptable, scalable event graphics

January 17, 2016February 10, 2012 by eric shew

Event graphics and messaging are great opportunities for organizations to capture interest by exploring different ideas and flavors in their communication. Shew Design takes a branded approach to event graphics, creating a few simple elements that can be easily repeated in any number of other materials. We think of this as our toolkit, with the …

the hidden value of hidden messages – part 2

January 19, 2016January 16, 2012 by eric shew

Hidden messages, conveyed through optical illusions, puns, subliminal messages, riddles, and in jokes, have always played a unique role in visual communications. They raise questions that are fun to ask, but often impossible to answer. More than anything, they appeal to a childlike delight we all share in finding in things ‘hidden in plain sight.’ I’ve read that …

Powering past coal

January 19, 2016December 16, 2011 by eric shew

Shew Design - Power Past Coal action web page

The Power Past Coal website was conceived to be a media hub around the coal train issue impacting the Pacific Northwest. For the unfamiliar: the issue is about a coal terminal proposed to be built at Cherry Point in Whatcom County. If built, this would create an enormous influx of trains carrying coal – and with …