Additive Design Co. | Assembling Quality Brands

Four Items for Clients to Review Before the Design Consultation

2021-07-06T00:00:00-04:00

So you've just embarked on your new brand journey, and you've discovered a few ideal design partners. The emails have been sent and your design consultations are booked! Congratulations! If you've never taken part in a design consultation before, you might be unsure of what to expect next. But don't worry, there's nothing to feel anxious about.

At its core, a design consultation is a conversation. It helps the designer get to know you as a client and better understand your brand and your expectations for the project. The consultation usually takes place over the phone or a web conference, but others may use an online form to gather your information.

Here at Additive, we use a combination of the two to maximize our understanding of what you're looking for. We will send you a client form to fill out, and then schedule a follow up call to talk through everything in further detail. This allows us to build a complete and informed proposal for your project.

Here are four things that you should be ready to talk about during the call:

1. Your Story

Every brand's journey charts its own course and yours is no exception. Your story is a differentiator and an important piece to your brand puzzle. It's part of your brand's DNA and not something that can be replicated. Designers love hearing your story because it gives them history of where you've been and context for where you want to go.

2. Your Budget

What investment are you willing to make in your brand? $500? $5000? $15,000? You don't need to have an exact number ready, but having a rough estimate is helpful for a couple reasons. First, it informs the designer about your level of commitment to the project. Second, it helps them to prioritize the services they can provide for you. Chances are, each designer you speak with will have different rates or pricing, so knowing the budget means they can write a proposal that gives you the maximum return possible.

3. Your Goals

Take a moment to sit down and think through the goals you see for your brand. Put together a list of your top three to five short and long term goals. These goals will help the designer make accurate decisions on how to approach any solutions. They will also be incorporated into the project proposal to provide you with measurable landmarks to judge the project and ultimately determine it's success.

4. Project Deliverables

Finally, what are the tangible items or things that you want to have at the end of the project? Are you looking for a full brand system? A website? Perhaps you need some marketing collateral like menus or business cards?

Write a list of all of these things that you want or need produced. Part of the designer's role is to review these deliverables and advise on what makes sense for you, your budget, and your goals. By telling your designer everything you'll need, you ensure visual consistency across the work, and you prevent potential delays or additional costs due to a late change in the scope.

Closing Remarks

Hopefully this article puts any anxieties you may have to rest. Remember, the consultation is a conversation, and its OK to not have all the answers immediately. Your goal during the initial call and any follow up conversations should be to give your design partner enough information to draft a proposal that is clearly defined, detailed, and aligned to your budget, goals, and project deliverables.

Jude August Foundation

2021-01-30T00:00:00-05:00

Jude August Foundation

OVERVIEW

The Jude August Foundation is a 501c3 public charity with a mission to support the families and caregivers of children with critical care needs. As a new non-profit, they were in need of a complete brand and identity development, from the primary logo to branded apparel and a complete website design.

SERVICES

Logomarks
Branded Materials
Website Design
Social Media Content

CLIENT

Jude August Foundation

Website

judeaugust.org

Logo Iconography

The logo icon is a simplified version of a sunrise, symbolizing the hope that a new day can bring. The icon was also directly inspired by the sunrise visible each day from Jude's hospital room.

Brand Guidelines

Brand guidelines were created to inform partners of collaborators on how to appropriately use the brand elements in visual communications.

Print Collateral

Brand System was utilized to create a printed one sheet flyer for the Foundation to use to explain its mission and purpose.

Website Design

We strategically built the website using the website builder Squarespace so that as the Foundation grows, the website can scale easily and remain simple to edit and add and adjust content.

Social Media Templates

Social Media templates were created to make social content efficient and repetitive.

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Roots Landscaping

2020-11-01T00:00:00-04:00

Roots Landscaping

OVERVIEW

Roots Landscaping is a corporate landscaping company based in Texas that was looking for a new logo to establish themselves within their market. Additive designed a logo meant to symbolize trust, growth, and partnership with their clients. The leaves of the tree were modeled after the state tree of Texas, the pecan tree.

SERVICES

Logomarks
Branded Materials

CLIENT

Roots Landscaping

The Loving Lamb

2020-03-10T00:00:00-04:00

The Loving Lamb

OVERVIEW

The Loving Lamb is the boutique crafting business of Stephanie Lamb. Handcrafted in Michigan, Stephanie puts her fun and loving spin on all sorts of items. From baby burp cloths to dish scrubbers and other items in between, all of her items share one thing in common. All of them are "Made with Love."

SERVICES

Logomarks
Branded Materials

CLIENT

The Loving Lamb

Flippin’ Moodys Brand Identity

2020-02-10T00:00:00-05:00

Flippin' Moodys Brand Identity

OVERVIEW

Flippin' Moodys is a mother/daughter trio of house flippers operating in the metro Detroit area. A younger, modern spin on flipping houses, they do it all--- from buying homes to tearing them down and building them back up. All with the mission to bring young adults a flipping' amazing place to call their own. Additive was brought on to create their primary logo design and produce initial branded materials.

SERVICES

Logomarks
Branded Materials
Print Collateral

CLIENT

Flippin' Moodys

Stylescape Layouts

Before any real design work was done, we laid out three varying stylescape options to visually define the Flippin' Moodys brand. These stylescapes act as curated mood boards, with the selected option becoming a reference point for future conversations and ensuring the upcoming design work aligns to the brand throughout the project.

Stylescape One

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Stylescape Two

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Stylescape Three

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Logo Iconography

The logo icon was devised from their name, with the symbol being the combination of a M lettermark and a upside down, flipped house. Care was taken to ensure readability and boldness to help the mark stand out from distance, knowing it would be featured in front of houses for sale.

Brand Extension

We produced additional mockups to help illustrate how the branding would appear in the real world.

Our Process: A Strategic Focus on Design

2018-06-11T00:00:00-04:00

Contrary to popular belief, design isn't a spontaneous bit of magic. Like science, creative work needs a defined process to deliver the best results. Without strategic focus and collaboration, a project can get off the rails quickly, leading to an ineffective solution. Today I wanted to give you a look at the process we use on all projects to ensure we are delivering the best results possible.

Discovery

It all starts with discovery. The most important (yet often overlooked) step, discovery sets the roadmap for your project's success. We start by asking you to fill out a detailed questionnaire . Totaling sixteen questions, this form is important because it provides core details about your business and what your company is about. Once completed, we will setup a call to chat about your answers in greater detail. Additional discoveries are made during the conversation, and we arrive on a strategy that gives your brand focus and lays the foundation for the next step, design.

Design

The design phase is where the proverbial rubber meets the road. With a well defined strategy in hand, we begin the concept development with ideation sketches. These thumbnail doodles are often quick and loose, meant to generate ideas and help rule out any that won't make the cut. Chosen thumbnails are then refined further, where things like shape and proportion are finessed to start bringing the design to life. Next, these rough sketches are converted into digital illustrations and design details such as color and scale are tightened up and solidified in preparation for your review.

Proof

Now comes the time when we present you with the final design compositions. Typically these presentations are done in person or via web conferencing, and this is where you get your first in-depth look at the designs we have been working on. We walk you through each concept in detail and show mockups of real-world scenarios to paint a picture of how they could be implemented. After the presentation, you will choose the most effective design direction to move forward with.

Revise

After the final direction is decided, we perform a series of design revisions, working with you to refine all of the details and ensure everything is just right. Once complete these revised final comps are sent to you for approval. Once approved and all invoices are paid in full, the design files are packaged up and sent to you electronically.

In Conclusion

I hope that this gives you a better understanding of what to expect when you choose to work with Additive. We pride ourselves on creating great outcomes through strategic focus and a collaborative approach, building our process to make sure your voice is heard at every phase along the way.

Najor and Co. Logotype

2017-10-16T00:00:00-04:00

Najor and Co. Logotype

OVERVIEW

Branding created for a friend's fantasy football league. The brief called for creating a symbol to showcase winning, with the request that it not reference football to remain scaleable to any future sports expansion. The result is a quirky, yet fitting mark for the league it represents.

SERVICES

Logomarks

CLIENT

Najor and Co.

The final mark is a lockup featuring a stylized goat icon alongside a custom-built wordmark. The goat came about during our exploration process and presents a fun play on the modern sports acronym, "G.O.A.T.", which stands for "Greatest of All Time." The goat also provides a completely unique yet ownable mark, while having just the right amount of quirkiness & humor to fit in with fantasy sports culture. Much like the league it represents, it never takes itself too seriously.

Poppin’ & Mixin’ Product Illustrations

2017-09-27T00:00:00-04:00

Poppin' & Mixin' Product Illustrations

OVERVIEW

Poppin & Mixin' is a gourmet popcorn company based in southeast Michigan. Additive was asked to digitally illustrate Poppin' & Mixin's product offering. Using their logo as the basis, illustrations were created for each category with a focus of keeping each of them consistent and on brand.

SERVICES

Digital Content

CLIENT

Poppin' & Mixin'

Shades Minifigure Illustration

2017-09-22T00:00:00-04:00

Shades Minifigure Illustration

OVERVIEW

Shades is a Detroit based graffiti artist who was looking for some new promotional content. He commissioned Additive to illustrate his likeness as a LEGO mini-figure instruction sheet. We incorporated personal details, including his trademark ball cap, bright shoes, and of course, a can of spray paint with a fat cap.

SERVICES

Digital Content

CLIENT

Shades DET

Kirk Family Roofing Identity

2017-09-21T00:00:00-04:00

Kirk Family Roofing Identity

OVERVIEW

Branding for Kirk Family Roofing based in Taylor, MI. A focus was put on keeping the look bold & clean.

SERVICES

Logomarks

Additive Design Co. | Assembling Quality Brands

Four Items for Clients to Review Before the Design Consultation

1. Your Story

2. Your Budget

3. Your Goals

4. Project Deliverables

Closing Remarks

Jude August Foundation

Jude August Foundation

OVERVIEW

SERVICES

Logomarks

Branded Materials

Website Design

Social Media Content

CLIENT

Jude August Foundation

Website

judeaugust.org

Logo Iconography

Brand Guidelines

Print Collateral

Website Design

Social Media Templates

Roots Landscaping

Roots Landscaping

OVERVIEW

SERVICES

Logomarks

Branded Materials

CLIENT

Roots Landscaping

The Loving Lamb

The Loving Lamb

OVERVIEW

SERVICES

Logomarks

Branded Materials

CLIENT

The Loving Lamb

Flippin’ Moodys Brand Identity

Flippin' Moodys Brand Identity

OVERVIEW

SERVICES

Logomarks

Branded Materials

Print Collateral

CLIENT

Flippin' Moodys

Stylescape Layouts

Logo Iconography

Brand Extension

Our Process: A Strategic Focus on Design

Discovery

Design

Proof

Revise

In Conclusion

Najor and Co. Logotype

Najor and Co. Logotype

OVERVIEW

Branding created for a friend's fantasy football league. The brief called for creating a symbol to showcase winning, with the request that it not reference football to remain scaleable to any future sports expansion. The result is a quirky, yet fitting mark for the league it represents.

SERVICES

Logomarks

CLIENT

Najor and Co.

Poppin’ & Mixin’ Product Illustrations

Poppin' & Mixin' Product Illustrations

OVERVIEW

Poppin & Mixin' is a gourmet popcorn company based in southeast Michigan. Additive was asked to digitally illustrate Poppin' & Mixin's product offering. Using their logo as the basis, illustrations were created for each category with a focus of keeping each of them consistent and on brand.

SERVICES

Digital Content

CLIENT

Poppin' & Mixin'

Shades Minifigure Illustration

Shades Minifigure Illustration

OVERVIEW

SERVICES

Digital Content

CLIENT