From the moment designers take on their first client, the gap between school and professional design work is real. The biggest challenge for emerging designers isn’t learning how to design, it’s learning how to design within the realities of clients, constraints, and collaboration. Bottom Line set out to close that gap by pairing a graduating…
Visual thinking for the resistance In times like these we can both feel despair and take action. There’s a spectrum of responses ranging from calling our political representatives; to silently holding signs of protest during the SOTU; to actual noisy, messy, in-person large-crowd protests. For the purpose of communicating information on the cultural and political…
I’m thrilled to announce I’ve joined the amazing team at HIGOL (High Impact Growth Oriented Leaders), a boutique consulting practice that works with CEOs and team leaders of high performing nonprofit organizations. As an associate consultant I’ll be drawing on 20+ years of experience helping nonprofit organizations gain visibility and support by uncovering their authentic brand through…
I wish a successful brand strategy was like coming home after a long flight and as you’re walking through the airport terminal pulling your luggage, you see friends, family, customers and clients all lined up, holding signs that say “congratulations, you made it!” and “job well done!” and “your brand rocks!” The reality is that…
Many of my branding clients approach me initially because they’re unhappy with their website. “My website needs an update – it’s too vanilla/too corporate/doesn’t represent everything I do and offer.“ But the website is only (probably) the most outwardly visible sign of your brand. Let’s dig a little deeper – and in the words of…
It’s 2021 and I’m celebrating twenty years of being self-employed at Stone Soup Creative. What does it mean to be a solopreneur and creative professional for this long? I’m old, and I’ve been at this for a while. But I’m also wiser than when I began. Here’s 20* lessons I’ve learned about running a business,…
I was doing live visual note-taking to support a local online discussion, “Let’s talk about mental health care in Terre Haute”. The speaker used the term silo. She was describing how there are several task forces and other groups in our city with similar goals to generate solutions that help people with mental health issues,…
Today I listened to the calm and compassionate wisdom of Ilise Benun of Marketing Mentor, who coaches small creative businesses. I’ve been following her for years. She shared a video on her blog, What I’m Doing Right Now, and I followed along with a digital drawing on my iPad.* Like all of us, Ilise has no…
Here’s an interesting – and challenging – project I recently completed: the How to Plan Your Meeting or Workshop process map. This step-by-step infographic provides a color-coded, single-page pathway to the significant components of an important meeting or workshop. Background This past spring I earned a certification as a Structured Professional Facilitator with the goal…
The more iconic something is, the more we project ourselves onto it; the more detailed and realistic, the more we see it as something other than ourselves.” – Scott McCloud Drawing out concepts and ideas instead of writing down words is an effective way to communicate. Simple drawings such as icons can help overcome…
