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The Latest

12 July

Cameron's 5 Favorite Animations

What animation taught Web Developer Cameron about teamwork.

19 June

Sue's 5 Favorite Summer Flowers

A love of wildflowers and bold colors unify Founder & CEO Sue’s plant picks.

17 June

Print Finishes

When creating print pieces, we love to consider every point of impact for the intended audience: the moment a suede-textured business card is presented and met with a responding, “Ooooh...”, or seeing a prospective client interact with an intricately-folded accordion brochure.

Responding to Negative Social Media Reviews: a Model

Your business has received a negative social media review or complaint. Now what?

responding to negative social media reviews model

Color Matters: Coral

In ancient Greek mythology, the hero Perseus slayed the Gorgon Medusa, cutting off her snake-haired head and placing it in a magical bag. As he carrie...

color matters: coral

Do You Own Your Domain Name?

Not sure if you own your domain name? Take action to find out.

do you own your domain name?

Mac and Cheese: Ben’s Local 5 Favorites

Office manager Ben has deep roots in the community: leadership, activism, and volunteering. He’s also got the scoop on the best mac and cheese.

Mac and Cheese: Ben’s Local 5 Favorites

The Power of Inclusive Design

Part 1: Better Experiences, Wider Reach

The power of inclusive design

How to Convert Valuable Web Users

Utilize smart design and user analytics to hone a persuasive web experience that spurs action.

How to Convert Web Users into Value

Generate Leads with Shareable Content

What’s the secret to generating leads? Shareable content. 93% of B2B companies say content marketing generates more leads than traditional marketing t...

Generate leads with shareable content

You vs. We: Effectively Messaging to Audiences

Pronouns: they belong to your grammar school days, right? But one little pronoun has the power to shape your marketing campaigns and, consequently, au...

You vs. We: Effectively Messaging to Audiences

New in Social Media

Here’s a roundup of new social features announced this week with the potential to impact your business’ marketing.

New in Social Media

Kristi’s 5 Favorite Butterflies

Web Services Manager Kristi has an eye for detail—both in the office and out in nature.

Kristi's 5 favorite butterflys - red-spotted purple butterfly

What is good design worth to your business?

Explore industry research that quantifies the ROI of good design.

What is good design worth to your business?

Creating Trust with Social Media

User skepticism is on the rise. Take action to develop deeper trust with your social media followers.

Creating trust with social media

7 Steps to a Better Event

Harness the power of data to strategize your event marketing plan.

7 steps to a better event

Color Matters: Gray

French composer Claude Debussy once wrote to a friend, “The colour of my soul is iron-grey and sad bats wheel about the steeple of my dreams.” Debussy...

Color Matters: Gray

When did we forget how to make art? Exploring the link between creativity and health.

Senior Designer Sarah shares how integrating creative practice into our everyday adult lives is essential to our mental and physical health.

desk littered with creative objects: paintbrushes, plants, painting, paper

Adam’s 5 Favorite Vacations

How travel influences VP & Creative Director Adam’s creativity.

Adam’s 5 Favorite Vacations

2019 Creative Trends

Explore the fresh looks, throwback ideas, and current trends that will be influencing our work this year.

Creative trends 2019

Why go digital with your annual report?

Whether it’s your first year creating an annual report, or you’re just getting started on your tried-and-true print publication, consider these reason...

annual report for client

Color Matters: Purple

Could insects and a master painter share the same sight?

Color Matters: Purple

Write a Better Call-to-Action with These Tips

Creating marketing material without a call-to-action is like using a fishing pole without a lure. You may think you’re fishing, but without a lure, yo...

Write a Better Call-to-Action with These Tips

Website Accessibility: 5 Things You May Not Know

Building a website that meets WCAG 2.0 standards for accessibility can seem overwhelming or expensive when you don’t understand the benefits or the re...

Website Accessibility: 5 Things You May Not Know

2019 Ad Planning Guide

Strategize your 2019 advertising plan with this Ad Planning Guide that covers budgeting, evaluating ad placements, trends we're watching, and more.

2019 Ad Planning Guide

Ad Planning Budget Worksheet

Strategize your 2019 ad budget with this free resource that covers budgeting, evaluating ad placements, trends we’re watching, and more.

2019 Ad Planning Guide

Video: the King of Content

Watch this video and learn how to harness the growing power of video to reach consumers.

Video: the King of Content

Hey, You! Discover and Do

Use this simple paradigm to craft successful ads and generate leads.

hey you discover and do

Know the Rules of Rebranding? Take this quiz.

Know the Rules of Rebranding? Take this quiz.

Rebranding Quiz

Feeling App Happy?

See these surprising stats before you opt for an app.

Feeling App Happy?

Use This Checklist to Optimize Your Website for Local SEO

Prevalent smartphone use has changed how people search for things.

Use This Checklist to Optimize Your Website for Local SEO

Color Matters: Red

Dorothy’s ruby slippers have returned home 13 years after they were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.

Color Matters: Red

Under the Hood: How Cars & Coding Are Complementary

Meet Cameron Harbrecht, Web Developer. He’s our resident car enthusiast, go-to animator, and a devoted dog dad.

photo of car

Why the Best Marketing Tool Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All

We wanted to see if we could create a tool that would be helpful to our clients—a shortcut for our diverse client base to get sound content creation a...

Why the Best Marketing Tool Isn’t One-Size-Fits-All

Workshop Your Marketing Solution

“To a man who only has a hammer, everything he encounters begins to look like a nail.” —Abraham Maslow

Workshop Your Marketing Solution

Optimize these Channels for Lead Generation

If you’re anything like 63% of businesses, lead generation is your top priority. Can you increase leads?

Optimize these Channels for Lead Generation

Nonprofits: Can you engage millennials?

Research shows that millennials care. 90% of millennials think they can have an impact to make the U.S. a better place to live, according to the 2017...

millenials and nonprofits

Is Direct Mail Dead?

Digital marketing may be cost effective and popular, but here’s why it may not be time to put direct mail to rest.

direct mail

Color Matters: Yellow

The same color evokes both illness and health; contamination and cheerfulness; cowardice and royalty. How can such a conflicted color exist?

color matters: yellow

Why You Need a Marketing Campaign Brief

"If you don't know where you're going, any road will take you there. This popular saying has been variously attributed to an ancient Hindu proverb, th...

Why you need a marketing campaign brief

Pros and Cons of a DIY Website

In our do-it-yourself world, the thought of unnecessarily paying a professional makes many business owners cringe. A website is no exception—a m...

Do It Yourself

Designing Micro-moments for Mobile

Smartphones have become a ubiquitous part of customers' lives, influencing everything from shopping and traveling to dining and working. A frustrated...

Mobile design first

7 Brand Voice Fatal Flaws

Developing a brand voice is crucial to communicating effectively and consistently with your audience. A stable brand voice will position your business...

Brand Voice

SEO: Are you in the know?

Does my website's security status matter for its search result ranking? Which is better for SEO—backlinks, photos, or content? Find the answers...

Why is SEO important?

Color Matters: Pink

Is the color pink enough to turn a strong man docile? Two naval officers in the 1970s thought so.

Color Matters: Pink

Identifying and Improving Your Brand Experience and Revenues

There's a common rule of thumb in business: Keep customers happy and the business will grow. But is it true?

Identifying and Improving Your Brand Experience and Revenues

Beyond Storytelling: Storysharing Matters

Science, the arts, and business all agree: humans like stories, and stories are effective at conveying memorable information. In fact, people remember...

Storytelling vs. Storysharing

Three Principles to Follow When Choosing a New Logo

When you're engaged in the process of branding or rebranding your company, it's easy to feel overwhelmed by decisions. You've met with your agency and...

Three Principles to Follow when Choosing a New Logo

Meet Ben: A Q&A with Ben Blohm, Operations Manager

Financial Guy
Passionate about the Community

Ben Blohm, Operations Manager

Color Matters: Green

In the 1800s, the first truly vibrant green pigment was worth dying for. At least, that's what Victorian England thought.

Color Matters: Green

4 Questions to Ask Before Starting an Instagram Account

Thinking of starting an Instagram account for your business? It's tempting to amass an account on every social media channel. After all, more accounts...

4 questions to ask before starting instagram account

Color Matters: Blue

Pablo Picasso famously said, “When I haven't any blue I use red.“ To most of us, those two colors are not interchangeable. In fact, they're usually on...

Color Matters: Blue

How Will Facebook's Newsfeed Update Affect You?

What matters most to Facebook users—the newest viral video, content that's relevant to your interests, or updates from your friends and family?

facebook newsfeed update

No Neutral Net

Take a closer look at what the end of net neutrality may mean for your business.

net neutrality graphic

Are Your Blog Posts Optimized for SEO?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is often a cost-effective and sustainable tactic for expanding your marketing reach. That's a good reason for publish...

two people working at a computer

Meet Emily: Q/A with Emily Marcum, Writer & Editor

Travel aficionada.
Extensive reader.

Emily Marcum

Rebranding? Here's how to engage your employees.

Marketing executives entrenched in a brand relaunch have a lot to think about—new logo, corporate identity, how and when and what to update, cus...

Rebranding and employee engagement

Website Accessibility: POUR it on!

Is your website accessible to people with disabilities? That's up to 1 in 5 website visitors. A disability could relate to vision, hearing, neurologic...

Five ways to gauge logo success

Five ways to gauge logo success

What is a logo, and what makes it successful? A logo is a mark or symbol used to identify an organization, person, movement, or event.

Five ways to gauge logo success

Logo Redesign Case Study: The Crown Point Community Foundation

A logo is one of the most important pieces of a brand's identity. It's the face of your organization, often the first impression that your audience ge...

CPFC Logo redesign case study

Increase Your Brand's Blog Engagement with an Infographic

Robert E. Horn of Stanford University speaks of visual language—the tight integration of words, images, and shapes.

Increase Your Brand's Blog Engagement with an Infographic

Do you own your digital assets?

As an organization, you may have many digital accounts, from Twitter and Facebook to Google Analytics.

Do you own your digital assets?

Web Accessibility: Understanding Screen Readers

The Web accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.0 A and AA) that have been adopted by the US Access Board to become part of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation...

Web Accessibility: Understanding Screen Readers

Does Your Website Need a Secure Certificate?

Changes in the newest version of the Chrome browser may deter users from filling out simple forms on your website.

Does Your Website Need a Secure Certificate

Website Accessibility 101

Updates to Section 508, part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, passed in January 2017, go into effect on January 18, 2018.

Website Accessibility 101