Start Up Companies - Eva's Delights

Designing a brand and website for any company is one of the most exciting and challenging things a business owner does.  I am here to assist and work with my clients to help design a website-brand that they are proud of and can grow as their company grows.  I love my job. Not only do I get to work with amazing clients but I get the honor to promote their companies visually.  

The best advice I can give any business owner when they contact a designer is to begin to look at other business brands, websites, and marketing pieces they like and don't like: for design, layout, content, colors, picture ideas, etc.  This gets them thinking about what they specifically want and gives your designer a visual idea of where the client eventually wants to end up.  Once we determine this we can figure out how to proceed with creating your website look and feel.

Below is a sample of my latest project.  It is for a start up company that officially went into business in fall 2016 that my dear friend Eva Morrison created called Eva's Delights.  Her company specializes in homemade artisan chocolate truffles.  A few things that were key to her website www.evasdelights.com creation was simplicity, eye catching, having the option for the client to make adjustments to her site in the future, and of course sell her products directly from the website.  Her truffles are fabulous and make great gifts for yourself or others.  Feel free to purchase a box and try them for yourself.

New Graphic Design Projects

One thing that I love about my job is that I get to design projects that I have never done before.

For the 20/20 Vision Exhibition at Art Works Downtown, that closes tonight, I not only got to design the regular marketing pieces for the exhibition: postcard, ecard, front signage, image banners for the website, update website, create advertisements in the 2nd Friday Art Walk map, San Francisco Chronicle, and the Marin IJ, but within the exhibition itself I created a word cloud, a timeline of AWD's history, and a quote scroll.  I hope you can all come out to see the exhibition tonight, but if not below are samples of some of those extra projects.

Word Cloud

Timeline

Marin IJ Ad for 2nd Friday Art Walk

If you need help or assistance with any graphic design or website design project please keep Susan Searway Art & Design in mind.  Thanks.

Consistency of Marketing Materials

One thing to remember with marketing your company whether it is for an event, special exhibit, new product, or your services is to be consistent in all avenues you can for getting your information out to the public - direct mailers, websites, emailers, brochures, flyers, social media, etc.  One thing to note as you do this is to continue the consistent branding through all your marketing materials through the use of same fonts, imagery and colors.  The public will begin to recognize, associate, and remember your company.

Below are examples of one of my clients' upcoming event 20/20 Vision: Past, Present, Future on Saturday, September 24, 2016 for Art Works Downtown.

Donor Invitation

Donor Invitation Insert

Envelope Design for Donor Invitation

Marin Magazine Full Page Ad

San Francisco Chronicle Ad

Banners for Light Poles in Downtown San Rafael on Fourth Street between C & D Street.

11x17 Posteer Design

Window Signage

20/20 Cocktail Napkins

If your company or another company you know of needs assistance with graphic or website design work to help market an upcoming event, exhibit, products, or services Susan Searway Art & Design would be happy to assist you in any way I can.   Thanks for reading.

Marketing Materials

I love working on marketing materials.  I get to troubleshoot, explore new ideas and concepts, and get the honor of promoting my clients' products and services in a visual manner to assist them with growing their businesses. 

Below are just a few recent graphic design projects I have been working on for my clients. Click on any of the images for links to their websites.

This is an ad layout that will be printed in Marin Magazine in the upcoming month to promote Art Work's Downtown's 20/20 Vision event on Saturday, September 24, 2016.

Restore ~ Revive is a new yoga series being offered by my client, Maryon Maass of Master the Pause.  Classes run Mondays from September 12–December 19, 2016 in Larkspur.

Connie Prodromou, L.Ac., M.S., M.I.M. of Ross Valley Wllness is offering a special for the month of August on her energy medicine and acupuncture services.

Mobile Friendly Website Designs

Recently I have been working on two new website design projects.

The first website was actually a redesign-modernize project.  My client, Ilani Kopiecki of Ilani Sessions ilanisessions.com,  already had a website up and running but it was not mobile accessible.  You could view it on your smartphone, but the navigation was not easily accessible without zooming in and out.  Since the website was originally designed in WordPress I was able to select a new mobile friendly template that would display well on computers, tablets, and smartphones.  Once selected it was cleaning up the design of each page, update banners, change color palettes to Ilani's brand colors, sometimes adjust the template coding by hand to get the new desired look and feel online.  Now finished Ilani has a website that can be viewed and accessible on any device.  We also added some basic SEO keywords, alt tags, descriptions, etc. throughout her website to be more search friendly.

The second website I have had the honor of getting up and running over the past month is Master the Pause masterthepause.com for Maryon Maass.  Maryon Mass is an experienced Yoga (Himalayan Tradition and Iyengar), and Feldenkrais teacher.  Her earlier website was not working for her.  So we started from scratch with new content, a new domain name, setup her WordPress account, and began designing her new website that has all of her current contact information and listing of her classes and workshops.  

Speaking of workshops she is offering her Yoga Nidra Workshop on Sunday, June 26, 1-4pm.  You can register and pay through PayPal now through her website.  

I have also had the pleasure of creating her a Facebook Business Page www.facebook.com/masterthepause.  Feel free to like her page and keep up-to-date on whats happening.

I love assisting and working with my clients to get their marketing materials in print form or online up and running.  If you need assistance with your marketing materials I would be happy to help is any way I can.

Print Ads

Recently I have been designing on a lot of print ads for my clients.  Below are a few examples highlighting Marin Open Studios at Art Works Downtown for the Marin Open Studios catalogue ad, San Francisco Chronicle print ads, and posters designs.  One thing that we tried to do is keep a consistent look and feel to all the ads.

Marin Open Studios catalogue ad

San Francisco Chronicle print ad

posters design

Design Projects for the Arts

I love working for my clients that work in the arts.  Wether it is for an art center, galleries, theater company, or the artist, I find great joy in producing marketing materials for them.  Below are just a few samples of projects I have developed for my art clients from website with online portfolios of their artwork, exhibition postcard designs, brochures, emailers, etc.  If you know of anyone in the arts community in need of graphic design or website design assistance I would be happy to meet with them.

Website Design: The main question to ask before starting the design process

When designing a website for any client you have to go through the basic questions of what do you like, what will the content be, how do you want your website to function, what do you envision your  website to be like?   Mainly what are the clients wants, need, and ideas.

But one of the most important questions to ask before designing a website or redesigning a website is how will you maintain the website in the future? Does the client want access to make edits, are they planning on hiring a website designer to maintain the website, or does an employee need to be trained?

This is one of the main questions I ask clients when I meet with them.  Depending on their answers we can go build a custom website, work from a template site such as WordPress or Joomla, or look at a combination of the two.

With my most recent website design project for Cynthia Nowicki Moore, CFP, Wealth Management & Financial Planning we had a template program.  But her profession indicated which program-template to use.  A new template program called Forefield.  This is always the fun time for me as a designer because I get to learn a new system.

Once creating her account I looked around the system for 10–15 minutes to get my footing and then the fun part... I start to design her website with the content, images, and information we prepared ahead of time.  Overall the website was created in a few days.  After going through a couple of revisions through compliance we were ready to launch her website.  CynthiaNowickiMoore.com is now live for all to see, read and learn.

So remember when you meet with a website designer before you leave that meeting asked how will the website be used in the future so everyone is on the same page for how best to build and create the website.

10th Anniversary of Susan Searway Art & Design

I hope your year is off to a great start.

On January 1, 2016 Susan Searway Art & Design 

10 years of being in business!!!

Susan Searway Art & Design specializes in Graphic Design and Website Design services. Susan has years of experience working in the print world from designing and laying out advertisements, brochures, educational materials, exhibits, fliers, identity packages, logo design, posters, direct mailers, e-mailer campaigns, etc.

From there Susan can then convert anything into a web format for the World Wide Web. By knowing both the print and website world Susan creates effecting marketing and branding for your company that works best for you. 

It has been an honor and pleasure to work this past year 

with the following companies and individuals: 

•    Art Works Downtown

•    The Bay Institute Aquarium Foundation

•    Bay Model Visitor Center

•    Bay.org - Aquarium of the Bay

•    Beckerley Travel Consulting

•    Blackstone Technology Group

•    Clare Michael Interiors

•    Clapper Consulting

•    Cindy Mack Personal Trainer - Cindy Mackenzie

•    Continental Jewelers, Inc.

•    Dyslexia Think Tank

•    Essence of Skin Care by Stephany Baker

•    Front Porch Realty Group

•    Ilani Kopiecki - Ilani Sessions

•    Kathy Beckerley, Artist

•    Leah Reich

•    Lynn Sondag, Artist

•    Main Professional Women's Network

•    Novato Fence & Lumber

•    Nuheara - IQbuds^TM

•    Olallaberry Farm - Jody L. Whalen

•    Pragito Dove – Discover Meditation.com

•    Presbytery of the Redwoods

•    Ross Valley Wellness Center - Connie Prodromou

•    Rotary International District 5150

•    San Geronimo Valley Stewards

•    S. L. Pemberton, Inc.

•    SmartFeed

•    Susan Ticken, Artist

I love what I do and am always looking for new clients to work with.  Please keep Susan Searway Art & Design in mind for any graphic design or website design projects you or another business might have in the future. 

Thanks in advance for your referrals.