SSF named "Best Website 2016" at the Seattle Reign Awards!

"SMPS Seattle’s annual Reign Awards gala recognizes excellence in marketing communications and outstanding achievements of top marketing professionals."

Working on the SSF website was a highlight at Dapper this last year. As the Senior Designer on the web, branding and print project, I was thrilled to collaborate with the enthusiastic, design-centric team at SSF. There were no limitations on where we could take it, creativity boarderlining ridiculousness outpoured from each individual in the room, and we landed in a place that represented them perfectly. Their team is talented, and their personalities would make SSF an incredible place to work. 

We drew on their culture in the photography styling, unique responsive and HTML5 layouts, bold colors and hierarchy in type. Every word and graphic detail was thoughtfully considered. 

A similar engineering group on the East coast contacted SSF after launch expressing that the SSF site was everything they had been wanting to convey to their web team. I believe the exact quote was: "I want your website man." We couldn't feel better about that response. Websites are powerful tools to make your business stand out from the rest. Does yours? 

Big congrats to the team at SSF for all of their hard work! It pays to collaborate. 

For more information on the Reign Awards, click here.

To see the SSF project page, click here. For their website, click here. 

A Little Business Introspection Goes A Long Way In Design

You've just met someone new at a restaurant or gathering and the inevitable question arises—"What do you do for a living?" 

How do you answer? Do you keep it short and sweet, overemphasize technical terms to look smart, or do you have a crafted response that truly does sum it up perfectly? 

I want all three. 

Why? Because I want my work to be as informed as possible and not just by one person. Give me the technical bit! Spell it out in 10 words or less. Just as there are layers in a business description, there are layers within a brand that represents a business. These should go hand-in-hand. 

I also want to know what your day looks like. I want to see your space, meet your people and understand your processes as if I'm a part of your business. In fact, I'm often times looked at as an out-of-house in-house Designer. I get calls to do small labels for event giveaway packaging, as well as entire rebrands covering web, print and environmental graphics. Project size isn't a question with me. I'll understand your business and can cater my process to your processes and you don't need to re-explain all that you do. You can trust that I know what each project needs to reflect. 

Even lines and edges can reflect something about what you do. Is your business:

Does this deep dive need to take a lot of time and effort from your team? Absolutely not. 

What do I ask of you so that you get the most out of me? Some business introspection. I'll go through some questions with your team and create a Brand Platform document that outlines tone of voice, target audiences, directed messaging, do's and don'ts, your brand personality, and more. It's your go-to foundation for your marketing. It keeps everything as consistent as possible, which is incredibly important in maintaining a strong brand. 

Through this introspection, you may discover changes that you want to make within your business. What's working and what's not working? How can your new brand or brand applications reflect that? 

More is more when it comes to information. Let's not just make things look good, let's give them meaning. I'd love to know more about what you do for a living.