WHAT’S A BRAND STRATEGIST?

If anything, I’m really a brand therapist. When clients come to me, they admittedly can’t see the forest from the trees. They know there’s a disconnect between what they do and how to win over their ideal audience, but they’re in too deep to figure out the best path.

So we sit down and hash it out. As an outsider, I’ve got a keen eye on the overall landscape. Through guided conversations and thought-provoking workshops, we untangle the problem. I tackle the roadblocks. I construct the detours. We rewrite the story together. The brand story that attracts the right audience and guides them through a better experience. The story that wins their people over for good.

Brand strategy is so much more than a better logo or a slick new website. Those are just really nice end results. When you work with me, the journey to these deliverables is where the real magic happens.

THE SLICK OUTSIDE THAT LOOKS AWESOME TO OTHERS

Brand Design is more than just the gloss. It’s easy to get waylaid by trend. And it’s dangerous to go straight for the good looks without paying mind to what’s underneath the hood. “Make it pretty,” they say.

No, no. First: find the story that resonates with your people. Be the wise sage that guides them to their hero moment (your customers, your clients…they want to look good and you can help!) Great design will surely follow right behind.

SERVICES

Brand Strategy Workshops
Brand Identity (Logo Design et. al.)
Visual Design for Websites, Marketing, Social, etc.

THE INSIDE STUFF THAT MAKES THE EXPERIENCE GREAT

Brand Experience—aka User Experience—is a slippery endeavor. No journey is a linear one. Your audience may have a weird and unique way of meandering through your business.

To truly know your people, you have to walk their journey. What are they asking? Are you providing the right replies? Where are they going? Are you opening the best doors? What are they telling the others about you? Are you giving them the best language to use?

SERVICES

Experience Assessments & Workshops
Brand Storytelling & Copywriting
Roadmap Building (to launch business experience improvements)

some of my favorite solutions

THE FLASH NITES

Night Photographers

New name, new brand, new website

RECOLLECT2 COMPANY

Recycling Product

Brand refresh and new website

TOSA TONIGHT

Concert Series

Brand refresh, new website

ZEON SOLUTIONS

eBusiness Services

Complete brand overhaul

more stuff after the jump

Starting small simply means: Starting somewhere.

I understand budgets. I understand resources. I understand that the improvement of your business from a user experience and design perspective can be a daunting task for you and your teammates. Maybe your organization just launched, or simply set in traditional ways.

Ask for an outsider’s perspective. The solution might be easier than you think.

let’s talk

what my partners are saying

When envisioning your brand it is difficult to explain in detail what exactly what you want your logo to look like, but you know it is one of the most important facets to establishing brand recognition and developing awareness. It is concerning to trust someone with creating something you feel only you can see, but Katie has truly earned my trust.

During the initial consultation we spoke about what our brand needed to embody. A one hour consult was all she needed. She was a pleasure to work with and she took the project and developed an experience (seems like her style). When we met a couple of weeks later I was instantly captivated by what she created. I couldn’t ask for a better outcome! We are excited to work with her in the future!

David PollackOwner, United Expressions Apparel

Finding a designer who truly understands your branding is never easy; Katie not only understood our brand but recognized where our marketing fit in with our competitors as well. Her attention to detail is incredible, she stayed on brand while working in all the little details and messaging we wanted. The ability to take our concept with little direction and create the exact piece we were looking for really made this project a painless process. We couldn’t be happier with all the designs Katie has done for us and we will be working with her again for our upcoming projects.

Matt ScheilVice President of Sales – Tucker’s Raw Frozen

Katie was tasked with leading the charge on Zeon Solutions’ re-branding project. Daunting, as she had to build consensus across every department head, each of which had strong opinions that weren’t always in sync with the vision from the company leadership.

Not only was she effective at “herding cats,” she captured the essence of the company culture and delivered a brand promise that was so inspirational many became emotional when it was delivered. The new brand she created was the touchstone, moral compass, and customer promise that each employee became grounded in.

Katie’s diplomacy skills, raw talent, and “never give up attitude” made a very challenging project one of the most rewarding I’ve ever been part of.

She is a gifted being and is guaranteed to bring value to any relationship she’s involved in.

Brad MartellFormer G.M. & Executive Vice President – Zeon Solutions

I am not a usability/design expert by any means. I can’t turn my thoughts into pixels. One of the things I really liked about working with Katie is that she could do just that. As a client, we could easily communicate to Katie what we were trying to do. Katie was able to produce an elegant, well thought-out solution to meet our needs. She has an eye for design and a passion for what she does that carries her very well in her line of work.

Katie is very easy to work with. A main part of her job is to be patient with clients who don’t always know exactly what they want until they see it. Katie never seemed to be short of innovative ways to solve business needs. The combination of creativity and patience is a rare find.

John ZabkowiczSole Proprietor – MKE ECommerce

I engaged with Katie for help in creating my personal brand and website… and she was great. It was obvious she wanted to understand how I wanted to be viewed and I never felt like I was going through just a routine. She was able to take my thoughts and personify them into a personal brand that hit home with me. I loved it. I’ll work with her again.

James PellizziMarketing Director – Strategic Digital Marketing

As The Crow is a tremendous asset to our small business. Katie has a wealth of creativity, is highly professional and always completes projects in a timely manner. I would recommend Katie’s talent to any business looking to re-brand, create a new website or design marketing pieces and/or strategies. (Everything looks incredible Katie. Your creativity, responsiveness, organization and execution has exceeded my expectations. Thank you thank you for making this project a great experience.)

Ann RiphenburgOwner – reCollect2 Company