We want to make sure everybody makes the most out of their last month of summer (sorry folks) by celebrating the little things in life. National holidays that may inspire you to enjoy an IPA, grab a handful of nuts, or possibly play Mahjong. That’s right, odds are, you will like at least one of these realish holidays that were made by somebody for everybody to enjoy.

Let’s start this off with Happy #NationalGrabSomeNutsDay

Highly allergic? Here’s a few other holidays coming up this week that may strike your fancy: read more…

We recently had the pleasure of leading a food and family-filled photoshoot for Carbone’s. Shoutout to an always amazing team at Pearl Photography, and of course Carbone’s Pizzeria, for the nummy opportunity. We can’t wait to unleash these goodies in the world via their new website…Stay tuned!

#BehindTheScenes

New Case Study!

Problem: Battling the stigma that real estate agents only focus on $$$ rather than helping you through the stressful process of home-buying or selling.

Solution: An inspiring, welcoming, and customer-empowering brand to reflect the revolutionized approach of REV real estate.

Result: “Our logo is already recognized locally and we have had an incredibly positive response, more than we could have imagined.”

See the full case study here!

New Case Study!

Problem: Battling the stigma that real estate agents only focus on $$$ rather than helping you through the stressful process of home-buying or selling.

Solution: An inspiring, welcoming, and customer-empowering brand to reflect the revolutionized approach of REV real estate.

Result: “Our logo is already recognized locally and we have had an incredibly positive response, more than we could have imagined.”

See the full case study here!

#DesignProcess: Today we’re talking all things moodboards, with an example from a client who’s brand we are currently working on. In designing or refreshing a brand identity, a helpful tool we use is the moodboard. A moodboard is a collage of found images that represent the intended look and feel for the brand that’s being created. Before we start on the moodboard we take clients through an exercise that helps us land on a shortlist of aspirational traits – words that our client wants people to associate with their brand. These words are often adjectives, much like the characteristics you’d use to describe a person. Once we have the desired brand attributes in hand, we then translate the intended meaning of those words into visuals. What does trusted, premier, approachable, forward-thinking, energetic, and crafted look like? This step puts some literal and figurative color around this and the intended personality for the brand. The combination of colors, textures, patterns, shapes, illustrations, and typography helps define a creative direction for building the brand identity. While it doesn’t take long to create, a moodboard is monumentally helpful in the design process. It prompts quality conversations with clients, clarifies intentions, and sets the foundation for the creative. This step doesn’t always make sense to some clients, but it’s always inspirational for the designers and improves the process. A moodboard eliminates guesswork and helps us get the designs right. Contact us if you are considering a brand design or identity refresh at inquire@sussner.com

#DesignProcess: Today we’re talking all things moodboards, with an example from a client who’s brand we are currently working on. In designing or refreshing a brand identity, a helpful tool we use is the moodboard. A moodboard is a collage of found images that represent the intended look and feel for the brand that’s being created. Before we start on the moodboard we take clients through an exercise that helps us land on a shortlist of aspirational traits – words that our client wants people to associate with their brand. These words are often adjectives, much like the characteristics you’d use to describe a person. Once we have the desired brand attributes in hand, we then translate the intended meaning of those words into visuals. What does trusted, premier, approachable, forward-thinking, energetic, and crafted look like? This step puts some literal and figurative color around this and the intended personality for the brand. The combination of colors, textures, patterns, shapes, illustrations, and typography helps define a creative direction for building the brand identity. While it doesn’t take long to create, a moodboard is monumentally helpful in the design process. It prompts quality conversations with clients, clarifies intentions, and sets the foundation for the creative. This step doesn’t always make sense to some clients, but it’s always inspirational for the designers and improves the process. A moodboard eliminates guesswork and helps us get the designs right. Contact us if you are considering a brand design or identity refresh at inquire@sussner.com

Question #3 When Considering a Brand Refresh

If you’re thinking about refreshing your brand’s identity, the first question we ask helps to clarify what success looks like to you. The second question gathers factual information about the background of your business.

Your answers to all 10 questions on our Brand Worksheet gather the insight that will guide creative to its full potential so your brand looks different and better than your competition, and attractive to your consumers. But if there’s one question that provides the most beneficial insight with regards to your brand, it’s this one:

How does your product or service benefit your customer or solve your customer’s problem?

While at first glance that may seem obvious, but it’s one that most companies answer ineffectively. read more…