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Newsletter
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Read some of the articles we’ve shared in the past:
2020 Update – July 2020
Other than the obvious, how has 2020 been treating you? Although adjusting to sheltering at home, changes in plans and travel, and finding ways to socialize, there has been some good. I’m enjoying spending more time with my family and experienced some interesting opportunities, which are mentioned below.
Activate the Alley Mural As part of Water Street Studios Activate the Alley initiative to bring awareness to area nonprofits, I am proud to be one of the ten artists commissioned to create a public art mural. The original art will hang in the nonprofit headquarters, and a large scale reproduction will be part of a permanent display outdoors on Water St in Batavia. I chose to illustrate one of the aquatic programs offered by Fox Valley Special Recreation Association (FVSRA.) The client’s reaction was “I LOVE this!!! It turned out perfect.” Read more about FVSRA here. The unveiling of the mural was held Thursday, July 23. If you’re in the neighborhood, on Water St. in Batavia, drive by and take a look.
What I Did To Help
Recently I read a social media post by a musician I follow, Jimbo Hart of Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, using the hashtag #MaskItOrCasket. Immediately, I visualized the poster I wanted to design. I asked Jimbo if he minded if I created a design referencing “Mask It Or Casket,” and he requested the proceeds would be donated to Covid-19 research. With this in mind, I created a poster featuring my flat illustration style, Using bright colors against a black background, I wanted the poster to be eye-catching and the meaning to be obvious. After posting my design, I was contacted by Design in Quarantine, an archive of designer responses to the Covid-19 pandemic, for permission to include my poster in the archive, which you may view here.
The poster is currently available at https://etsy.me/2ZOvFJE. All profits from the sale of “my passion project” will go to Covid-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO (World Health Organization.) These donations support WHO’s work, including with partners, to track and understand the spread of the virus; to ensure patients get the care they need and frontline workers get essential supplies and information; and to accelerate research and development of a vaccine and treatments for all who need them.Perhaps you have a mission you would like to promote. Let’s talk about how I can help you with your passion project.
Portraiture Video Tour As with many events this year,“Portraiture,” a juried gallery show opening at the Batavia Fine Arts Centre, was cancelled at the beginning of the quarantine. Since the show was already hung, a virtual tour was created, with narration by the artists. You may take the virtual tour below, and learn about the three portraits I have in the exhibit.
How is your summer going? Has 2020 created changes in your business, or perhaps provided you with some exciting ideas or opportunities? Perhaps I can help you bring these ideas to fruition. I hope you and those close to you are in good health. Stay safe, and perhaps we can work together in the near future. Contact Lisa at 630-661-1140 or email.
Working from Home Does Not Mean the Work Stops
Early CHOICES
Hey, what is happening with you, and your business while in quarantine mode? One of the projects I recently accomplished was the design and production of a 16 page research report for Early CHOICES and sent it to the printer. Early CHOICES promotes high quality inclusive education for all preschool aged children, supporting the inclusion of children with disabilities, and is funded by the Illinois State Board of Education. My design emphasized the subject, preschool students, in an easy to read and engaging format.
Working from home is not an unusual circumstance for me. I’ve been a “solo-preneur” with my own design business for several decades, and am accustomed to working virtually. I am usually at my studio space at Water Street Studios, where I’ve been for the past nine years, but like most of you I am currently working from home. Although I’m doing a few more Zoom meetings than before and adjusting to having my family in my workplace, there has not been a huge change in how I work, or what I have to offer. As one might realize, just because we’re working from home does not mean the work stops.
In Illinois, our original two week temporary “Shelter-at-Home” expanded to two additional months, and I suspect it will not be ending soon. Are you ready to resume projects that might have been put on hiatus during this time? Perhaps you are thinking of a reopening campaign, a change you’ve needed to make in your business, or something totally new! Let’s chat about logo design, print project, illustration, package design or any type of visual communications you may need incorporate into your marketing campaign.
Contact Lisa at 630-661-1140 or Lisa@lsydesign.com. You can also schedule a session online using Calendy.
Stay well!
Lisa Youngdahl, Resolution Creative
Pivot in a Changed World
March 2020
This week I prepared to do something new: teach graphic design classes entirely online.
In addition to my design business, Resolution Creative, I am part of the adjunct graphic design faculty at two community colleges. Both schools were scheduled to close for spring break. At the last minute another week was added to the break so the schools would have time to convert all their classes to an alternative learning delivery method, due to the rapid spread of Covid-19. I had just two weeks to rapidly learn if this was possible, how to accomplish it, become familiar with new applications, and then revise my syllabi to reflect the changes. This was no easy task. I teach three different design subjects, with students of varying needs and experience.
The world has changed overnight and it is still changing. How has this impacted your business? Do you suddenly find yourself working in a different way, or thinking how you might need to change what you offer? Perhaps it is time to pivot for your business to survive. That could mean changing the content of your campaigns, and the distribution channels.
If you are contemplating a change, call me for a 20 – 30 minute brainstorming session on how this can be communicated to your audience effectively. We can chat on the phone or arrange a virtual face-to face meeting. Contact Lisa at 630-661-1140 or Lisa@lsydesign.com. You can also schedule a session online using Calendy.
Making an Investment in Your Branding and Logo Design
You may have seen companies advertise logo designs for $5 – $25. Most of the low price designs provided use cheap stock clip art and free fonts instead of something custom designed for your business. Even worse are the “design companies” who copy other designers’ work. Usually the client does not receive a logo that is distinctive or memorable, but very generic in concept. Many of them are too complex, using lots of fine lines and too much detail. When used at a small size, the fine lines will be lost and it may be difficult to understand the logo. You may not receive a logo that is scalable for use at a larger size. If you’re paying a low price, you’re going to have a low-end logo. That is not how you want your business represented.
How the Professional Design Process adds Value
Professional designers have a process in developing your visual identity that has a value worth much more than $5. Here are the steps Resolution Creative uses to create a logo for your brand:
- Meeting with client to understand the business and market and the direction the brand wants to go.
- Researching the industry and competitors.
- Sketching out ideas, finding unique shapes in letters of the business name and creating simple illustrations.
- Developing logo design concepts based upon sketches, integrating type with graphics and /or customizing the typography.
- Determining what concepts work best in communicating with your audience.
- Presenting 2-3 design concepts to client in black and white, so the client can focus on the form and if the design is effective.
- The client will select one logo for final development and color will be selected.
- Different color modes and file formats will be provided, along with a social media avatar.
All of this takes time to carefully develop a logo that is truly representative of your brand and will deliver your message. Do you have a brand or logo refresh in mind? Click here to see some of the logos designed at Resolution Creative, or contact Resolution Creative if you’d like to start a conversation about a new logo design.
Here are some recent designs by Resolution Creative, created for JLT Photography. Read below for more information about this project.
Recent Work – JLT Photography
I was approached by JLT Photography to design a logo to better represent his business. His main market was fire departments, shooting fire fighting action shots and portraiture. His current logo features a camera with a flame, but he wants to expand his business and needed a logo that would appeal to a wider audience. While I did show him some design concepts that used a lens graphic or camera, he decided to just use the business name as the logo itself. This type of logo is called a lettermark, a unique logo was created by customizing the type and using the letters in the business name to create a graphic identity. Since he had two new markets he wanted to reach, both corporations and teen athletes, Resolution Creative developed two different logos for these widely different audiences.
Does your logo represent where you want your business to be? Is it distinctive, memorable, and reproducible? Contact Lisa at Resolution Creative for a free audit of your current logo and branding.
The Resolution of the 9 ft. x 61 ft. Mural
A few months ago I was commissioned to design a mural for the offices of the Dunham Fund, a philanthropic organization supporting education and community development programs through grant-making. The fund was established by the late John C. Dunham, president and chairman of Equipto, a steel shelving company based in Aurora, IL and founded by his father. Preference for grants is given to applicants within greater Aurora area.
Challenge:
The intention of the mural was to cover five sections of wall in their lobby and hallway, showcasing Equipto history and the geographic area covered by this non profit. After the mural was designed, it would be printed on a wallpaper material and applied to the wall. Photographs were provided to me of the Equipto manufacturing plant, historic logos and Mr. Dunham. I also found diagrams of Equipto products and Mr. Dunham’s signature to enhance the mural. The Fox Valley Park District and the City of Aurora provided additional photographs. I did a site visit to some local landmarks and photographed the remainder of the images.
However, because of the mural dimensions, the photographs could not be used at their native size. Are you familiar with the term resolution? Resolution is how the level of detail in an image is measured. The rule of thumb for printed materials is the resolution of an image needs to be 300 pixels per inch. If an image is enlarged beyond this resolution, the images will appear ragged or jagged. For example, an 8 x 10 digital photograph I had available to use might have a resolution of 300 ppi, but as an image is enlarged, the resolution is lowered in proportion. Enlarging an image to twice it’s size, would lower the resolution by half. The quality of the image would be extremely poor.
Solution:
The solution I developed was to alter the photos to look more like hand drawn art, simplifying some of the details and color. The adjusted images were then converted to a vector format and further edited to fade into the background pattern on the murals. Vector images may be enlarged to any size and retain their fidelity; they are not resolution dependent. This technique was used for all the mural photos. The animated gif above, which I created in Adobe Photoshop, shows an example of how the photographs were recreated as vector artwork so they could be used at a larger size and still look good.
Aurora Sign Company did a beautiful job of printing the mural. Click the image below to view all five sections of the artwork I created.
If you still not quite sure you understand the concept of resolution, this blog post may help. Working with a professional designer will ensure images are used at the correct resolution. Still confused? Contact Lisa at Resolution Creative for a free consultation.
The Theory of (My Design) Evolution
Resolution Creative has been in business for over 30 years, originally under the name Lisa Smith Youngdahl Graphic Design. As with most businesses, there has been a period of evolution over the years. Much of the evolution has been caused by technology changes.
My graphic design education had focused on drawing and fine art as well as the principles of design. My early career was spent at a drawing board and the tools of the trade were pencils, technical pens, and markers. Everything changed in the 1980s with the introduction the Macintosh computer. Within a few years, the graphic design industry had gone digital. It was adapt or die.
Installation of the mural designed by Resolution Creative for the Dunham Fund corporate office, featuring digital artwork.
Today, with software making visual communications more accessible, some of my past clients have brought the design work in-house. While I will miss those clients, there have been exciting opportunities the past year that indicate the direction my business will evolve. Some of the design work I created in 2018 used my “non-digital” drawing skills, such as the bass guitarist illustration on the Blues Blend coffee packaging. I also had some exciting digital illustration projects, including a five panel mural for the Dunham Fund office. The installation of the mural (shown above) should be completed in the next few weeks.
You can see more of my traditional illustration work in the portfolio on this website here. I am also offering a free image download with each newsletter in 2019.
Although I am planning to focus on my illustrative skills moving forward, I will still offer the same professional and award winning graphic design services. Perhaps your business has also undergone an evolution? You may need to hire an expert to help you market those changes. Contact Resolution Creative for a free consultation.
Hanging On To Your Past
I moved my business this month.
I am still in Water Street Studios, still on the second floor. Yet, moving always means packing and sorting through remnants of the past, deciding what was important to keep. Included in this review were some of the marketing pieces I had designed in the past for my own business. Brochures and one sheets that were well designed and engaging, but perhaps the message did not reflect my current focus. I realized, although I had invested the time and cost of producing these items, I did not need to keep them. It was time to let go and move forward.
Are you hanging on to your past? Do your current materials reflect where your business and target market are today? Perhaps you’re ready for a brand refresh. Contact Lisa Youngdahl at Resolution Creative for a free consultation and audit of your current marketing materials
Resolution Creative will work with you to create eye-catching custom graphic design and illustration. Perhaps we can meet in my new studio, and you can see the design, illustration and art I have been producing.
Buying the Package
Your Customers May Be Buying the Package Before They are Sold on the Product.
Think of the overwhelming selection of items we face when entering a store. Instead of waiting for the consumer to reach for your product, let your product reach out to your audience. Packaging can be designed so that the colors and typography are vibrant, it’s easy to read and stands out from the competition. Once the customer sees your package, is it delivering the right message? Your packaging is part of your brand! It should be used to tell the story of your product; the quality and superiority.
Interested in hiring a professional designer to ensure your product stands in front of the rest? Resolution Creative will work with you to create eye-catching custom graphic design and illustration. Call Lisa Youngdahl at 630-661-1140, or email info@resolution-creative-services.com for more information.
Current work: Packaging for FreshGround Roasting
Resolution Creative was commissioned by FreshGround Roasting to design the packaging for a special blend developed for the 2018 Blues & Roots on Water Street Music Festival on June 9, 2018. Proceeds from the sale of each bag will go to Water Street Studios in Batavia. Resolution Creative created the illustration featured on the package in addition to the graphic design. The artwork featured on the package will be exhibited at Water Street Studios with three other works of mine in the exhibition, The Art of the Blues, June 8 – July 8
You can order the Blues Blend online, ( in a variety of grinds,) and support Water Street Studios and the arts in the Fox Valley.
Marketing with Posters
Advertising poster designed by Alphonse Mucha for Moet & Chandon champagne
Did you know that posters were one of the earliest forms of marketing?
In the 19th century, industrialization led to the birth of a middle class; workers who had disposable income and purchasing power. At the same time, new and affordable color printing technologies were developed. Because of these two factors, print advertising was born. Potential customers were reached through the use of posters displayed in outdoor spaces; public streets, markets, and town squares.
Advertising posters were designed by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Alphonse Mucha and other well-known artists. Since that time, posters have been used not only for product advertising, but for political messages, promoting a cause, public service campaigns, motivational messages, event marketing… Posters work, and are still effective.
Unlike the 1800s, there are many other forms of mass communication we can use today. Yet a poster can have a role in a multi-channel marketing approach.
Posters are affordable and will reinforce your marketing message and brand.
Shepard Fairey’s iconic poster represented Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign.
To be effective, a poster should be well designed and cater to your audience. It needs to be seen from a distance; eye catching, colorful, and easy to read. Integrating the typography with the art will communicate the message while maintaining a unity within the design.
Are you interested in including a poster design in your marketing? Contact Lisa at Resolution Creative to discuss how we might work together.
Is Your Web Site Usable?
Have you considered whether or not your website is usable? As much as I hate to admit this as a designer, the visual appearance of your website isn’t everything. There’s a purpose in having an attractive site. An attractive site informs your audience that you are established, professional, credible… However, a web site can look great, but not be usable.
With only 10 seconds to get your message across, you really have only about 150 words to make your point and convince your visitor to complete your call to action.
I asked you before the holidays to determine what information you would like visitors fo find on your web site, then ask family and friends if they can find the information while navigating the site on their own, without any coaching. If you had an opportunity to do this, you may have been surprised by the results. This comic below illustrates how practical information may not be easily found during a visit to a website.
comic courtesy of xkcd blog.
Testing has shown that if the specific information people are looking for is not found in ten seconds, they will leave the site. Your information needs to be easy to find. How can the visitor contact you? Where are you located? What is the goal of your site? Is there a Call to Action? Make the information the visitor is seeking obvious.
You may be thinking about having a new website created or a current website redesigned. Usability should be one of the first steps in the process, before color, type and visual element are decided. I can help guide you through this process, and create a site that is usable and attractive. Contact Resolution Creative to discuss how we might work together.
References used in article: http://alexwhite.org/2010/12/the-10-second-rule-for-website-usability/