Did you know that the typical American averages nearly 5 hours a day online? That number goes even higher if you start thinking of phone games and internet TV as online time. Add all those minutes and seconds up and you’re talking about hundreds of thousands [if not millions] of impressions all fighting to get the attention of customers you want, followers you’d like to add, or business partners you hope to attract. So how do you really break through?

As designers and artists, there are numerous techniques we can use to draw people in from a visual standpoint, but before we ever usually get a chance to do that, people and prospects do something else first. They hit up search engines. It’s not always the flashiest part of a web development effort, but SEO and SEM can generate big-time results. When done right, some business see dramatic increases in web traffic, lead generation, and lead conversion. The trick is, it’s not an exact science, and it is definitely a discipline that requires ongoing maintenance. 

When helium does SEO, we tend to focus on what we call the big 3 – original content, earned links, and relevant research. Trying to skip steps on any of these three pillars often ends with less-than-ideal results. When balanced appropriately, however, we dive deep into the keywords, phrases, and questions a given audience has.

We look carefully at the little nuances between the brands who purchase listings versus those who earned an authentic first-page or top-ten ranking – who stayed there longest? What did it likely cost them? Did it really reach people ready to make a transaction or deal? Then, we take a look at the digital neighborhood a website is going to live in. How do the neighbors act? What do we want to say differently? What can we say better? Who can we connect with that shares our perspective and gives us the kind of legitimacy search engine algorithms prefer? After that, we start putting words to page… and we do it in ways that make people and robots both interested in reading them.  Our ultimate goal is that you shouldn’t even notice SEO is happening on your site… until you actually do a search and see yourself ahead of your competitors.

So, what goes into a mood board? That’s both the fun part and, perhaps, the most challenging. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then it easily takes a thousand [or more] pictures to convey an idea as complex as an experience, an idea, a destination, or a home. We comb through a gross amount of images in magazines, websites, books, and everyone’s favorite: Pinterest. We’ve got our own bank of photographs and items we’ve collected of the years.

Yes, we know the world is getting more digital by the second. Yes, we appreciate paper is a precious resource. And yes, we are aware that the media landscape is so not 1994. We get all of that. You will still never hear us say that print is outdated. Ever.

The truth is, print pieces simply have to work harder and be smarter than they did in the past. A brochure can’t just be pictures and words folded into a booklet – it has to be an interactive journey. The feel of the paper or a gloss varnish or embossed logo is a tactile experience that engages the sense of touch in the way swiping and tapping a screen does not. The anticipation of opening an envelope creates a moment that primes an audience for the message inside. An artfully crafted package stands out on a store shelf and says “take me home” before a salesperson even utters a single word. 

That’s the benchmark we aim for when people come to us looking for collateral, business cards, POP displays, direct mail, and other print advertising and marketing materials. A piece that’s “not just another” anything, but rather, a piece that helps redefine what’s possible for print. In fairness, we have a lot of resources at our fingertips for making that happen. Amazing things are possible in the world of inks, coatings, and finishes these days… like glow in the dark, scratch-and-sniff, waterproof things. Paper keeps upping its game too with everything from re-printable paper, to paper that looks and feels like leather or plastic, to paper that can be used as furniture. Seriously. Then there are techniques for taking print pieces from flat to fantastic – 3D, Pop-Ups, unique folding designs – it’s truly fascinating how much print really can do. 

So, while we agree that it’s very cool to explore the depths of digital design, the things that happen on screen are all limited by one thing – it always happens on a screen. Only print has the power to take countless shapes, sizes, colors, and textures that people can hold and keep, and that can’t be turned off. 

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There has been a mild (ok, not-so-mild) obsession with book covers recently. More like a life-long intrigue that has snowballed into said obsession. That late night scrolling through eBay to find vintage books with great typography or illustration, when such scrolling turns into a rabbit hole where your shopping cart acquires a book from every decade. From old medical illustrations to modernist typography – book covers have been a huge source of inspiration for all types of design work. And, of course, the book itself – the story – is the heart of what we do as a brand studio. Each work has a history, a message, a soul – the visual communication of its cover, the written word that shapes its narrative, the worn pages from those who’ve been impacted by it; books are fuel for creatives.

When we are developing a brand, it always starts with a story. We tap into the heart and soul of the company – who they are, what the essence is. Much like an author crafting a character, we shape the narrative of a brand then uncover how to communicate it in all forms. Just as we wear clothing to reflect our personality, as a designer we are constantly using elements such as color, type and messaging to craft the unique persona of a company to its market. The process is organic, both strategic and highly intuitive. But the brand story is ultimately what sets the road map for brand identity, messaging, graphic design, website design, photography, and all marketing materials. You can explore some of our brand stories by clicking here.

A book cover has the tall order of capturing the spirit of a story in a single composition, enough to emotionally engage and connect with a potential reader. This can be done through typography, photography, illustration, design, color, shape, or pattern. But whatever method, the end product can be really, really, really cool. Enough to keep this designer up scrolling Pinterest and eBay for hours on end.

Take a look at some of the books and book covers we’ve been wide-eyed for.

We are excited to begin working with Excellence Resorts on a new digital and print marketing campaign, where we will deliver brand messaging, experience and design work to visually communicate the incredible resort!

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