Media Kit Design for Beds4Kids

Beds4Kids provides kids in need with a place to sleep and dream. Can you believe that hundreds of kids in our own communities have never had a bed of their own? To date, B4K has provided 400 beds to kids - that’s pretty incredible. We were excited for another opportunity to work with Lauren Glass of THROW. (You might recognize this project!)

Like every project, we kicked it off with a meeting. I was excited to find that Lauren and Brandon had done research beforehand. Not just some research - they had a solid idea and outline of what they wanted to communicate. I think it was that planning in the beginning that allowed the project to flow so smoothly.

It got me thinking on how I could help clients and non creatives get ready for working with one of us.

We can be an odd bunch, let's just admit it!

For design projects like this, it helps to have the copy all the text written out ahead of time. Often times designers have trouble quoting out a project without an outline of content. After that, it's incredibly helpful to have photography ready or at least considered. If you're considering a project with a designer, schedule a call with them to find out all the bits and pieces you'd need ahead of time. My bet is, they will be delighted you asked and your project will flow just as well!

Here's why Preparation is key:

01

Getting a clear idea of what you want to communicate with your design piece beforehand allows the designer you’re working with to focus their energies on what you hired them for - design.
You may not have everything nailed down, and that’s okay. Most designers are more than happy to work through an outline and give suggestions. You’ll bring the rough draft and they can bring their creative energies to the meeting. You get extra credit if you send your rough draft to your designer before the meeting.

02

Have a solid outline can help shorten the timeline and keep the project within budget.
You can get where you’re going much quicker if you have a map, right? You're also less likely to drive around wasting gas if you know where you're headed. Design is the same way! If you come to your designer with most of the details ironed out, they can dive right in. 

03

Visuals can be very subjective and explaining them can be confusing.
Bringing visual examples of what you like will help the designer establish a clear sense of visual direction. The lines between icons, infographics, and brand illustrations can get blurry. Especially in longer pieces. It’s so great to be able to point to a design feature and say, “I want something like that.”

P.S. See our post on planning for your annual report!

Arthur Scott Woodworks Logo Design

Square Logo

This logo and branding project was with a local woodworker, Scott Sylvester. He runs a woodworking company focused on making classic, quality wood pieces for commercial and residential use.

My favorite part of logo and branding is how collaborative the project becomes. The clients and designer come together to create a logo that's true to the designer's style as well as fitting for the company's strategy. #teamwork 

Horizontal Logo

Brand Mark

Brand Colors

Font Suggestions

Dusty took the lead on this project - we knew this was going to be a more masculine brand. No script / hand lettering here, hehe. I love how clean and solid this logo turned out.

Mockup Concept of Company Tee

With three logo variations, (a primary, secondary and mark) the client can use the logo in many ways, but everything will stay unified. Excited to see this brand in action. The website is currently being design and developed. Stay tuned!

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Photo 3 credit: Ashley Longworth. // We get our mockup templates here.

Linesheet Design for THROW

One of the best parts of my job as a designer is meeting new people! I met social entrepreneur Lauren Glass through Plywood People. (Thank you, Chelsea!) Lauren runs a nonprofit called Beds4Kids. Her organization provides beds to kids and teens in need in East Tennessee, the Greater Atlanta area, and Birmingham. After 5 years of struggling to keep Beds4Kids funded, she wanted to find a way to make the organization as self sustainable as possible. From there, she decided to start a socially based pillow company called THROW.

On top of helping fund Beds4Kids, all the THROW pillows are screen printed by the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind. Each purchase gives back by providing a job to the visual and hearing impaired and brings beds to kiddos in need. Pretty amazing right?

THROW needed a linesheet to bring to markets and send to wholesale buyers. I love working with socially conscious retailers (like The Root Collective), so I was overjoyed to work with Lauren on this. Lauren and I started by pulling together an outline and all the copy I’d need to design the line sheet.

THROW’s brand is clean and crisp. I used this same clean style on the line sheet to make sure her products stay front and center. We needed to include a lot of information for buyers, so breaking up the text with images and stand out quotes was important.

I realized this as I was working: You don’t stop needing a designer once your logo and website is done. As you grow as a brand, you’ll need small and medium design pieces. These projects are some of my favorite. I love getting into a comfortable flow with my client and together we make awesome things happen quickly. There’s so much joy in these projects. :) Thank you so much, Lauren!