Live with the Creative Team
0:01
Design Conference Takeaways and Insights
12:52
Logo and Email Design Strategies
17:40
Bringing Design Inspiration to Lemon Seed
Unleash your creative potential and boost your brand's impact as we share inspiring takeaways from the Circles Design Conference in Grapevine, Texas. Join Emily, Leslie, Rachel, and Cody from the Lemon Seed creative team as we explore the power of personal and brand identity in design. Rachel shares wisdom from Sean Fox's session, emphasizing the courage it takes to embrace your unique style and step away from perfectionism. Meanwhile, Cody's enthusiasm is contagious as he recounts his encounter with design icon Alan Peters, whose innovative branding strategies have left a lasting impression. The episode encourages designers to embrace their individuality and businesses to harness authenticity to strengthen trust with their audience.
The episode also unpacks the artistry behind iconic logos and the dynamic world of email marketing. Discover how simplicity and creativity can elevate branding, inspired by giants like Nike and Apple. Insights from Flowmark underline email marketing's potential, with personalization and visual appeal playing crucial roles in customer engagement and sales growth. As we wrap up our conference experience, we're thrilled to share these insights with our clients at Lemon Seed. We invite listeners to connect with us on social media or leave a review, as we continue to share our creative insights and journey with you.
-
Speaker 1: 0:01
What's up, lemonheads? Welcome back to another episode of From the Yellow Chair. I'm Emily and I've got several of the designers from the creative team here at Lemon Seed and we are coming to you live from the Circles Design Conference in Grapevine, texas. We are soaking up some good inspiration, getting lots of new ideas and kind of trends and seeing how we can help grow our creative selves and inspirations that we can help further your brand to grow your company and organization. So, without further ado, let's sip some lemonade, all right? Well, hello, designers.
Speaker 2: 0:44
Hello.
Speaker 1: 0:46
That's where designers Hello, that's where you guys say hello. If anyone is not familiar with working with creatives, a lot of times they are very much introverts, and that is very true for the Lemon Seed team here, and so I was kind of like pulling teeth getting them to come on this episode with me. But I do know we have some of the most creative people in the industry, some super talented people, and so I just wanted to let them talk to you, lemonheads, and I know we have some aspiring designers and people that work in the creative field, so I just thought it would be completely appropriate to have them on here. So first off, we have Leslie Hi Leslie. Hey Lily, how are you Doing good? How are you Good? I bet you're scared to death. And then we also have Rachel hey Rachel, how's it going Going good? And then we also have Cody.
Speaker 2: 1:40
Hello everyone.
Speaker 1: 1:44
So, like I said, we are here live at the Circles Design Conference, and so we've just finished up day one. We have another exciting day two coming up. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, hey Rachel, what was something that you had a key takeaway from, or maybe something that got you thinking in kind of a different way?
Speaker 3: 6:09
um. So I would say our first session that we had with sean fox, he talked a lot about your identity and just um kind of knowing who you are, being confident in who, um, you are as a designer and not being afraid to just kind of step out and showcase, like, your design style with your clients. So yeah, I really enjoyed that and really focusing in on that identity and just knowing who you are.
Speaker 1: 6:35
Yeah, no, I mean there's a lot that you can learn, like your personal identity, like as a designer. But then I was also thinking out for our contractors. So, like they have to have their own identity, and we all know that's what makes a really good brand when it can accurately portray the personality and the values of a company. That's what makes it feel really authentic, that's what builds trust and that's what can really resonate with customers. So, just as, like you're trying to find your own voice as a designer, I think companies have to also be looking how can I portray my voice and make my voice heard so that I resonate more with my customers? So what was, what's something that you learned from him that you think you could incorporate into kind of your everyday graphic design work?
Speaker 3: 7:20
So one of the things he had talked about was it's never as bad as you think it is, and I think a lot of times as designers we really get stuck in the perfection cycle where we think everything has to be perfect and we think everybody's looking at it the same way we are.
Speaker 3: 7:35
And so I think, when you take a step back, I know one of the things that I have to do sometimes is, if I'm really deep in a design and it's just not going quite where I want it to like walk away from it, think about it for a little while, come back with fresh eyes once I've kind of refreshed, done something else for a little while, and just kind of thinking through that lens instead of being stuck in that it has to be exactly how I feel it needs to be, and it it needs to be perfect the first time, because sometimes you need to kind of go through that first set of revisions and then things start to really come together. So he really focused on that. He talked about that perfection, and I think that's something that a lot of designers struggle with. So I think that's something that we can learn to just take that step back, look at things and start fresh.
Speaker 1: 8:22
Oh, a hundred percent. And that's where you have to find, like, hey, this is really good, like, this has really come together, but like, really perfectionism is not attainable at all. Um, you know, like one of my favorite mottos is perfectionism is really procrastination in disguise. And so, like, when you're always striving for perfect, you'll never, ever achieve it. And so then, like, nothing ever actually gets done. So, yeah, no, I agree a hundred percent. And like, shout out to some clients who are always on the strive for perfection, like, and you never get anything done, you never get that email actually sent out or that script for that text message. Like, that perfectionism isn't attainable. And how much have you missed out on by trying to get perfect with the air quotes there. So, cody, I know you got to meet um, one of your idols, if you will, um, a designer who you've been following for a long time. Um, tell us a little bit about that and maybe why you've been following this certain designer so I had the opportunity to meet alan peters.
Speaker 2: 9:21
If you haven't um picked up his book logos at last, oh, you can't see it here. It is um really really good read um. So she's great instagram videos and stuff too, on social media and you know that that originally, you know, brought uh, my attention to him is those videos that he does, and I remember thinking that, um, the first video I saw was his u-haul rebrand that he wanted to do and you know, I remember looking at like the edits he was wanting to make and thinking initially like, oh, I don't, I don't know if that would work, but then he reveals what he had and it was incredible and I was like I like this work, I like this, this designer.
Speaker 2: 10:02
He produces some very memorable but minimalistic marks, and that is, you know, that is something that I'm always kind of striving for, is something that's you know, you see it and you're just like, wow, like someone did that, like they, they were able to mesh these ideas so well together and it just works.
Speaker 2: 10:20
I, I absolutely, you absolutely adore him as a designer, and today he had a really interesting talk and was talking about how you have to take those chances, how you can't be afraid of where you want to go with your career, with your life, with your design, or how you want to take things with your brand.
Speaker 2: 10:39
So I think that that's a really, you know, important lesson is because I know, personally, there are a lot of times where I'm like, yeah, sure, we could do this and it looks really cool, but maybe it's just a bit too much, and so we kind of, you know, hold back. But even then, you know, we'll look at that later and be like oh wow, no, that was actually really good. Oh wow, no, that was actually really good. We should have done that and we missed the chance. So I think you know his talk, that he had, his presentation that he had earlier about you know, don't be afraid to just go for it. That was, you know, very eye-opening for me and even I got him to sign my book as well, which was really really cool, and he wrote in there something similar about no-transcript.
Speaker 1: 11:29
Oh well, no, he had a phenomenal talk and he is a fantastic designer and it was fun watching from the sidelines, getting to watch you talk to him for a while and watch him sign your book and stuff. So that was really cool for all of us to watch and see. But one thing that I really like about Alan Peters, especially on his social media videos, is he does a really good job of explaining like his thought process and like how he can make things better. And you mentioned the U-Haul logo. So like he'll take like let's fix the U-Haul logo. So he'll take these different well-known brands and kind of tweak and modify them.
Speaker 1: 12:01
But sometimes I think, giving that explanation and explaining it and talking through your thought process and letting clients know like hey, there's a real why, there's a real reason behind all of this, there's real strategy to it. It may not be obvious to the naked eye, like when you just look at this finished product, but when you hear that thought, explanation behind it, the meaning, the, the why, it makes a lot more sense. And sometimes it makes you feel like when you get to that final solution, like oh, like this has been really thought out, like we've explored all these other options and like this is really solid out like we've explored all these other options and like this is really solid.
Speaker 2: 12:38
That kind of reminds me of um I can't remember who said it this evening, but um, the woman who was talking about the 12 year old, who went to a client, or the client who had the 12 year old son and was like, oh, I could do that, that's so easy. Just give me 25 bucks, natalie. Yes, thank, thank you. Or you know, sir, the end product may seem very, you know, simplistic and anyone could do it, but the amount of revisions and work and the thought process that went through that there's so much more than just, you know, a simple looking logo, and I think that that's really important to understand when you know and keep in mind when you're going through a branding or rebranding and designing a logo well and sometimes the the most simple again, I'm doing my air quotes here simple logo are actually like some of the strongest because it shows tremendous um, restraint and not overdoing it.
Speaker 1: 13:29
And so when you think of like if if I just said to anyone like name a brand, like probably Nike or Apple, one of those brands are going to kind of come to your mind in the forefront and like those are very clean, simple but very iconic marks, and so I think that can be a huge design flaw is like overproducing, and the overproduction of logos or having to be very literal in your actual services as to what you actually do. I think that's a huge mark that, especially in the home service industry, contractors are missing out on. Okay, leslie, let's hear from you. I know one session that a lot of us really liked was the email session from Flowmark, where she was talking about emails and how that can really help a lot of customers. What did you think about that talk?
Speaker 4: 14:22
Yeah. So I thought that that talk was really interesting. Something that really stuck out to me was that statistic that they had put on the screen. It said something along the lines of for every $1 spent by a company, they get $36 back. We can do so much with email and something that can be really engaging with the clients.
Speaker 1: 14:43
You can push a lot of offers, a lot of branding, getting to know your brand, I think you're so right, like, emails are so important, especially when you have a great brand, because emails are so visual, like you have their attention, and so, like, when you can use, um, super clean looking graphics, you can use their brand colors, you can use their mascot, if they have one. You know, you can name the email, like, if you have a newsletter, like, call it the lemon press. Or, um, you know, the red truck journal, like, give it an actual name, so like it has some identity. It's a true extension of your brand. Um, but you know, as a designer, you can get pretty creative with the actual email content and the look of it, can't you?
Speaker 4: 15:26
Yeah, I think something that they pointed out is that um on that platform you can do um polls, you can do like questionnaires, really like narrow down like your market and kind of categorize like what customers that you're like bringing in and how you can specifically market to them.
Speaker 1: 15:46
Well, yeah, and she was talking about how you can do, like even when people are like opting into your newsletter, how you can kind of have like different categories of content, like even when people are like opting into your newsletter, how you can kind of have like different categories of content and so that way people can select like hey, I want to hear about what you're doing in the community, or I want to hear about homeowner tips and tricks, or I want to hear about you know employee spotlights or specials that you're offering. So like you can kind of categorize your content in these different ways and then they can select and opt in to whatever they want or don't want, and so that way, whatever emails you are sending out, it does stay very relevant to them and you're more likely to have a higher click through rate, open rate, things like that. I also loved how she said like emails have a, I think, 40x better response than pretty much any other media, and so you always already mentioned that statistic about like a 36 X return on your investment. But the actual performance of it is so high and I think that's so crucial in cultivating that existing customer base, because when you're sending out an email, like those are already your customers or they've interacted and engaged with you somehow for you to have their contact information. So you have a real opportunity to really nurture and cultivate that relationship.
Speaker 1: 16:56
And I think emails are. They can be a lot of fun, but they can also drive a lot of sales too. I know I've been having a fantastic time. The Circles Design Conference has been a fantastic conference Everything from seeing different work that designers have put out and creative directors and illustrators and a muralist, um, but then also, like some from the operation side and how to run um an effective, creative, creative agency, and how to coach clients through the design process and through the approval process and stuff. So, um, it's been a huge benefit for me. And how about you guys? Have you guys been enjoying it, getting some good stuff from it?
Speaker 2: 17:37
Absolutely.
Speaker 1: 17:39
Awesome. Well, we are so excited to finish up day two tomorrow and then to bring all of this knowledge and inspiration and creativity back to our clients, back at Lemon Seed, and so thank you all for listening to this episode from Emily and from some of the designers. You may never hear from them ever again, so, but we would love to hear some love from you guys. Give us a shout out on social media, leave us a review. The designers would really appreciate it, and me as well, too. So thank you for listening and following along. We'll see you next time.
