Steven Johnson, CPA asked me to come to his office to talk about his new venture here in Mt. Pleasant –
I like using design as a way of solving a problem for others. Local CPA, Steven Johnson, would be opening his own firm and moving in December and called me for some assistance. He needed new business cards and letterhead quickly. He and his staff had some ideas, so we got started right away. The logo design always comes first and leads the way for the collateral design work – style, colors and visual representation of a company’s brand.
Steven had been with a firm, for a time, who used green as their main color – and he wasn’t sure if he wanted to move away from it, so I started with a selection of blues, brown shades and a few green colors in my first set of drafts. Being a long time Lowcountry resident and beach lover, I could tell after talking with him that those were the colors he leaned towards. As we worked through layouts and combinations, he continually gravitated towards a green color, which became the final single color used for his company’s branding. It’s so important for clients to see color choices when they are undecided because they often can’t visualize it for themselves. I’m not a ‘numbers’ person, and can’t relate to that talent – and I’ve learned from experience it’s best get a visual on paper for those kinds of brains!
Once the logo was confirmed, we moved on to the business cards and letterhead, which I worked on simultaneously. I don’t always do that, but in this particular case, one of his staff had provided rough drawings for those layouts and they would all be very similar in style. A job like this may look incredibly simple, but element sizing and positioning can take a lot of back and forth before all the tweaks are worked out. I always provide files for printing and for use online, which also takes some time to prepare. Bottom line – I was able to get Steven what he needed before his move and he seemed very pleased with the final results.
I love designing and I love the diversity of my job, but one other thing I really enjoy about logo design, in particular, is knowing that you are designing something for long term use (hopefully!). A logo will often be a company’s representation for years and it’s a gratifying feeling to know I’ve created a branding image that will often be used on everything from websites, marketing materials, signs and even tees.
Are you local in Mt. Pleasant or Charleston and in need of some CPA services? (unfortunately the logo is not being used on the website – yet!):
