Weswen Design

We shouldn’t count on blessings on just one day, but today I’m especially grateful to these turkeys who keep me grounded, push me to be better, support all my crazy ideas and are more than happy to eat frozen pizza when a design deadline strikes. 😂Sending Thanksgiving love to each of you today as you count your blessings too.

Reflecting on 2022, I will remember July as one of our best months. I’ll remember it as the scariest month of my life, but we’ll get to that in a second.

I feel like, as a family, we soaked up the glorious vacation life and created solid memories that we’ll look back on fondly at the end of the summer. We soaked up the sun in the mountains of VA to start the month. Then we dipped our toes into that salt life in Pawley’s Island, SC. (Does anyone else want to move to the places they vacation because I’m determined to move here one day.) We took our big 10-year-old to New York City to celebrate her birthday in the Big Apple seeing the sites and eating the most fantastic food (duh, NYC)

On July 20th, I experienced the scariest thing when my husband had a heart attack. He’s received a clean bill of health since, but you realize how precious life truly is in those moments. And it makes me even happier that we had the month we’ve had. Family is everything. Health is everything. Nothing else matters.

My new mission is to remember these valuable life lessons and live them every day. As a designer, I live in a world of deadlines and juggling many projects simultaneously, which can be stressful. I’m determined to make August and the rest of 2022 as soothing, calm, and productive as possible.

Fresh reminder for the business owners — the look of the content you’re creating and putting out into the world matters. You spend all your time developing content, only to send it out in a Word doc or underwhelming PDF file to your clients. While this approach can work for a while, it will probably not work forever. ​​​​​​​​
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One of my favorite tasks when helping businesses define their brand is grabbing those “back end” pieces to evaluate and make sure they look as good as the front-facing heavy hitters. Investment guides, client welcome kits, proposals, heck, even PPTs, all deserve the same love and attention as something like your website. ​​​​​​​​
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Your brand isn’t just a logo. It’s the feeling your business portrays to someone as they interact with you. The more cohesive all of your content is, the greater the lasting impression you will create. ​​​​​​​​
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I've been designing magazines for almost twenty years (omg dating myself!), and I love love love it! Check out this spread design we created for magazine, highlighting the benefits of online selling platforms for those in the jewelry industry.

There is so much more to share from this issue because it was a treat to design.

Watch out! The Autumnwood Piranhas Swim Club is frighteningly fast!

We had a blast updating the branding for this Northern VA swim club. The goal was clear: create a complete brand that it is fresh, modern and FUN! When designing for kids, we take the “cool factor” seriously and always try to envision elements, that kids and parents alike, will be proud to rock.

In addition to the new branding elements, we also created the tagline “frighteningly fast” to further set this swim club apart from others in their area. Our hope is this phrase will become more memorable as the season goes on and gives the Piranhas something to strive for throughout their competitions.

Your Monday reminder that this week we will work IN our business as well as FOR our business. A concept I’m often guilty of 🙋🏼‍♀️ There will always be client projects to complete, but this week I’m prioritizing the tasks I’ve pushed to the back burner that need to get done for ME, which will move the needle forward IN my business. ​​​​​​​​
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Happy Monday, friends! Wishing you a successful ⚡️ and productive week. ​​​​​​​​
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That feeling when a major project is almost DONE! This magazine baby of mine is nearly packed and wrapped. I adore designing brands and logos, but there’s something about pouring myself into a big, juicy publication that gets me every time. Every page is an opportunity to flex my design muscles and create something beautiful that flows cohesively together in the end. ​​​​​​​​
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Designers, what are your favorite projects to create? I’d love to know! ​​​​​​​​
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Sorry for the things I said when it was winter…. or in my case, sorry for the things I DIDN’T say. Anyone else catch a major case of social media hibernation every once in a while? ​​​​​​​​
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In my case, having spent the past several months in my design cave hibernating (read building my business, working and a little winter fun) I’m excited to stretch my legs and get back into sharing all the good stuff from the past few months. ​​​​​​​​
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Say hi if you see this and tell me…. can you relate? Did you hibernate this winter too on some of your business priorities? I’d love to know!