2023: A Year in Review
We’ve created brand identities and websites, introduced new online services to help our clients, and are entering our 28th year in business! We’re taking the opportunity to stop and reflect on our mighty and talented team, great clients, and some significant moments—a celebration of what we and our clients have achieved in 2023!
Thank you!
Evelyn, Emily and Vanessa
A YEAR IN REVIEW HIGHLIGHTS
What we accomplished together in 2023!
JANUARY
We kicked off 2023 with our first-ever Design Powers work retreat with our client, colleague and friend Michelle Mercurio!
We worked with long-time clients, ETC and Sterne Kessler. We created a summer camp postcard, and in-depth industry briefs and launched a new website for Move Forward Virtual Assistants.
Evelyn and Vanessa attended the 99th Arlington Business Gala hosted by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce.
Emily wrote a comprehensive blog post about informing our clients and subscribers of the Legal Policies for Websites. This blog post was so informative that a potential client reached out to us later in the year. We’re now creating her website!
FEBRUARY
Emily knocks another blog post out of the park, sharing the Business Software We Love with our readers. We want our clients to know the preferred tech we integrate into our business (and theirs)!
We finalized logo art for our fabulous new graphic design client, Food & Friends.
MARCH
We rebrand and design a new website and logo for FMC & Associates.
We created a vintage yet modern logo for the Arlington County Fair. This annual event has been around since 1976 and was a big part of Vanessa’s childhood. It felt like a full circle moment to be designing for the fair.
Evelyn and Emily meet Vanessa in Richmond for a team outing and marketing strategy catch-up with Michelle Mercurio.
Evelyn asks Can AI create a logo as good as a professional graphic designer? in March’s blog post.
APRIL
Design Powers updates our website with new team photography taken during our marketing retreat by Jenny McQueen. We also clarified and refined our services and improved our clients' offerings.
Evelyn writes about How a Successful Website Rebrand is a Second Chance at Happiness. It’s a tongue-in-cheek blog post about project management. FUN!
We partnered with the Arlington Chamber of Commerce to design Arlingtonopoly, an Arlington-themed version of Monopoly. Vanessa illustrated well-known landmarks and beloved business façades to give the game local relevance. It hits the shelves in early 2024, but you can pre-order by emailing engagement@arlingtonchamber.org.
We continue working with the Arlington County Fair and Food & Friends, developing marketing materials with their new logos. We also designed a 35th-anniversary logo for our graphic design client AFAC.
MAY
We organized a two-location brand photography shoot and created a logo design/website for CullenLaw. We also designed marketing materials for our client AFCO.
Emily writes our May blog on Your professional service business needs a good website. Why it’s time to rebrand.
JUNE
June was a productive month for us. We designed a new course and registration brochure for long-time client NeighborWorks America Training Institute, announcing their community leadership event in San Francisco, CA.
We launched CullenLaw’s website. Food & Friends has a big launch party for their logo reveal.
We also created a landing page and logo for our client Sparent, who has added legal virtual assistants to their agency with a sub-brand Sparalegal. We design even more marketing materials for AFCO!
Vanessa writes our June blog, which focuses on our work retreat and why we did it!
JULY
July is design, design, design! We met with three new clients that we’re excited to work with.
We began the website build and logo design with FMC Structural, who was referred to us by their sister company, FMC & Associates.
We also help new client Richard Kelly with his start-up business, Property Patrols. We created his brand identity a new logo, and built his website. His lovely wife and client, Susan of Kelly Strategies, referred Richard to us.
We designed another brochure for NTI advertising their virtual training event and created a brochure and schedule of events for the Arlington County Fair.
In our July blog post, Emily writes about how to Build Brand Trust: How to Set Up Your Google Business Profile. This post accompanies the first lead magnet for our Busted to Trusted series.
AUGUST
After diligently creating custom content, brand photography, logo, and website design, Property Patrols and FMC Structural websites launch!
We began working on another logo design and website build for a new client Niki Wanner.
Evelyn and Vanessa, head to NYC to attend Squarespace’s member workshop and Circle Day! Emily attends virtually from the comfort of her couch.
Emily takes on this month’s blog post with 5 Critical Elements for Optimizing Your A&E Firm’s Website Design.
SEPTEMBER
We updated Amy Brecount White’s site and worked with Property Patrols to add a gift card subscription service to their website.
Evelyn met Ciara Michaud on her dive trip to Belize. They got along so well that Ciara hired us to design her new scuba diving training and travel website Seaira Dives. Evelyn was on cloud nine, combining her two passions—design and diving! We worked on brochures for AFCO and FMC Structural.
Evelyn and Vanessa began building a CRM and formulating recurring digital marketing services for our clients. They’re learning about paid search, review management, and local SEO.
Vanessa writes about attending Circle Day in her blog post.
OCTOBER
We launched Seaira Dives’ new website and store! We designed a 100th-anniversary logo for the Arlington Chamber of Commerce. We laid out a NTI brochure, which takes place in San Francisco, CA.
We work on a website build for events management consultant extraordinaire Carrie Smith Concepts.
Emily writes Part 2 of our Busted to Trusted series for our October blog with BUILD BRAND TRUST: Top 4 Principles to Writing Website Content that Search Engines Love!
NOVEMBER
Our client, DC Stones, got a colossal shoutout from the Washington Wizards and Nike for his consultation in designing their city-edition uniforms. We made sure his website had all the updated videos and link to the articles written about him.
We begin brand messaging, logo and website designs for new clients, Mångata and Sky Whispers Astrology.
Vanessa updates our Instagram Highlights with recent client work, updated services, and five-star client reviews. We love reviews!
Evelyn writes a comprehensive blog post about Organic vs Paid Search: A Guide to Understanding the Differences. We will offer some Paid Search services in 2024, so this post is a helpful primer for potential clients to understand digital marketing!
DECEMBER
We just launched our new review management service—check it out!
We also launched two new client websites to wrap up the year: Mångata, a recruiting and consulting firm, and Carrie Smith Concepts, an event concept and design, planning, and production small business.
CLIENT WEBSITE MEMBERSHIP
We launched our monthly membership two years ago!
We’re grateful to our membership clients, Bewilderness Writing, Clarendon Animal Care, Schroth DC, Becky’s Pet Care, Niki Wanner, and FMC & Associates, who allow us to update your sites monthly.
Need to update your site in 2024? Join our membership!
CONSULTANTS SHOUTOUT!
We couldn’t have done it without our trusted consultants: Thank you, Faryn Sieden, Michelle Mercurio, Monika Jansen, Tara Claeys and Amy Masson! We appreciate your hard work and excellence.
And photographers we worked with this year, too! Jenny McQueen, Mike Temesa and Tamzin Smith.
Thank you for entrusting us with your business in 2023!
Here’s to a Happy 2024!