In ancient Greek  and Roman days, it was understood that inspiration came from the Muses.   The Muses, very generous goddesses, were nine daughters of Zeus and Mnemosyne and each had her own sphere of inspirational influence.  It was understood that if sudden insight or a creative thought came your way the Muses had visited you.

Inspiration for printing and web design projects.

And so when someone asks us where we get the inspiration for our creativity, it is tempting to say, “The Muses were just here.”  But the truth is that inspiration is a multiple-stage process when we are designing your business cards, brochures, website, or any other print or web marketing piece.

These are the first four steps:

  1. Identify your existing branding if any.
  2. Identify your ideal client by demographic type – age, sex, position in life, economic level, education level, lifestyle tastes, needs.
  3. Look at your industry leaders and think about what their branding has in common.
  4. Look at your products and services – what do they bring to mind?

That gives us some thoughts, logo ideas, primary colors, font-type ideas, do we need to write a slogan?  And then we go from there.  Our next job is to rule out any silliness because your business’ branding is important.  Blocky clipart is discarded, gimmicky or hard-to-read fonts are forgotten.  Any color that would get an unpleasant reaction is also put aside  – bright red for a doctor’s office is a good example of inappropriate.

Next we come up with complimentary colors so that the designs are eye catching and memorable.  And finally we begin assembling our ideas on the computer screen.  Printed materials should be balanced with a good mix of graphics, text, and white space.  Paper and finishes should be chosen with care.  If it is a website we are working on we have to make sure it loads quickly, has easy navigation and looks good in different browsers and mobile platforms.  Lots to think about but it is all about the look and feel our clients need to express their business.

Finally, it has to please the customer – you!  Whether Muses come down and grant us inspiration or we see a gorgeous palette of fall colors and think, “just the thing!” it all has to make you feel like you are making a statement.

If you’re ready, click here to order a new business card design!