2024 Year in Review

2024 was the year of survival. The year was a major test to see if the business could survive amongst health concerns, a reduced workload, and a reduced team. Along the way, we endured, working with businesses both large and small, and even made the time to launch a few charitable campaigns. Read on for the happenings and events that impacted 2024.

2023 was one heck of a year. From a women’s month campaign to hiring a new team of designers, and being faced with some major obstacles, 2023 was a year of personal growth and a test of strength and courage. Read on for the happenings and events that made 2023 the year it was.

NewsLianne CawleyDecember 28, 2024year in review, 2024Comment

LCC 2024 Holiday Gift Guide

Welcome to the 2024 LCC Holiday Gift Guide! The holiday season is upon us and, if you’re like us, you still need to buy gifts for the loved ones in your lives. In the spirit of Small Business Saturday, we wanted to highlight some of our favourite Edmonton-based small businesses and help kickstart your holiday shopping. This year, we’re not only sharing businesses we’ve worked with, but other local businesses we truly appreciate.

ResourcesGuest UserNovember 29, 2024holiday, gift guide, support local, 2024Comment

9 Years of LCC!

In August we celebrated our 9 year anniversary! We are a bit late to the celebration but better late than never! It has been nine years of success, challenges, learnings, and great client work! To celebrate the occasion, here are nine of our favourite projects and moments from the last nine years:

NewsLianne CawleyOctober 29, 20249 year anniversaryComment

Tips for New Grads

Graduation season is upon us and can stir up some fear in some of the best students. Getting your first design job can be daunting and it can be tough to navigate when you’re first entering the industry. We’ve seen hundreds of portfolios and have had the opportunity to mentor a few designers along the way. As much as we care about the growth of our studio, we also care about the growth of designers within our community. Offering guidance to new grads and junior designers only makes our jobs easier when hiring. Here are 5 tips to kickstart your career after graduation.

ResourcesLianne CharleneJune 5, 2024Lianne Charlene CreativeNew Grads, Design JobComment

Our Favourite local Women Designers and Illustrators

March is Women’s History Month and as a design studio with an all women team, we’re passionate about uplifting and supporting women in our industry. This year we’ve put together a list showcasing some of our favourite Albertan women designers and illustrators. We’re so inspired by the work of these women and feel so grateful to be part of a community of women designers and illustrators.

2023 Year in Review

Every year we put out numbers on the wins, losses, challenges, and obstacles we’ve faced in that year. We’ve decided this year, that the numbers really don’t matter. Not because the numbers weren’t good but because the year is about more than just the numbers. It’s about the events, the work, and the relationships we made.

2023 was one heck of a year. From a women’s month campaign to hiring a new team of designers, and being faced with some major obstacles, 2023 was a year of personal growth and a test of strength and courage. Read on for the happenings and events that made 2023 the year it was.

NewsLianne CawleyDecember 28, 2023year in review, 2023Comment

LCC 2023 Holiday Gift Guide

We know that holiday shopping can be stressful and overwhelming. Waiting in line/online for deals at big box stores isn’t our idea of getting in to the holiday spirit. Instead, why not focus your holiday shopping around supporting small and local businesses and the people who build them. That’s why every holiday season, we show our support by spreading local cheer and featuring some of our favourite businesses. If you’re looking to support local and ease the shopping process, check out our list for the perfect gift for that special someone.

ResourcesGuest UserNovember 29, 2023holiday, gift guide, support local, 2023Comment

9 Steps to Get Started on Your Brand

At LCC, branding is at the core of almost everything we do and so is collaboration. In order for us to get started on your branding, we need to know that we’re the right fit and that you’re prepared for this next phase of your brand. Whether you need a new brand, a brand refresh, or brand materials, we ask all of our clients to do their homework before working with us. We want to make sure you’re ready for your first meeting so that we can do our job more effectively and put together a final product that aligns with your business. Here are 9 steps you can take to get your business ready for a brand designer.

How professional photography elevates your brand

Whenever we work with a client on their branding, we always make the recommendation to use professional photography (or video content) on their website, social media, and other brand materials. Why? Using professional photos can elevate a brand and provide a more authentic experience to your customer. The best brand strategies are created with a target audience in mind and how we can best communicate with them. Therefore, we want to create content with images that will resonate with the target audience specifically.

The Cost of Bad Design

In today’s competitive world, the primary goal of a business is to make itself stand out and get visibility from potential customers. Some businesses start off with DIYing or purchasing low-cost options for their branding or graphic design. But just as you invest in your niche, product or skillset, you need to invest in good branding. In order to scale your business, you need to invest in how your business looks and is perceived by others.

12 Female-Owned Businesses We Love

If you’re familiar with our work, you're probably familiar with many of the female-owned businesses we have worked with over the years. We’ve had the pleasure of working with so many incredible female entrepreneurs, leaders, and business owners. While every busy does not run without the support of the men, women, and employees behind them, we want to honour and highlight these powerhouse business owners and share their stories of how women can succeed in business.

How to Plan Ahead for 2023

It might be our personalities but all of us at LCC love planning. Planning out your year is a great way to ensure you can manage your workload, prevent burnout, and visually see the year ahead. It’s a great way to make sure that all of your launches are well executed, on time and on budget. Here are some of our top tips for planning ahead.

ResourcesLianne CawleyJanuary 16, 2023goals, business planning, small business, 2023Comment

2023 Year in Review

2022 was a big year. We grew the team, reno'd, and moved into our new studio office, Lianne had a baby, and still somehow kept the business going! We were met with a roller coaster of emotions as we endured each and every milestone.

NewsLianne CawleyDecember 28, 2022year in review, successes, challenges, goals, 2022Comment

LCC 2022 Local Gift Guide

If you're like us, you've probably started searching high and low for the perfect gift to give everyone on your list. Every holiday season, we love to show our support for some of our favourite local small businesses. LCC is passionate about supporting small businesses and the people who build them. Here’s another Gift Guide to help you shop for that special someone.

ResourcesGuest UserNovember 30, 2022holiday, gift guide, support local, 2022Comment

Benefits of Shopify E-Commerce for Small Businesses

Within the last ten years, the way we buy and sell products has changed significantly. The biggest change has been an increase in online storefronts, also known as E-Commerce. Shopify is one of the leading e-commerce website platforms out there. It makes it easy to sell products online and has made it accessible for anyone to start, run, and grow a business. As a studio, we truly love Shopify and recommend it to our product-based clients. Here’s a breakdown of the top benefits Shopify can provide to a small business.

7 Years + A New Studio Office

Next week marks seven years in business! It started off with just myself, as one independent freelancer taking almost any work I could get. Over the years, I’ve grown our clientele, moved our studio, had a family, grown the team, worked through a pandemic, refocused our service offerings and built a new studio. It has been one wild ride and I couldn’t have done it without the support of our clients, family, and friends. In light of our 7 year bizaversary, I thought it would be a great idea to tell you the back story of how our 7 year journey began.

The Dos and Don'ts of Canva

Within the last few years, Canva has soared in popularity, especially with small business owners. Canva is a free, user-friendly design software that allows users to create their own graphics from scratch or modify pre-made templates from their library. From our experience in working with small businesses, we believe Canva is a great tool for entrepreneurs that have minimal design expertise & tight budgets. However, Canva does have its limitations and there’s plenty that should be left to the professionals. In this post we are going to round up our top Do’s & Don’ts of Canva.

Resources, BrandingLianne CharleneJuly 20, 2022Lianne Charlene CreativeLianne Charlene, Branding, graphic design, canvaComment

Signs You Are Ready for a Rebrand

There are many reason why small businesses decide on a rebrand. Maybe you had your cousin or a friend of a friend design a logo for free when you first started your business? Maybe there’s a brand new competitor on the market that looks just like yours? Or maybe your business is moving on to bigger and better things and your branding no longer reflects that. Whatever it may be, we’ve narrowed down the top five signs it may be time for a rebrand.

Four Reasons You Should Invest in a Brand Designer

Small business owners have big dreams and the passion to do it all. But with any start-up, budgets are tight and you need to get your business up and running. Oftentimes, DIYing a logo or a website is the easiest solution, especially when you are using free software such as Wix or Canva. While these platforms can be great tools, it doesn't take long to outgrow a DIY brand. In most cases, a DIY brand doesn’t measure up to the polish and professionalism of the service or product offered. The business then misses the opportunity to stand out against its competitors and/or reach its ideal audience. Here are four reasons why a professional brand designer is a valuable investment for your business.

Celebrating Female-Owned Businesses

Being a female-run company, LCC has been able to connect and work with many other women-owned businesses. With International Women’s Day fast approaching, we wanted to highlight some of the businesses we believe in and have had the opportunity to work with. All of them are female-led and are local small businesses in our community.

ResourcesLianne CharleneMarch 3, 2022support local, women in business, womens day, march, woman-ownedComment

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