Son of Erik Design

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the copywriter for SHAPE ReClaimed. We’re a wellness company that works with healthcare practitioners to help patients with chronic inflammatory conditions.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Son of Erik Design?

Two years ago, I went to them for help with a mock rebrand. I didn’t know if our company would take the rebrand, but I wanted to see what we could do. Spencer (Owner) provided basic marketing materials including a logo, website homepage, and brochure. I presented the material to our company owners and they weren’t in a position to use the ideas at that time.

Six months ago, I got the green light to rebrand the company so Son of Erik Design came back into the picture.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

First, we refined the logo Spencer originally made. He also gave us a general outline of the website, and we had a separate web developer build it. However, Spencer has also done a lot more than just a website and brochure. He has put together multiple marketing pieces from start to finish. We use all of his general designs for our website and any other marketing collateral we’ve created.

Son of Erik Design established our style guide. This detailed our brand’s colors, logo, and different factors that’d work within the brand identity. Spencer also put together several rack cards for each of our products. He created a table banner that can be used at events. He also created five different counter posters for practitioners to use in advertising the SHAPE ReClaimed program in their offices. All of these materials are available in digital and print formats.

In addition, Spencer has been the sounding board for our brand identity. He doesn’t just provide design work, he teaches us what branding means. He explains why a piece of branding does or doesn’t work. What’s more, he explains it in layman’s terms. We understand why he’s made the decisions he has and why they work. Spencer has clearly outlined when to use which documents for which products.

What is the team composition?

We only work with Spencer.

How did you come to work with Son of Erik Design?

I learned about Son of Erik Design through a post on Facebook. Spencer was a friend of a friend of a friend. We had started searching for a design freelancer right at the same time I saw this post. It was inspired. I called him right away, and he got to work the very next day. Of course, we weren’t able to do anything with the project for so long, so I contacted him again when the company was ready to rebrand.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent less than $10,000.

What is the status of this engagement?

The engagement started in October 2019 and is ongoing. The logo had mostly been designed at that point because of his previous work.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

We haven’t launched our rebranding yet. We were supposed to launch at the beginning of April, but our event was canceled because of COVID-19. Instead, we decided to take this extra time and completely finish the project before launching it into the world.

However, as for qualitative feedback, Son of Erik Design is great. The design work and branding strategy Spencer has implemented is such a far cry from what we previously had; it's unbelievably different and so much more effective. I believe it’ll absolutely change our business forever. There has been positive feedback from the beginning.

How did Son of Erik Design perform from a project management standpoint?

Project management has been excellent. He’s delivered on time and within budget. Communication is good. Spencer is really quick to respond, even with all the chaos that’s happening right now. We correspond through email, phone calls, and texting.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The style guide has impressed us the most. Spencer included all of the branding pieces and put them into a book. We can now give the book to any future designer or copywriter as well as a new employee who needs to be trained on our brand.

Spencer completely put this together on his own. He wrote about our company mission, how to use the logo, and included details about colors and dimensions. His style guide creation is extremely thorough and exactly what companies need in order to grow.

Are there any areas they could improve?

No, I can’t think of anything. Any major hiccups that happened have been on our side, not his. He’s handled it really well.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Trust Spencer’s judgment and vision for your brand. Communicate what you can, but he’s going to take what you say and turn it into something visual that speaks to your customers.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of Resin Architecture. We’re a forward-thinking, game-changing architecture firm in our local and regional market in the way we work with our clients and the way we work with technology.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Son of Erik Design?

As a new company, we needed to make sure that we had our name out. We needed to work on how our business was being represented. We already had a logo, as well as the beginning of some branding, but we brought Son of Erik Design on to polish things a bit.

Based on some of the foundational items we already had, we looked to Spencer (Owner, Son of Erik Design) to help us with social media, website, letterhead, forms, and other standard branding packages so we had consistency across the board. We could have done this in-house, but then we might not have been using the most up-to-date versions of everything as we conducted our business, creating an inconsistent representation of the company.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

Their work was more design and branding, rather than marketing, though they’ve helped us assemble components for a regular campaign. They paired graphics and text and ensured everything is set for us to push out once a week.

They saw the value in our initial logo and were complimentary of what we had done there. From there, the branding collateral involved the large marquis sign outside our building, our letterhead, and our website, which works on mobile and desktop. They also developed standard forms based on our letterhead. Now, our fonts and communications are all consistent.

Other productions including half-page vertical flyers, folios, and folders that we could hand-out at tradeshows. They also created a backdrop for tradeshows that sits as the back of our booth. Our entire representation in our tradeshow booth was determined with their help. In our office, they’ve made sure we have photographs up on our wall – some photos they’ve taken and some were by a different photographer.

What is the team composition?

Initially, it was just Spencer. He has another employee now, but I’m not sure when they started. Spencer is still our direct interface.

How did you come to work with Son of Erik Design?

I knew Spencer personally from when he was employed at other companies. I was aware he wanted to build up his own business – or perhaps he’d already broken off to form his own business – and we were one of his first handful of clients. We may have been the first one, actually. I don’t know that for certain, but we were there very early when he made Son of Erik his prime work.

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent between $10,000–$50,000 so far.

What is the status of this engagement?

We’ve been working together since December 2017.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

All I really know is that people recognize our branding because it’s very distinctive. Our logo does a lot of that, but the way Spencer has helped us represent this with tag lines and other things is attention-grabbing. He’s helped put a face to our company that — if we’re not there in person — the branding and marketing materials and website help represent what we are. He conveys that we’re different from every other architect in the region. Metrics-wise, we’re the number one search result for “Idaho Falls Architect.”

Talking about feedback, we get cold calls from people praising the website. We also have nationally recognized specialty architecture firms praise us for the website when they ask to partner with us. We don’t come across the like two-and-a-half-year-old firm that we are.

How did Son of Erik Design perform from a project management standpoint?

They’ve done very well. There are times when we procrastinate and they’re always there to help us meet our deadlines. He could very easily say it wouldn’t work in his timeline but he’s always there. Communication is great, and if there’s any lack of it it’s probably from our side. Collaborative tools like shared drives and teleconferencing have helped us.

What did you find most impressive about them?                                                       

Spencer has an extremely good eye for clarity. As we’re looking at how to convey our message or whatever the task is, he’s able to break it down in a way that’s legible and easy to understand. The visual organization is strong, as is his ability to graphically express and communicate ideas. We don’t have to rely just on the written word.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We have lesser-priority projects that we asked him to work on when there was a lull, so he could follow up with us a bit more intently and prod us. There’s nothing major he needs to change about how he does business though.

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be clear in what your goals are and how you want your brand to be conveyed. Also, be open to feedback. Don’t assume the first draft he puts in front of you is a final design. You should be okay with giving honest feedback; Spencer will take it and refine his work because he’s an outstanding creative thinker. If you can give honest feedback, he’ll ask the right questions to help represent your specific needs.

BACKGROUND

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the owner of a company that performs concrete repair and resurfacing services to residential and commercial customers.

OPPORTUNITY / CHALLENGE

What challenge were you trying to address with Son of Erik Design?

We hired them to assist with a rebranding campaign, which involved a name and logo change.

SOLUTION

What was the scope of their involvement?

The handled a variety of marketing and advertising related projects within this rebranding campaign. In the initial months, we collaborated on logo design and began overseeing the website rebuild. Incorporating all the design elements he was focusing on, they redeveloped the website from scratch. That way, the new site was consistent with our new logos, colors, apparel, and advertising landing pages.

They used Squarespace for the design of the website and developed a fully-functioning inbound lead tool. Customers can submit their projects directly to our site, which streamlines our process.

At this point, we’re working on making enhancements to our SEO strategy by increasing and adjusting the content on our website. We’re currently transitioning into Google Ads and PPC work. They brought on another vendor to assist their team with that effort. Along with that, we integrated professional photographs onto the site recently. 

We placed Spencer (Owner & Graphic Designer) on retainer pretty early on, so this wouldn’t be a project-based relationship. I decided that we needed someone that could build a good relationship with our team and get projects done in a timely manner. Spencer achieved all of this. Even though our initial projects have long been complete, there’s always a need for taking our marketing to the next level.

What is the team composition?

Spencer is my main point of contact and in the early stages of building up his own team. At this point, we’re working directly with him though. He also coordinates services like PPC with external vendors. 

How much have you invested with them?

We’ve spent just over $10,000 on their services. They’re on a monthly retainer with us.

What is the status of this engagement?

We started our work together in January 2019, and our teams still collaborate on projects.

RESULTS & FEEDBACK

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement?

The site is fully-functioning and consistent with the new brand we created. It accurately projects the image that we’re going for with our clients. The quality of our lead flow has also improved.

We’ve had several customers give unsolicited comments that they chose our services because we appeared to be the most professional. That’s a result of the materials that we have representing us. People recognize that we’re a small business, but our operations are being perceived as more professional by the public. 

How did Son of Erik Design perform from a project management standpoint?

Spencer, whose expertise is in graphic design and marketing, is able to coordinate with external teams to meet our needs. When he sees the need for outside help, he’s able to bring in other vendors and oversee their work. In that way, he functions as an outsourced marketing director.

Aside from that, he’s professional and always accomplishing tasks in a timely manner. We communicate through emails, texts and calls. 

What did you find most impressive about them?

Spencer truly feels like part of our team. I encourage him to push us when we need to be pushed. As a result, we’ve accomplished a lot together. I really appreciate the temperament and professionalism of the relationship.

There are no perceived biases that are encouraging him to recommend something. He’s honest about when we need to be someone else in to effectively complete a project. They’re consistently keeping the ball moving and able to take things off of my plate. 

Are there any areas they could improve?

There are no areas for improvement. We’ve received everything that we’ve been promised. By building up his own team, he’ll enable us to grow with him. He’s being proactive in that way. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

Be 100% certain that your goals are consistent with his capabilities and time availability.