Chewy Creative

Have you ever wondered what it's like to work with a designer? Aside from my dry jokes and a dog snoring in the background of our virtual meetings, there's a few things you can expect when you work with me: A virtual discovery call I like to hop on a virtual call so that I can get to know you, your business, your goals, your ideas and your audience. It's also an opportunity for you to scope me out and for us to decide if we're a good fit to work together. This is always a f...irst step in my process. Client homework I could make you a website or logo without getting to know your business, and it would probably look lovely, but that wouldn't be effective at all! I utilize questionnaires and strategy meetings to gather the information I need for a project. Some creative freedom If you love me, set me free....er, well, let me do my thing! I work best when given some creative freedom to colour outside the lines. Your audience, brand strategy and goals are kept front of mind during the design process. Well-organized files I'm a sucker for a well organized folder. You can expect to receive your final files in a well-organized manner so that everything is easy to find for future uses. What would you love to know about working with a designer? Any questions I missed? Melanie Orr Photography #comoxvalleycreatives #bespokebranddesign

Am I the only one with a font obsession? Here are some of my currents faves....I mean, SOME....there are more.

Well, folks, another course is done and dusted! For 8-weeks, I met with a diverse group of individuals online through Royal Roads University. Together, in mixed teams and with a handful of instructors, we learned about leadership and managing teams in a digital environment. I had never taken any leadership training in the past, so this was all new to me. Happy to say that I received my certificate in the mail today for successful completion of this micro-credential. Hoping to... put all the new information and skills to good use as a small employer and with my clients. Thank you for all your support! Melanie Orr Photography

Pretty excited to announce the launch of the new Sleeping Dog & Mermaid Farm website! This custom website showcases all that this local, small scale, Comox farm has to offer - heirloom and unusual tomatoes, seeds, unique greenhouse inspired gifts and the most amazing lotion bars. I first discovered Susan (owner of Sleeping Dog & Mermaid Farm) last year through a social media post because she was selling tomato starters. I was in the midst of a garden building frenzy (who wa...sn't....um, COVID....) and I ordered one of EVERY type of tomato starter she was selling. It should be no surprise that I curated far too many tomato plants and ended up with a busy tomato forest. I gave away so many tomatoes to neighbours, friends and family, and my freezer is still full of salsa. Since then, I've been back to her farm stand for cut flowers (she grows beautiful sweet peas) and baked goods (delicious!). And this week, I dipped into her amazing tomato selection again (but on a much smaller scale). Needless to say, I was pretty excited to work with Susan on her website. Even more, I helped her build out her brand suite with custom icons and badges, hand drawn illustrations and a colour palette. I'll share more of the project soon, but for now, I urge you to go to her site and order some unusually cool tomatoes, a lotion bar (you won't regret it) and some greenhouse goodies. Mother's Day is coming up and the plant pots would make a great gift! Thank you to Susan for being a wonderful client and collaborator on this project. I can't wait to see what else we create. #customwebdesign #comoxvalleysmallbusiness

Can we call today #thirstythursday? Sipping one of my current faves - Sheringham Distillery Rhubarb Gin, with tonic. Simple. Delicious. What's in your glass today?... Melanie Orr Photography

Can you relate: Running a business and acting as accountant, sales, marketing and customer service. ALL. AT. ONCE. Trying to keep it all together and looking polished - your website, your packaging, your social media -- but holy wow! How many posts a week do you need to create? When do you need to post them? It's so easy to forget! Who needs Facetweet anyway these days, right?... DIYing your website and everything else, because you're bootstrapped, trying to save dollars and still make a decent impression. Struggling to compete with the big businesses that seem to slowly eat away at your market share because you don't have the resources or manpower to do it all. Tired of having Instagram envy, every time you see a business tossing up content like confetti, and it always looks so dang good. I hear ya. I feel ya. That's why I donated an ENTIRE Design Day to the @comoxvalleychamber #2020ChamberAwards online auction! What's a Design Day? Well, it's a day that you and I get to work together EXCLUSIVELY! You get me - all of me and my undivided attention - for the entire work day. You give me a wish list of design items that you'd like to see completed (such as updating business cards, batch creating social media content, blog writing, redesigning a newsletter, designing newspaper ads, scheduling content, helping build a social media strategy, updating content on your website...seriously, the list is long!) and then I work for you on a pre-scheduled day and tackle that wish list. Click the link below to head over to the 2020 Chamber Awards Auction page to sign up and bid. There are plenty of other amazing items to bid on as well, and the Comox Valley Therapeutic Riding Society benefits from your dollars! https://mobilbid.co/o/533/user/magic_links/new

Did you know: a record breaking 1.8 BILLION photos are posted to social media. EVERY. SINGLE. DAY 1.8 FREAKING BILLION But is your content getting seen? Heck, is your content strategy even effective?... Ask yourself: 1. Have I created a social media strategy for 2021 that will help me reach my business goals? 2. Am I keeping track of my analytics? And do I know what my analytics mean? 3. When people find my accounts, is my brand and message clear? 4. Do I cross-promote my content on other channels? 5. Am I confident in planning out my content months in advance? If you're not sure how to answer these questions or answered "no" to the majority of those questions, it might be time you get a social media audit. Having a social media audit completed for you can provide you with insight and actionable steps that you can take and apply to your social media strategy. An audit can help determine your strengths and weaknesses, and best ways to reach your audience on different social media platforms. You can DIY your audit (there are many options and tutorials on Google if you have the time) or you can hire someone awesome (*ahem* like, me!) to prepare an audit for you. As you look forward into 2021 and the goals you've set for your business, how are you considering social media as part of your marketing strategy? See more

Tell me what they want, what they really, really want. Truly, though. What does your audience want? Obviously, you, as business, have a specific goal for what you want people to do when they land on your website (book you, buy from you, schedule an appointment...) but sometimes, the user goal is NOT the same as your goal. Actually, often times, it's not the same.... Perhaps the main goal for a user landing on your website is to read your blog and discover your resources, as they build trust and work their way through the funnel. Or, maybe they need deep information about what you have to offer, before they actually make a purchase. It's extremely important to keep these differences in mind because if your entire website is designed with only YOUR goals in mind, it's not going to perform very well. Service your audience and GUIDE THEM where you want them to go. Once you've outlined your goals for your website, take the time to map out how to guide the customer through your site to achieve their goals AND your goals. It's a little bit like website tango Who wants to chat about website goals and how to achieve those? #ComoxValleyCreatives

Happy F-R-I-Y-A-Y y'all!! It may only be 9:00 AM but I'm ready to chill some wine and try out my new wine glasses.... Don't judge. Are you finishing the week strong or with a to do list that feels out of hand? @amandareimerphotography... . . . . . #freelancingfemales #winemarketing #wineindustry #BCwine #canadianwine #WomenInDesign #womeninwine #winesales #orangewine #drinkwine #winetrends #redheadsofinstagram #redheadsandwine #digitalservice #creativehappylife

What's worse than a stormy day that is trying to knock your power out?? A website that doesn't work for you!! Seriously! Is your website built with your business and customer goals in mind? Some quick tips in case you need more information:::... Let's pretend Customer A is super eager to learn more and is in the research phase, but not ready to buy. Does your website have the info they are looking for? Is it easy to find? Easy to digest? Maybe Customer B is ready to buy but needs to do so easily and quickly. Is your website clear enough to get them through this stage and purchase?? Or are they getting lost trying to find out how to connect with you? There are so many aspects to the purchasing decision that you should take into account with your website strategy. Ready to chat? Shoot me a message. . . . . . #websitestrategy #webdesign #squarespacedesigner #winerywebsite #winemarketing #digitalstrategy #smallbusinessmarketing #comoxvalleybusiness #vancouverisland #womenindesign #womenled #customwebsites