Clean & Crafted Design
The Future of Branding for Small Businesses: What’s Next?
Shape + Spirit: Rediscovering Creativity Through Pictorial Logos
This week’s Monday Prompt is simple but powerful: combine a bear and a hexagon to create a pictorial logo. Let the bear’s strength, instinct, and grounded presence meet the hexagon’s structure, balance, and harmony. Whether the animal is framed, emerging, or formed by the shape itself, experiment freely. Let this be a return to creativity, not perfection—one sketch, one concept, one bold idea at a time.
Monday Creative Prompt: Combine Two Ideas Into a Pictorial Logo
Design begins where two ideas meet. When you merge unrelated concepts—like Pineapple + Stars—you don’t just create a visual mash-up, you unlock a symbol no one has seen before. This week’s prompt challenges you to blend two forms into a single pictorial logo, discovering not just a drawing, but an identity.
Part 2 — The Power of “Thank You”: Humanizing Your Brand Message
Gratitude is one of the most powerful — and overlooked — tools in branding. A simple, sincere “thank you” can humanize your message, strengthen your community, and make your brand unforgettable. In this post, we explore how appreciation becomes a strategy, not just a sentiment.
Animal Drawing Prompt to Boost Your Creativity
Rediscover your creativity with this week’s Monday Prompt: a simple, inspiring animal-drawing challenge designed to help you loosen up, practice observation, and reconnect with your artistic curiosity. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned designer, this narrative guide walks you through how to draw animals with confidence, creativity, and a sense of playful experimentation.
Part 1: Looking Back — What Your Brand Did Right This Year
As the year winds down, this is the perfect moment to pause and look back at what your brand did right. In the rush of client work, deadlines, and constant content creation, it’s easy to overlook the small wins that shaped your business. This reflective post explores the quiet progress, the meaningful shifts, and the creative decisions that helped your brand grow — and why acknowledging them matters before you plan for the year ahead.
The Letter That Started It All: A Creative Collage Challenge
If you’ve been feeling a little rusty or disconnected from your creative side, this week’s prompt is the perfect reset. Pick one typographic letter and turn it into a collage — no rules, no pressure, just the joy of making something again. It’s a reminder that creativity doesn’t disappear; it just waits for you to come back to it.
The World in Miniature: Transform Everyday Moments into Towering Landscapes
Step into a magical world hidden in plain sight. With this photography prompt, “The World in Miniature,” you’ll learn how to capture everyday details — like mushrooms, cracks in the sidewalk, and tiny leaves — as if they were vast landscapes. It’s a playful way to spark creativity, practice your photography skills, and even enjoy a fun outdoor project with family or friends.
The Minimalism Trap: When Less Becomes Too Little
Minimalism in branding is powerful—when it’s done with intention. But when businesses chase sleekness for the sake of trend, they risk losing the very soul that makes their brand unforgettable. In this post, we’ll explore the “Minimalism Trap”—the mistake of stripping away too much—and how you can keep your story alive while still embracing simplicity.
Sketching Curves: Finding Inspiration in Everyday Architecture
Rediscover the joy of sketching with this beginner-friendly guide to drawing architectural curves around your home and neighborhood. From doorways and windows to stair railings and bridges, everyday structures become sources of inspiration. Learn simple sketching techniques, build confidence, and reconnect with your creativity through the timeless practice of architectural sketching.
Street Typography Hunt: Capture Letters and Inspire Design
Typography is everywhere—you just have to look for it. From neon diner signs to hand-painted shop lettering, type lives on our streets, shaping how we feel about spaces and the brands that inhabit them. That’s what makes a Street Typography Hunt such a powerful creative exercise. With just your phone or camera, you can step outside and start noticing the small design choices that give your neighborhood character: the quirky “S” on an old storefront, the bold block letters on a construction sign, or the fading script of a mural.
This practice isn’t only fun—it’s a designer’s goldmine. By collecting and studying real-world letters, you sharpen your eye for how type tells a story. And when it comes to your own work—or your brand—those lessons matter. Because the right typography isn’t just aesthetic; it’s identity. It’s voice. It’s memory.
So grab your camera and head outside. Find letters that inspire you, capture them, and think about the stories they’re telling. You might just find inspiration for your next big project—or the typeface that defines your brand.
Minimalist Logos in 2025: The Secret to Timeless Branding
Minimalist logos are having a moment again in 2025. From household names to local startups, brands are trading complexity for clean, adaptable marks. This blog explores why minimalism is back in style, what it means for your brand, and how creatives can design simple logos that don’t feel stripped of personality.
Color Blocking in the Wild: Finding Bold Palettes Through Your Lens
Colors have the power to stop us in our tracks, whether it’s a bright mural on the side of a building, a vibrant red door, or even fresh produce stacked at the market. This week’s photography prompt—Color Blocking in the Wild—encourages you to capture bold blocks of color in your everyday surroundings while also exploring how these hues tie into the psychology of branding. Because here’s the truth: colors don’t just look good—they make people feel something. What’s your brand saying?
Is Your Brand Having a Mid-Year Crisis? Take This Quiz to Find Out
August is the perfect moment to pause and evaluate your brand’s health before the busy fall season. Many businesses quietly drift off-course mid-year—colors get inconsistent, messaging loses focus, and visual identity no longer connects with the right audience. This interactive mid-year brand quiz will help you find out if your brand is still strong or ready for a refresh before 2026. Plus, get expert recommendations to boost your branding, sharpen your visual identity, and ensure your business stands out in a crowded market.
Hearth & Ember Studio: Reignite Your Creative Spark with This Week’s Design Prompt
This week’s design prompt, Hearth & Ember Studio, is an invitation to slow down and reconnect with your creativity. Inspired by handmade candle making and the warm glow of craft, it’s a fictional brand concept that blends flame, tool, and tradition into a story-rich visual identity. Whether you're a designer looking to flex your creative muscles or a small business owner dreaming of a soulful brand, this prompt is a spark meant to ignite ideas — and remind you that even the smallest ember can light something beautiful.
Mid-Year Recap: Client Work, Creative Prompts & What’s Next
It’s been a wild, full six months—packed with creative client work, life, family, and a little vacation to reset. Somewhere in the middle of all that, this blog took an unplanned breather. But now I’m back, ready to return to regular prompts, behind-the-scenes branding insights, and honest reflections from the world of design. This post is part catch-up, part creative reset—and a small reminder that sometimes, showing up again is the most important part.
Into the Deep: Design a Bold Logo for Aqua Apex, the Ocean Predator Experience
Unleash your creativity with this week’s design prompt: Aqua Apex, an ocean adventure brand centered around awe-inspiring encounters with apex predators like sharks and killer whales. I went first and created my own take on the logo—now it’s your turn to dive in. Explore how to design a bold, meaningful identity that captures the fearless spirit of the deep sea and showcases your branding skills along the way.
Creative Comeback: Create Before You Connect
If you're an introverted creative, networking can feel draining or downright awkward. But what if you could flip the script and let your work do the talking first? In this post, you'll learn how to use passion projects and portfolio pieces to attract meaningful connections—without the pitch or pressure.
Americana at Home: A Photography Prompt for Rediscovering Creative Joy
This Fourth of July, rediscover your love for photography by capturing classic Americana right in your backyard. From checkered tablecloths to the golden-hour glow of your front porch, this nostalgic, beginner-friendly prompt will help you find beauty in the details and joy in the everyday. Whether you're picking up your camera for the first time or returning to a lost passion, let this prompt guide you back into the creative rhythm — no pressure, just presence.
Find Your Brand Voice: The 3-Word Challenge to Clarify Your Identity
Your brand isn't your logo—it's the emotional thread that ties everything together. In this fun weekend challenge, you'll define your brand in 3 clear, powerful words. It's simple, revealing, and a major confidence boost for small business owners who want to show up with clarity.
Design a lettermark using the first letter of your name (or last). I went first—now it’s your turn.
What if the first letter of your name could become your personal logo? This week’s creative prompt invites you to design a bold, custom lettermark using the first letter of your first or last name. Whether you're a seasoned designer or just looking for a fun way to spark creativity, this challenge is a powerful way to explore identity, style, and personal branding. I kicked things off with my own design—now it's your turn. Let’s see what your letter becomes.
