Hope you’re easing into June. Nothing more satisfying than a freshly mulched garden. (Both Leah and Charlee spent the weekend knee-deep in mulch. Totally unplanned, extremely on brand.)

June's Dispatch is full of real questions we’ve been answering on client calls lately. From “What should I do when the market is so wacky?” to “Will you actually give me your opinion?” (Spoiler: yes, always).

We’re also sharing some SEO tips that actually matter, a few favorite links.

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– Charlee + Leah

Reminder to nominate or apply for free design support for nonprofits! Emerald Foundation applications here! 💚 Applications due June 23.

Design

Peek into our calls this week: Your Questions, Answered

We had some great convos this week with founders, clients, and curious future collaborators. Here are a few of the questions that came up.

Q: The market feels slow/weird/wonky. What else should I be doing to grow right now?

A: We’re hearing this a lot. We’re focused on connecting with peers and showing up consistently on LinkedIn. Outreach tends to pay off in 60–90 days, so the work you do now will show results later. Starting with previous clients and customers is smart, keep building from there. If you don't feel feel like your decks or materials are converting right now it could be a good time to sharpen your verbal and visual positioning to stand out.

Q: Will you actually give your opinion, or will I need to pixel-push you into what I want?

A: We always give our opinion. Our experience and taste is why clients hire us. We never present work we don’t believe in. We’ve seen what works—and what doesn’t—across dozens of industries. We love testing new ideas, but we’ll always give you honest, expert feedback (with no ego attached).

Q: Why is this project timeline so long? Can we go faster?

A: We move thoughtfully, not slowly. We're looking for key areas where we can speed things up, our timelines are based on the 45+ brands and 55+ websites we've launched. In our experience, delays come from feedback bottlenecks or skipped steps. That said, if you have a firm deadline, we’ll always try to meet it—with integrity.

Q: How are you using AI in your work?

A. Thoughtfully. We’re not slapping Midjourney on every brand touchpoint. We’ve used AI for things like generating patterns or textures—especially when it’s tied to your mission (like Alaffia Health, whose work centers around AI in healthcare). We don't use it for logos, web templates, photos of people (yikes those people always look strange). We can spot AI logos and photos from a mile away. AI is powerful, but real strategy and design still come from real people.

Q: I need a presentation deck instead of social media templates. Can we adjust my branding package?

A: Of course. We build our packages custom around your goals and what we've heard. Just let us know what’s changing and we’ll adjust the scope.

Q: Would Webflow work for my healthcare (or other regulated-industry) website?

A: Yes—we’ve used Webflow for several healthcare and regulated-industry clients. It’s flexible, fast, and more secure than people assume (especially with custom hosting setups). We've helped many clients make the switch seamlessly from Wordpress, Wix and Squarespace to Webflow. The sky is the limit for design and functionality plus, it's easy to make updates on your own.

SEO Basics That Actually Matter

These steps help search engines and AI find you, but more importantly—they make your website work better for real people!

The Foundation: Charlee handles the technical stuff when she develops—clean code, mobile responsiveness, fast loading, plus optimized title tags and meta descriptions for every page.

Site Structure: Logical navigation helps both Google and your visitors find what they need. Think clear menus and smart internal linking.

Content Strategy: Choose your target keywords and weave them naturally into your copy. Write for humans first, search engines second. Pro tip: FAQ sections work great (especially for AI) because they match how people actually ask questions.

Know Your Competition: We’re working with an AI health-tech client whose name matches a beauty company. Different industries, same search competition. Strategy matters.

Track Results: We set up Google Analytics tagging so you can see what’s working (though the setup process was more confusing than it should be!).

Links

Get your links

💅 We're loving the Bitches with Taste subreddit, great for honest recommendations on pretty much anything. We don't spend a ton of time on reddit, but when we do it's on r/bitcheswithtaste or r/plantclinic.

🌞 Really fun font, designed by a Chicago designer Juan Pantoja. Inspired by the classic La Fonta Del Sol 70s menu designs.

🇵🇹 Leah's pinterest board of her favorite Portugal design moments, great way to remember inspiration to to pin to boards!

🎨 Is Adobe Illustrator going to be dead? Figma has introduced Figma Draw. This feature allows designers to create detailed vector illustrations directly in Figma without switching platforms.

Currently

🌱 👯‍♀️💩 Leah AND Charlee • Both spent the weekend mulching (unplanned, but very on brand). Catch us literally touching grass.

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