Hey hey from Traverse City!

We are spending this week together up north for our Emerald summer retreat—plotting, planning, lake swimming, eating cherries by the handful, and soaking in all the inspiration. It’s rare we get to be IRL and it’s got us feeling reenergized. 🌞

This month we've got lessons from a recent design sprint for a dating app (spoiler: AI can’t do everything), our best tips for launching a website without losing momentum, and some favorite links from across the internet.

– Charlee + Leah

Design

7 lessons learned from a recent Design Sprint for a dating app

1. AI is great at a lot of things in the optimization department, but designing a logo + a brand that stands out and scales WITH you as you grow? That takes strategy, nuance, and craft—which are three things AI is not.
2. Good design doesn’t have to take months (or gasp quarters) of time to get it right. The clearer you are about what you do / don’t want from the start, the better chance you have of getting it right the first time.
3. The simpler or more minimalistic you want your brand to look, the less likely that AI will be able to execute it flawlessly. And if you’re not a designer type? There’s a good chance you won’t even know how to edit what they’ve rendered so it looks even halfway decent.
4. There’s still a lot of talk behind the scenes with our clients about “how much AI is too much AI” and what’s considered ethical, especially for brands that are highly human-centric and focused on a deeper purpose and mission.
5. If you appreciate good design in your personal life, there’s a good chance you’ll also value that in your business + professional life. Don’t skimp just because you’re still in stealth mode. Investing in brand is one of THE highest ROI decisions you can make.
6. Just because you’ve technically never produced a product, service, or offer at this size or scale does NOT mean that you don’t deserve a brand that can instantly step into a crowded market and show ‘em what you’re made of.
7. Since (almost) anyone can start a business or build out their ideas thanks to AI, it’s more important than ever that your brand stands out. We also predict that in two year’s time, AI-designed brands will start to look so ~eerily~ similar, you’ll just keep scrolling past.

How We Ensure a Smooth Website Launch

We’ve been launching some exciting new websites this month! One thing we care deeply about: making sure the energy, clarity, and attention to detail from day one carry all the way through launch day. Here’s how we make that happen:

⏰ Launches happen in the morning so everything’s live and working by lunchtime (no midnight stress).

📣 Clear communication throughout: we’ll let you know when we start and when your site is officially live.

🧹 Final review and QA on the live site to catch any bugs.

⏳ Soft launch first, promo later. We recommend waiting a few days to promote so we can resolve any final bugs or hiccups.

🔧 Backend is fully set up so your team can confidently make updates, manage content, and stay in control.

🔁 Redirects and resources are loaded—we make sure old links still work and past content (like blogs or resources) stays accessible.

Launching a site is a big milestone and we treat it like one!

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Links

Get your links

🌟 Feel like everything your team posts is lost in AI slop? How to stand out

📱 We're noticing that Substack is feeling less like a pure newsletter organization and more like a social media, anyone else?

🖼️ Pure designer dopamine: the most charming handmade book​

🎨 I'd happily design some cute punch cards​

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Currently

📣 Leah • Couldn't be more obsessed with Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders, season two hits! ​
🪻 Charlee • Smelling alllll the lavender in Traverse City

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