Wow, it's March

Spring is trying its best to arrive over here… but the midwestern weather has been a bit chaotic (understatement!). In classic March fashion there was snow, downpours and 75° in the same week. Luckily I (Leah) escaped down to Mexico to work remotely for a couple of weeks and celebrate my birthday.

We’ve got a few exciting new projects on the horizon that we can’t wait to kickoff.

Inside this issue:

• Brand BTS: the Guidelines & Delivery phase
• What actually goes into brand guidelines (and why they matter)
• A quick guide to logo file types you’ll inevitably need someday
• A small but confusing Webflow update you might’ve noticed lately (and how to fix it!)
• Links we loved about design, typography, and tiny urban oddities

Let’s get into it.

– Charlee + Leah

Design

Behind the Scenes: Guidelines & Delivery

ICYMI: we're doing a series where we walk through how our brand process works. Read about Phase 01: The Kickoff and Phase 02: Verbal & Visual​

We're featuring a real client: Ivy Hospitality. They’re an owner-centric, tech-forward hotel management organization who came to us a major turning point with some major business goals.

The Delivery

The final step in our brand process is making sure your team can actually use the brand.

Once the visual identity is finalized, we create brand guidelines, which is your brand's source of truth and a resource that helps your team apply the brand consistently.

Brand guidelines
​Your guidelines typically include:

• Brand story
• Brand voice + tone
• Verbal style guidelines
• Differentiators
• Audience
• Logo usage and best practices
• Typography system
• Color palette and color pairings
• Photography or imagery dos and don'ts
• Any additional applicable styling (textures, animation, product imagery etc)
• Examples of brand application in real scenarios

Think of this document as the foundation for the brand as it evolves over time. Whether someone is building a presentation, designing a social graphic, or launching a marketing campaign, the guidelines help everything feel cohesive.

Your brand toolkit​
Along with the guidelines, we deliver an organized brand toolkit folder containing all logos, photography, icons, and illustrations created during the process in one place. Everything is structured so your team can easily find what they need and start using the brand right away.

Logo files you should receive​
We export your logo files in multiple formats so they work everywhere from social media to printed materials.

RGB: for digital use​
(Websites, social media, presentations, etc.)

• PNG – Smaller file size with a transparent background. Perfect for social profiles and most digital placements.
• SVG – A vector file that can scale infinitely without losing quality. Ideal for professional digital use like websites and product interfaces.

CMYK: for print use​
(Business cards, brochures, forms, signage, etc.)

Note: CMYK printing cannot reproduce extremely bright colors the way screens can. Colors will often appear more muted unless spot colors are used, which are more expensive but allow for more precise color matching.

• JPEG – Smaller file size, best used when someone doesn’t have access to professional design software. Good for placing on simple documents like forms or internal materials. Does not have a transparent background.
• EPS – A vector file that can scale infinitely at high quality. This is the preferred format for professional printing, such as business cards, signage, and brochures.

Next up in this series: How we continued supporting Ivy Hospitality after launch. Including subbrand logos, presentation templates, and ongoing marketing campaigns.

Webflow Update: Switching Roles Just Moved​
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If you’ve been struggling to switch roles in the Webflow Designer lately, you’re not alone.The Design / Build toggle is no longer a button. Webflow recently moved those options under the “W” logo in the top left.

How to change roles

1. Click W Logo in the upper lefthand corner
2. Preview role
3. Choose your role

If you're looking for the old "Build" mode we recommend using "Marketer", which is the most similar.

Why they made this change? We're not sure… you’re not alone in it not being intuitive!

Links

Get your links

🪧 Teeny tiny urban delights. Charmed by the "Gaze into the abyss" sign and the landmark for the worlds smallest mountain, "Mount Paltry"

🤖 What to do about customer trust and AI. Hint it's not adding Ring's creepy 'Search Party' feature​

🔤 AI is laughably bad at typography (at least for now)

📔 What does a designer do to unwind? Watch video walkthroughs on beautiful books like this one, about French Signpainters (you can buy the book on Letterform Archive)

Currently

🥭Leah • Is soaking up the sun (and eating lots of mangos) in San Miguel de Allende​
🏞️ Charlee • Is really into the White River (the river that loops through Indy), there are rapids right now because of all the rain!

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