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Family Tree: Branching Out 

Posted by Helen on January 19, 2023
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Category:  Blog, Branding, Culture
Creating a surface pattern collection from one central design. It began with a single leaf. My contribution to a calendar promoting Chicago’s Newberry Library debuted in the month of April, then went on to become much more. The initial task was to represent the library’s Genealogy Floor by creating an image encompassing multiple American heritages with their global origins. I chose to design a tribute leaf for each country or culture based on the motifs and colors I’d researched, then loosely assembled them to form our nation’s Family Tree. Fast-forwarding to 2022: As the creative brief provided by the client
La Paz letters along the beach

Reading The Waves

Posted by Helen on August 3, 2022
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Category:  Adventures, EnSights
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Learning from a master is faster Four thin textbooks arrived in a blue drawstring bag in December, our reading assignment prior to boarding a 42-foot catamaran. In late April, we were to set sail from the port just outside of La Paz, Mexico. Reading one book per month couldn’t be so bad, right? By the time we set foot on the Fountaine Pajot, however, we’d made our way through just one and a half. Learning the sailing terms was like another language, but without the benefit of a good reference for decoding, like my French gives me clues to understanding

Permission to come aboard?

Posted by Helen on August 3, 2022
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Category:  Adventures, EnSights
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Shipshape leadership depends on both captain and crew This article continues from Reading The Waves. My first few nights living aboard a catamaran learning to sail were eye opening. We were both relaxed, bobbing on crystal-clear turquoise waters, and alert to the area’s features– shorelines, rock outcroppings and coral reefs, as well as the sea conditions shaped by current, surf and wind direction. Once anchored in a lovely inlet in the Sea of Cortez, we could enjoy a splash in the water or walk on the beach. The sunsets were sensational, casting a hundred hues on the water’s surface from

Is Your Website Rigged to Win?

Posted by Helen on June 10, 2022
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Category:  Adventures, Branding, EnSights, Promotion
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Welcome “your people” with an easier opt-in. I’m a skipper now. I earned four American Sailing Association (ASA) certifications on my recent vacation floating on a 42-foot catamaran across  the Sea of Cortez, puffer fish hovering in the shallows below. I learned the ropes (aka sheets), how to anchor, and rescue a human overboard, which was actually a personal flotation device that got a little rowdy.  I love learning new things. That’s why I signed up for B-School, a program by Marie Forleo, to help me focus on the next chapter of my business. I took the six-week online course

Be a designer. (Or… just look like one.)

Posted by Helen on August 27, 2021
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Category:  Branding, EnSights
As creative software becomes more accessible through subscriptions such as Adobe Creative Cloud and online platforms like Canva, clients now have the power to create better looking materials to promote their ideas and services. While most Marcom professionals and savvy small business owners can tackle the technical side of communications capably, there’s a level of finesse that only comes from formal design training and years of practice. (This is where having experienced creative partners in your corner can make a major difference in branding and marketing impact.) But by applying some basic design principles to your presentations, proposals and social

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