If we’re being real with you, we look at our site analytics. No one is asking “why design services?” You guys love looking at our work and it speaks for itself. Still, it’s important to know that you get more than what you see when you work with 36.
Design and Creative
The doctor called with our test results—our creative is sick.
Imagine a world where every touchpoint for your brand feels intentional and unforgettable. That song from Willy Wonka should be playing in your head because we really are building a world of pure imagination. But we don’t just make things look pretty! We craft brand experiences that touch people on a deeper level.
We build visual languages that tell brand stories.
Why
Why Creative Design?
Our team of creatives bring a heaping helping of knowledge, talent, and experience to the table. More than that, they’re also here to offer you a fresh perspective on your brand, challenge assumptions, and explore solutions you haven’t thought of.
Our design work looks great, but our team also builds with the whole brand in mind. They’re building for the brand strategy, big ideas, whole vision, and end goal. They’re thinking about the system from the start and how each piece comes together.
Having the best quality in the business doesn't help you when you keep it a secret. You need to communicate your offer in a way that's compelling, trustworthy, and speaks your audience's language. Brand strategy will help with all that.
Our creative team works closely with our brand strategy team, and they go into new projects armed to the teeth with information on the competition. Blending in with everyone else isn’t how you get noticed. You need to authentically stand out.
This is a cringey one to talk about, but it’s one you’ll want to hear. Our creative team is led by a bear-like fossil of a man who has seen it all. He guides our designers with a wealth of knowledge, and it shows in how decorated their work is. New thinking is always encourage on our design team, but it’s guided by industry experience.
Shout out to all the account managers and project managers reading this. The world would go dark if it weren’t for you. Rest assured that our own account team beats like a ticking clock, but our creatives also thrive on process without cutting corners.
What
WHAT IS Design?
“Design” just means a “plan for solving a problem.” When we talk about graphic design, we mean someone on our talented team is strategically solving your problems with creative skill and experience.
Branding Design
Your logo is important, but it’s not the whole story. Branding design is about crafting a visual identity that captures your brand’s essence in everything you do. We don’t just make things look good; we make them resonate.
Logo Design
Your logo is on the front lines of your brand identity. It’s the first impression, the visual handshake. Our logos are crafted to be unforgettable marks that can serve as the cornerstone of your branding.
Website Design
These days, you website is usually your most important brand asset. Our creative, UX, content, and development teams work collaboratively to build sites that are beautiful, functional, powerful, and user-friendly.
Packaging Design
Great products deserve a grand entrance. Packaging and labels should be clear, attention-grabbing, and differentiate your brand. Our packaging tells part of your brand story from the moment it’s in someone’s hands.
Digital + Social Ads
It’s not enough to just hope people show up for your product; you need a megaphone saying what you do differently to the right people at the right time. Our digital ads do just that with concepts no one else could have cooked up.
Animation/Motion Graphics
Whether you want to grab attention, explain complex ideas, or tell your story, animation is a dynamic way to entertain your audience without losing the meaning of your message.
Plus way more services like...
3D Rendering
Collateral
Experiential Design
Iconography
Illustration
Infographics
In-Store Graphics
Out of Home Ads
Print Ads
[36] was impressive from the jump. The team understood our voice and place in the market and crafted fresh & creative ways to breathe new life into our brand. They’ve quickly become an extension of our team and we really value the seamless back and forth that moves our projects forward efficiently.
Erin Heard Head of Global Communications @ Loomis Sayles
It gave us such a jumpstart. The entire team spent countless hours on our brand and making it pop, bringing it to life, and really changing the trajectory of our business. Making it a premium brand, which is really what we wanted to be.
Melissa Hartung Founder and Former CEO @ Tranquilo
Their creative expertise and guidance have made a significant impact on our market positioning and have greatly contributed to enhancing both user experience and operational efficiencies, particularly through ongoing website development and infrastructure enhancements.
Rebecca Peglow, CLC Marketing Manager @ Acelleron
36 is an amazing partner. They’re a rare combination of amazing talent in design, strategy, and development, and the perfect solution for a family of brands like ours.
Timothy Vu, PMP Director of Marketing @ Western Growers & PCMI
How
How 36 Does Creative
This is a tough one to talk about because our designers work on such a wide range of projects—some we’d say are in the world of branding, some marketing, and some interactive.
Without opening up that philosophical can of worms, here are the broad strokes you can expect.
At 36, we don’t work in silos. When you work with our creative team, it’s likely you met them just before brand strategy, UX strategy, or content strategy work got started. Well, they were there all along the way, seeing the puzzle come together.
Even if you work with us on a small engagement sans strategy, our design team starts by connecting with you and learning the “why” behind their work.
Every designer’s process is a little bit different, but (after meeting with you and receiving a creative brief from their design lead) they get started with visual research. They need to look at what’s out there, do a lot of sketching, and try a million ideas before they’re ready to fine-tune the best of the bunch.
Our designers rely on one another and guidance from their team leads to produce their best work. Critique is important for growth and creating our best work! After an internal review, fine-tuning has been made, and you get a more refined presentation.
Next, our designers present their work to you. The number of looks you see depends on the project type and scope, but this is your first opportunity to provide feedback and hear about the thinking behind what you’re seeing.
If there are any adjustments that need to be made, your account manager collects consolidated feedback from you, and we fine-tune.
Once you’ve officially given final approval on your designs, some type of preparation needs to be done. Either the final assets for your files need to be created before they’re given to you, sent to a printer, or before our development team gets started on your development sprint.
No matter what, they’re not done until the final deliverable is ready for action.
Where
Design and Creative Work
If you haven’t already, feast your eyes on these visual treats.
Design is the visual ambassador of your brand. It helps you connect to your audience and gives your brand impact.
Christopher Massie Creative Director @ 36
Who
Our design team
Our entire design team couldn’t fit here, but know that every face on our squad sits a few inches in front of a brilliant, creative mind.
Quick Bio
Big man, small dogs.
Christopher Massie
Partner, Creative Director, Butthead
Big man, small dogs.
Quick Bio
good vibes. great design.
Lauren Contic
Art Director, Bubbly
good vibes. great design.
Quick Bio
Drag Loving Girly Girl.
Vanessa Cardoza
Designer, Bighearted
Drag Loving Girly Girl.
Need some creative help?
Got questions about design and creative with 36? Give Steve, one of our managing partners, a buzz.
Huh?
Frequently asked questions
The truth is, a website's price depends heavily on its complexity, features, and your specific goals. But here's the good news: we can craft a custom quote that fits your needs perfectly. Let's chat some more about bringing your website to life.
This all depends on what your thing is and how complex that thing is. We have a pretty good handle on time estimates for design work, but it’s best to talk to us directly to get an accurate one. Part of the rough timeline we provide includes the time needed to schedule meetings with you and to receive your feedback. We don’t gamble with the time needed for quality, but we’re pretty snappy.
If you're curious about deliverables, it varies by project and client. Often, there's a comprehensive brand strategy document that presents the research and strategy. Sometimes, you might have audit documents and research reports. In other cases, you may need a brand standards guide, which we often host on a website, or ongoing consulting work.
Basically, how we package the strategy depends on what you need help with.
Our websites are 100% responsive. Whether they’re viewed on a phone, tablet, or desktop, your site will always look sharp. We make sure your brand looks like a winner, everywhere.
We actually have someone on our account team who handles all day-to-day communication. If you need to hop on a call with your designer or discuss something, they’ll absolutely make that happen. However, it’s easiest if all emails go through your account manager.
For ongoing work (like creative retainers, growth marketing, and social media), there are usually exceptions that need to be made to keep things rolling, and we do like using Slack for quick, informal messages. Anything official, though (like design feedback), should be sent through email to the account manager, and they are included on all messages overall.