Hi. I'm Tara
Nope, that's not actually me profiled in this picture, but it is how I feel most days and therefore an accurate representation of whom you're working with. :)
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As a Creative Director, I strive to bring vision, experience, and creative expertise to the table. I lead the creative team in creating clear, engaging, and effective concepts from complex topics.
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Academy of Art, San Francisco
Mission
When it comes to your brand, my team and I are focused on achieving success. Think of us as your partner, completely devoted to the success and longevity of your brand. We strive to understand your purpose and create the best way to communicate that to your target audience. We believe that good design results in a balanced and accurate representation of your brand that everyone can see.
BRANDS WE WORKED WITH
What is the difference between a large agency, a freelance graphic designer, and One Eight Creative?
FREELANCE GRAPHIC DESIGNER
There’s a pile of independent graphic designers out there. How should you decide who to hire? One approach is to decide what kind of thinking your project requires.
Let’s say you need a logo. Many independent graphic designers (and companies offering cheap logo designs) are glad to dive in and come up with logo concepts for you. But sometimes designers get caught up in executing a design and fail to ask important questions like “How is your company positioned among others in the marketplace? Who are your indirect and direct competitors? Who are your ideal customers? What appeals to those people? What are your goals?
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If questions like these are important to you (and they should be), not just any freelance graphic designer is a good fit for your project. You might need to find someone who is thinking a little more broadly.
LARGE BRAND AGENCY
Maybe a full-service agency is what you need. Agencies have more resources at their disposal than an independent designer does. For branding projects that are large, complex, and require many different skill sets, consider hiring an agency.
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In-depth market research, competitive analysis, strategy, copywriting, photography, web development, animation, SEO… all sorts of specialties might live under one roof. Tasks will be better coordinated than if you were to hire separate specialists. A larger budget will be required to cover an agency’s greater overhead, and in general, the turn-around time will be longer.
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Be clear on the outcomes you’re looking for. Months of meetings about brand ethos can be useful for some companies, but they can bog down others who need deliverables quickly. Are you an international company where translations are important? Hiring a large brand agency might be your best bet.
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In general, the more risk an organization faces if they get their branding wrong, the more likely they are to allocate a bigger budget and hire a large agency. But for some businesses, this might be overkill.
ONE EIGHT CREATIVE
A brand agency that combines the best of both worlds.
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We serve small to medium-sized businesses and funded startups who need big-picture thinking to shape their brand identity and place in the market. In other words, we'll look at where you're at now in the marketplace and where you want to be. Understanding the world of start-ups, it's a lot like running around with your hair on fire 🔥. You need the bigger picture design ideas and implementations that will last. We also believe in doing only what’s practical to get you to the next step. We value working quickly and efficiently.
We want your investment in good design to start having an immediate impact, and believe we can help make your organization more recognizable and admired.