2021 Year in Review
As we head into 2022, we wanted to take some time to reflect and go behind the scenes on what happened in the last year. From a studio rebrand to the challenges and successes of the year, we were met with an abundance of learning opportunities, achieving our studio best, and reaching some amazing goals along the way.
A Fresh Start
As we grew our business from one to three, we performed a much-needed studio rebrand. The rebrand consisted of a completely new identity, custom illustrations and graphics, and a brand new website. We reframed our services and offerings to include a collective skillset from our entire team. We also felt it was important to finally start thinking from a “we” perspective and introduce the new team members to the world; starting with our first full-time graphic designer, Shaylyn. At the end of the year, we hired our second full-time designer Michaela, whom we’ll be introducing in 2022!
2021 Losses
As we expanded the studio, we faced some growing pains. We took some risks, made mistakes, and learned from them. We performed a rebrand for a client and then had to completely redesign our rebrand due to an issue with a competitor. It was quite the learning experience but we found an opportunity to create something even more meaningful. (Read more about it in our case study). We also made the difficult decision to “fire” two clients and lost time and money because of it. We finally realized our worth as a design studio and let go of the clients and projects that didn’t see our value and what we could offer. Finally, the year 2021 came with some unexpected challenges due to the pandemic. We had two clients ghost us completely and a hand full of projects that were either canceled or put on hold. These were unforeseen circumstances that, unfortunately, come with running your own business.
2021 Wins
With losses come the wins, and boy did we ever win! We reached a studio best and helped over 49 clients and collaborators in one year. Fortunately for us, we had the opportunity to work on 139 different projects, 20 new brand identities, and sign on 19 new clients this year. As the word grew about our expanding studio, so did our client and project list. We had the opportunity to work on growing our skills with a full illustration campaign, a ton of new packaging design projects, and some new websites! We are so grateful to everyone who has trusted us with their vision and who has enabled us to grow as designers.
Bonus! We also did three collaborations through our non-profit apparel company The Branded Good: 1) The Bissell Centre Collection 2) The Parenthood Collection with Forty Wink and 3) The Inclusion Collection with the Autism Edit for Adaptabilities. We are beyond grateful for the support in these three collaborations. Because of their success, we were able to donate to three amazing charities and help a ton of local small businesses.
Goals Achieved
Two new designers to complete the team
Outsourced writer, social media expert, bookkeeper, and business strategist
Two design conferences and a handful of tutorials in digital design and illustration
Focused on providing resources to clients
Growing the studio by two new team members also meant expanding our skillset and being able to reach our goals even quicker. As a team of three, we made sure we were up to date on our skills, taking tutorials in digital media design and illustration. We were also lucky to take in the (virtual) Creative Directions and Creative Works Conferences!
Expanding LCC also meant outsourcing some less than desirable tasks. We started hiring a writer, a social media expert, a bookkeeper, and a business strategist. Turns out hiring experts to do what THEY’RE good at, gave us the free time to focus on what WE’RE good at! This also meant giving us more time to work ON the business. We started working on passion projects and providing clients with resources via our blog and social media. This, in turn, really gave us the opportunity to help small businesses grow in the way that we know best.
2022 Goals
A bigger focus on the projects that we’re passionate about and narrowing our focus and service offering
Continue to outsource, provide resources, learn and grow as a studio
Finally, move into our new office!
In the next year, we’d love to continue our current path in outsourcing areas of the business, providing resources and, continuing to grow the studio. Our biggest goal will be in narrowing our focus by working with clients and projects we’re most passionate about. We’ll tap into our “designer wish-lists” and find ways to cross some of those off our lists. We would also like to focus more on providing design services to food-based businesses and continue to hone our skillset in that industry.
LCC will remain a team of three and continue to expand our knowledge as we move on to the next chapter - moving into our new studio office above the garage! This project has been two years in the making and we can’t wait to move in and share the new space with you! 2022 will be a year of focus, success, and of course more surprises! Stay tuned!
- The LCC Team