The ADA and Universal Design: Building a Better Blueprint

In the early days of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), it became common to see wheelchair ramps retrofitted to the entrances of stores, restaurants, libraries, government centers, and other businesses and public buildings. They were often added as an afterthought to architecture that had not been designed with accessibility in mind. Building engineers later […]

Small Company, Big Ideas: How To Become An Effective Thought Leader

Intimidated by the idea of jumping into thought leadership? Perhaps redesigning your own thinking about it will help.  Thought leadership isn’t about delivering some grand ivory tower thesis or accumulating intimidating bylines from elite publications. Rather, it’s thinking more deeply about foundational ideas, leaning into leading conversations, connecting to others in a broader context and […]

ARIA: 5 Best Practices for Screen Readers and Other Assistive Devices

Imagine this experience: You go to a website to search for critical information you need to do your job. Or to order a refill of an important prescription. Or to download the new album that your favorite band just dropped. You navigate to the site, but you have to hunt for five minutes before you […]

A Contractor Playbook For Companies That Are Small By Design

Now more than ever, the value your company creates is not dependent on your size, and the clutter of conventional growth often crowds out actual impact. In my experience, it’s far better to assemble only the truly essential resources and learn how to apply them well, all while staying deliberately, proudly small by design. My […]

Stop Worrying About Your Digital Tools And Focus On Your Thinking

There are few things more challenging throughout the branding process than naming a business or product. It takes condensing a mountain of information into a few words that perfectly capture a brand that accurately encompasses who you are, and meanwhile acts as the first impression your brand will hold onto forever. It’s the thing that […]

Converting Your Clients Into Salespeople (So They Can Sell Your Work For You)

Let’s face it: Great creative work often gets derailed because a key stakeholder who you’ve never met doesn’t get it or just really never liked the color orange. I’m not talking about agencies pushing self-indulgent conceptual flourishes that feed our own egos and win us awards. I’m talking about bold creative concepts that your best […]

How To Build Resilient Client-Agency Relationships In An Age Of Uncertainty

With the decline of the agency of record (AOR) model and the median tenure of CMOs at major U.S. consumer brands having fallen to less than three years, conventional wisdom says that client-agency relationships have a natural “lifespan.” I often hear agency leaders say it’s about three years. Get in, do good work, make some money, then move on. […]

How David Feldman brings sweet music to brands

As seen in Emory Business Magazine What started out as a way to help students succeed in a marketing competition ended up catapulting a small business into the big leagues. As a student, David Feldman 08BBA, founder of the creative agency 3 Owl, excelled at team presentations and developing strategy and marketing for real-world clients. In […]

The ADA and Universal Design: Why Do We Develop Accessible Web Experiences?

Why do we develop accessible websites? And what does it even mean for a website to be accessible? The answers lay in a complicated 60-year history of disability activism and in 30-year-old legislation created before the web. It’s a story of U.C Berkeley wheelchair renegades who took sledgehammers to sidewalk curbs, a visionary architect who […]