Portfolio Overview

The Client

Rampart Communications is a technology startup firm in the wireless communications space. They have a product designed to secure data transmission like nothing on the market. They are “new science,” as they like to say, so explaining how they work and what they can do for their clients is a big part of their current marketing push. A couple of months earlier, Rampart had released a technical white paper to shouts of loud acclaim from the nerds working at their target companies.  

The Challenge

Technical audiences were eating it up, but the C-suite folks Rampart wanted to reach were not feeling the love. They found the very simple, long-form article style unhelpful because they look at the bird’s eye view to make purchasing decisions. Rampart’s marketing director wanted more digestible sections and clear call-outs of important information so CEOs and others would get the value of the product too. The paper had the potential to be a knock-out sales and marketing tool, and Rampart asked me help them get their content over the top.  

The Solution

I familiarized myself with the website and other visual brand elements Rampart had in place. I immediately decided to repurpose as much as possible from their existing content to save effort and enhance the consistency of their branding. I also made sure to use their existing logo and style guide when creating new graphics or restyling some of the technical drawings in the paper’s content. Then we worked together through some rounds of revisions to make the final design clear, easier to skim but still as rich and detailed as the nerdiest reader could wish. Now their whitepaper proves their bona fides to both audiences while making them look smart in the process. You can download the Rampart Communications whitepaper from their website: rampartcommunications.com

The Client

Life Asset is the fastest-growing microlender for entrepreneurs in the Washington D.C. region. Since 2011, they’ve served over 1,500 small business owners who can’t go to more traditional lenders.

They have an amazingly high repayment rate because their entrepreneurs don’t go it alone in building their credit and their businesses — they form groups to support each other. And because the collateral requirements are so low and the loans are so affordable, people who wouldn’t otherwise have access to loans for their businesses get funded. Immigrants, homeless people, people with disabilities and ex-offenders can get loans, build businesses, and employ others through their work.

When I created their website in 2013, they were new too. Since then, they’ve loaned over $5 million, but they hadn’t had a design update since I set it up.

 

The Challenge

Their first website wasn’t really working for them anymore. The design was outdated since it had been almost 7 years without major updates. The content needed to be changed to reflect their growth and their partnerships. The incredible entrepreneurs whom they serve also needed to be more central in the design and content. They were sitting on a goldmine of stories but no one could see them. No more! Together, we took on the challenge.

 

The Solution

I built the site in WordPress — an easy-to-use content management system that has a huge developer community to support it and thus a lot of flexibility in form and function. The good folks at Life Asset can make content updates on their own, and the platform provides connections to donation processing, appointment scheduling for their entrepreneurs in training classes, and contact details for their banking and community government partners.

I sought out images that spoke to the diversity of the people and communities they serve so entrepreneurs could see someone like themselves on the site and other audiences could see the range and dynamism of the businesses they support. I also encouraged them to develop more if their own images so that over time, their site will be even more their own.

When we came to their service tools, I encouraged them to add value to the website with some automation for their staff. Life Asset’s staff already does a lot of work so taking the tedium of scheduling off their plates and making it easier for people to book anyway was a big win for them.

Now Life Asset’s site shows how far they’ve come and how much they’ve helped entrepreneurs in and around DC. Their work is so inspiring, that Erica Palmisano Design has donated 10% of profits each year since we launched the new site. 

Check it out and, if you want your money to go six times further, donate today! lifeasset.org

The Client

Optimized Med Group provides innovative healthcare in Maryland. At no extra cost to skilled nursing, long-term care, and assisted living facilities, they provide great patient care at times when facilities might struggle on their own to supply it.

 

The Challenge

As a brand-new business, we were starting from scratch, establishing the brand logo, colors, website, collateral, and overall feel for the launch of the business into the marketplace.

 

The Solution

Working with its founder, we created a logo with a strong visual element that said “Hands-on Care.” The stethoscope is an ubiquitous tool of the health care professional – from doctors to nurses, from large to small facilities. Taking vitals is an important part of tracking a patients progress and providing the hands-on care, so it was a natural, and visually-striking icon of the work that Optimized Med Group professionals perform daily.

The colors we used were brighter than many seen in healthcare design to help OMG stand out. The images of providers and patients we used also showed the range of patients and staff in their work. In order to provide tools for networking, sales, and client service, we also created business cards, two brochures, and basic collateral for use throughout their startup phase.

Find Optimized Med Group online now: optimizedmedgroup.com

Above: the outer panels of the patient brochure introduce Optimized Med Group’s model of care for patients and provide contact details

Below: the inner panels of the patient brochure describe Optimized Med Group’s how they provide their care

The Client

Erin Cassell is a tie dye artist with a passion for helping people of all ages experience their inner artist and practice kindness toward themselves and others. She founded Roll Up N Dye in 2013. At first, she focused on children’s parties and events for children’s sport teams and scouting groups. Eventually, more and more adults asked her to use her skills to help their employees bond in team building workshops. As an events-based organization, she had also done a lot over the course of the pandemic to make her workshops flexible and COVID-safe.

 

The Challenge

Her website hadn’t kept up well with Erin’s evolution. Over the years, lots of volunteers and interns had helped with her marketing efforts. Her existing WordPress website was full of old photos and old marketing language. It was not streamlining customer’s outreach to her, payment gathering, or any of the back-end assistance a thoughtful site can provide a small business. It also did little to demonstrate the dynamism of her work and style. It was a time for an overhaul.

 

The Solution

Erin’s good friend, Jen Sterling, decided to create a new homepage design and content style for Erin. She shared it with me, and I set to work using Jen’s language, Erin’s invaluable feedback, and my own layout, formatting, and technical expertise to build out all the pages of the site.

I added plugins for payment processing, event management, conditional contact forms for specific groups and needs, and more. The end result was a site that showed the dynamism of Erin’s community work, sustainability efforts, and, most importantly, her tie dye art and teaching. Her new website preserves all she has learned over the last near-decade of operation while clearing the clutter so her true colors can shine. 

You can check out Erin’s redesigned Roll Up N Dye website at her domain: rollupndye.com

The Client

Ruy Garcia-Zamor is the founder of Garcia-Zamor Intellectual Property Law. His firm provides intellectual property law services to clients in his home state of Maryland and around the world. A gregarious attorney, Ruy is a leader in the local business community, always ready to share insights on running a small business or make a connection to help someone grow. 

 

The Challenge

Because his firm provides those services in a comprehensive manner unique in the industry, Ruy is constantly looking for a better way to express his brand’s value to new and potential clients. He wanted to go beyond a brochure so his clients would understand the breadth of the firm’s services.

 

The Solution

I created a totally custom client presentation folder. Outfitted with inserts, the entire piece emphasizes how the firm adds value to each client. This folder impresses and informs much more than a brochure could.

The inside of the Garcia-Zamor Intellectual Property Law client presentation folder includes the branding printed on the folder itself. Slits cut into the folder hold a business card. Each pocket has printed materials with additional information. On the left, sits an introductory flyer that reads like a welcome letter. On the right, sit five staggered flyers explaining the areas of the firm’s expertise including Business Legal Services, Trademarks, and Patents and how they relate to one another and the lifecycle of business.

The intricate flow charts demonstrating how their firm handles all aspects of IP law are the secret sauce, demonstrating the firm’s capacities and helping clients think bigger about their longterm needs and the invaluable partner they have chosen in Garcia-Zamor Intellectual Property Law. 

Find Garcia-Zamor Intellectual Property online: garcia-zamor.com