We are Steady Studio, a dynamic duo of branding and design experts with 30+ years of combined experience. We create compelling brands that connect deeply and inspire action from your customers. Did we mention we also love emojis, coffee, and dogs?

Now that you understand the difference between a logo and a brand, it’s time to take your business to the next level. Unleash the full potential of your brand by working with us to create a logo and branding that will improve every aspect of your business. Customers notice, word spreads, your marketing becomes more effective and, most important, profits increase!

Contact us today to find out how we can help you create a logo and branding that reflect your vision and values.

It is completely normal to realize that you need more support once you have committed to the process. That’s why we provide flexible pricing so that you can trust that you are getting exactly what you need.

If we’re on the same page, reach out for a consultation and we’ll talk through the details of your project. We’ll give you a locked-in quote before we start any work together.

Our tried-and-true process helps you build credibility, foster connections, gain confidence, and maintain consistency—all of which lead to measurable business results. Let’s book a consultation and get started today.

Based in the heart of Coquitlam, Canada, we are an award-winning B2B partner that offers a variety of services like branding, graphic design, website development, and more. We are passionate about collaborating with incredible brands that want to boost their sales and strengthen brand loyalty. To show you more of what we can do, we’re going to share with you our newest client review from Clutch.

Clutch is a Washington DC-based review and rating website designed to help businesses connect with the best-fit service providers. The site publishes data-driven content encompassing the IT, marketing, and business services spaces.

Solid Execution

Our newest Clutch review was written by David Sypniewski, the founder of YAK Grills, and it was published back on June 3, 2022. Their feedback highlights our team’s ongoing branding and website development project which kicked off in January 2021.

Thank you so much to our amazing clients for helping us showcase our craft. We hope to successfully pull off more fantastic projects and collaborations with all of you moving forward. We can’t wait to see what else 2022 brings to us. Let’s take on the year together! Book a call with us and find out more about what we can do for you.

The Beer

Austin Heights Business Improvement Association has launched its very own lager inspired by the neighbourhood. Brewed by Tinhouse Brewing in Port Coquitlam and exclusively distributed by John B Pub and Liquor Store, this local collaboration captures the spirit of Coquitlam’s original walkable neighbourhood.

Friendly, light and the perfect addition to warm spring evenings.

“It was an honour to be asked to contribute to the special project celebrating the neighbourhood we work in, Austin Heights. Designing the beer label was a fun collaboration between us and the BIA and we are so pleased with how it turned out and proud of the warm reception our work has received from everyone involved,” said Ryan Lawrie, Co-founder of Steady Studio.”

The Label

The label is really something special. If we can toot our own horn.

Toot Toot.

Our studio did the layout and design of the label itself and created the custom illustration of the Austin Heights neighbourhood featured on the label. As with most of the work Steady Studio does, the design was a collaboration between Rachael, Ryan, and the stakeholders at the Austin Heights BIA.

We custom-designed the graphic to ensure that the locals in the area would be able to spot the beer immediately in the beer fridge. Regular visitors of the hood will recognize the unique streetscape along Austin Avenue in the graphic.

The Neighbourhood

We set up Steady Studio here on the corner of Austin and Marmot and quickly fell in love with the area. Austin Heights has a long and colourful history, supporting several independently owned small businesses that contribute to its unique vibe. We were thrilled to be asked to contribute, even in a small way, to the ongoing story and history of the area. We ended up in this area because the perfect workspace was available.

We quickly realized how truly lucky we were to have landed in a neighbourhood filled with other small businesses, that was quickly growing and very well supported by a strong Business Improvement Association.

 

Available for a Limited Time

You won’t want to miss out on this incredible beer. Since it’s only available for a limited time only, we made sure to stock up ourselves and we suggest that you do the same thing before it’s too late!

It’s now available at John B Pub and Liquor Store while supplies last. We feel very happy to have been part of this project that shines a light on our home.

Cheers to that!

UPDATE: It’s sold out!

We’re Steady Studio, a branding studio and we’re ready to help your business reach that next level. If after reading this blog, you know that it’s time to hire a branding studio for your business needs, reach out to us today. Simply book a phone call or Zoom meeting and let’s get to know each other.

Myth:

I need to hire a big, fancy marketing agency to get what I need to be done.

Truth:

Working with a smaller boutique branding studio allows you to have a better connection with the creatives that are working on your brand. This close connection with a smaller team will actually provide you with the focus and depth you need. Sometimes when you work with a big fancy agency, you get lost among the other clients, or the person you speak with is an intermediary, and you end up playing a game of broken telephone. Your work doesn’t have the same care and attention as it does when you work with a smaller studio.

When you hire a smaller studio, like Steady Studio, we are able to handle all of your needs and actually go above and beyond. You are not just a number, but a real, actual person and company to us.

 

Myth:

Boutique agencies only work with small businesses.

Truth:

When you work with a small and mighty branding company, you are not evaluated by your company’s top-line revenue. You are evaluated based on your goals, and what it will take to get there. We’re here to help you get to exactly where you want to be through branding, graphic design, online marketing and packaging.

We understand that in order for a company to grow, the right team needs to be put on the project to get it there.

At Steady Studio, we work with all different types of businesses. Brands developed by Steady Studio connect with higher-quality clients, attract more customers and drive user engagement online. The result is more loyal customers, stronger brand awareness and increased profits overall. Sound like the results you’re after?

 

Myth:

When you hire a studio for your marketing needs, it takes longer than hiring someone in-house.

Truth:

When you hire a smaller boutique studio, they only accept new clients when they know they have the space, time and capacity to fulfill all requirements. This means that it doesn’t actually take longer at all.

When you pick Steady Studio, we provide detailed timelines on when you should expect your work sent to you for review. If timelines need rearranging, you will receive ample notice.

Another benefit of hiring a company to handle your creative needs is that you will work with a passionate professional who is being hired to see your company succeed. Sometimes it’s best to step back, hire a branding studio and watch the magic happen. Plus, you don’t have to pay for our healthcare benefits like you would an employee… So, that’s a win for your chequebook.

 

Myth:

The best quality work comes from large advertising agencies.

Truth:

The best quality work comes from talented, passionate, and driven designers and marketing professionals who eat, sleep and breathe what they do. And, spoiler alert, not every star professional works at a large advertising agency. Some of the most passionate professionals actually leave the agency work (or never get into it) and decide to start their own company.
This is exactly the case with Steady Studio. You can read about our studio’s history here and we (the founders) have been collaborating for over 10 years together and decided to launch Steady Studio in 2016.

When you work with a smaller company, like Steady Studio, you’re working and speaking with the actual people who will be doing your work. There’s no game of telephone with account managers and project managers and every other type of manager possible. You simply speak with who will be creating your brand and harnessing the untapped potential of your brand.

This person-to-person connection point is something Steady Studio revels in. We are all about building relationships for the long term and making sure our clients’ brands grow consistently, which gives us a different and better approach to working with clients.

 

Myth:

Smaller companies don’t have the capacity to fully understand my business.

Truth:

One of the biggest myths out there is that smaller studios will not and cannot understand a business fully. We understand the fear. It’s hard to let go of control and put your trust in someone else.

As a branding studio, we take pride in getting to know our clients on a deep and personal level. When we do that, we are able to understand their business well. We have the ability to see the bigger picture, and we understand all of the small tiny intricacies, challenges, and strengths that make your business unique.

In the beginning, we won’t know all of the nuances of your brand that make it unique. But, if you hire us, we have processes in place that help us learn everything we need to know about you and your business. Our Brand Discovery Workshops allow you to impart all of your company’s knowledge to us. With this, plus our own subsequent research, further questions and follow-up meetings, you can trust that we will know your business.

And the best bit? We collaborate with you to evolve your brand identity together. A well-thought-out and properly realized brand identity not only gives a business a cohesive and professional look but also establishes credibility, builds trust, and forges deep connections with its audience.

Steady Studio has the talent, knowledge and experience to help your business take that next step.

Do you like what you’ve read? Not every company needs to hire the top-ranked (and super-expensive) marketing agency that employs 20 people or the solo freelancer you know through a friend. Sometimes, there’s that magic third option that works perfectly for you. Take it from Goldilocks, the third option is the one with the charm… always!

So, if you’re ready, let’s go steady! Check out our services, our portfolio, our instagram and once you’re feeling it, reach out to us to learn more. We can discuss what you’re searching for and we’ll let you know how we can help get you where you want to go.

What’s the difference between copy and content?

Copy is simply text. That’s all.

When it comes to marketing and websites, copy is written information to hook a person’s attention or to encourage them into an action.

Content can be created with or without copy. When it comes to marketing and websites, content is information that is being delivered for a specific purpose and reason. Content can be in the form of videos, articles, podcasts, emails, etc.

Why does copy matter?

If you have a business, you’re going to need a lot of copy. Website copy, ad copy, social media copy, marketing brochure copy, copy, copy, copy!

Essentially everything you do for your business revolves around copy. Because of that, it’s extremely important you know what kind of copy you’re looking for! Wow, we’re saying copy a lot. Stay with us.

Social media has changed the way we write online. But, copy is just as important as ever. You have mere seconds to catch someone’s attention on your website or social media before they exit out or scroll past. Your writing better be damn good to hold those eyes.

The words that you put out on behalf of your company are going to directly impact your business. It will play a part in conversion rate, brand reputation, customer retention and customer relations. Good copy is nice, but great copy will increase leads and sales.

Then, there’s bad copy. Mistakes on the page, jokes that don’t hit. Bad copy can lead to total digital marketing failure and could even lose you sales.

What is copywriting?

If we could take a guess, you’re probably here because you’re looking for copywriting for your website.

Ding Ding Ding! You’re in the right place.

Copywriting is weaving words together to help a person take a profitable action. It doesn’t sound as pretty as we’d like it to, but copywriting serves a needed purpose. The weaving of words, brand voice, manifestos and a company’s ethos takes a kind of magician to make it come together.

Some of the most common copywriting examples include:

• Product and service pages on websites
• Google ads
• Social media ads
• … Really any kind of ads
• Website pop ups
• Website headings

What do all of these things have in common? They are things to help a business make more money. This means that copywriting helps to drive sales for a business.

What makes good copywriting and why do you need it?

In the examples above, it’s not paragraphs and paragraphs of copy (like this article). The examples are short, sweet and to the point. A copywriter only has a handful of words to get the point across before a person gets bored and loses interest.

Good copywriting convinces a person that they need your product or service right now. And, if they wait even another minute, their lives will never be the same. We may be being a tid bit dramatic, but copywriting needs to hook and convince someone that their life will be *that* much better with the product or service.

You need good copywriting to help your business make sales and grow. But, you can’t only have sales-focused copywriting. Because if that’s all you have, people will feel too pushed to make a purchase and turn away from you.

That’s where content writing comes into action!

What is content writing and do you need it?

Content writing is used to help educate and entertain an audience. This type of writing helps someone get interested enough to check out your business or come back for more content in the future.

It’s not necessarily about making a sale, it’s about building and growing an audience of people who are engaged with your business. They’re potential leads who may grow into customers through a longer buyer journey. Think of this as building a friendship with someone before dating them.

Some of the more common content writing examples include:

• How to articles
• Informative articles (like this one)
• Case studies
• Newsletters
• Social media captions
• Website content on about page

You need content writing to not seem like a crazy sales person who is obsessed with sales and won’t stop until you buy the dang thing! You know those sales people we’re talking about. They’re normally the ones who come to your door and it always seems to be at dinner time.

Content writing helps tell a story and helps educate people. It gives them more information to help ensure that they’re an informed buyer.

What does Steady Studio provide?

Now that you know the difference between copywriting and content writing, you’re likely wondering what we provide? At Steady Studio, we are brand storytellers. We connect with target audiences through emotion-based writing. We’re not Instagram content creators or robotic SEO zombie writers, we are real people crafting real words for our clients.

We combine copywriting and content writing to create the perfect mix of both. Our writing engages audiences, educates them and encourages them to take action.

We believe that creating really good copy matters for every single business out there. And when you partner with the right company, your website wording can tell your story and help bring in new loyal customers at the same time.

If you’re ready to create copy that matters, reach out to us today! We’d be happy to learn more about your business and your writing needs. When you work with us, you will receive emotion-based writing that will bring people in, tell your brand story, have your brand voice heard and educate your potential leads about your product or service.

It’s time to create copy that serves a purpose.

Red is a primary colour and a universal symbol for passion, anger and excitement. Red is a very popular colour choice in branding. Red would be a good colour option if you’re going for a loud, fun, playful vibe.

Different associations with red:

• Energy
• Romance
• Warmth
• Love
• Comfort

Red is also associated with sales. When you see a sale sign, the words ON SALE are most likely always in red (so are those big red important buttons to pay attention to and never touch!). The brain associates red with stopping and paying attention. It’s the clickbait of colours.

Yellow is cheery and friendly! You can’t see the colour yellow and be sad, can you? It’s science… Well, it’s Steady Studio science!

Companies that want to bring in customers in a positive, light-hearted and easy way should consider yellow for their logo design and branding.

Different associations with yellow:

• Friendly
• Happiness
• Energetic
• Warmth
• Youthful
• Positivity

When it comes to business, yellow represents energy and life. It engages people with a welcome smile. Kind of like how Amazon uses the checkmark under their name in the form of a yellow smiley face. Have you ever noticed that?

Yellow is also commonly used to target children and youth, think McDonalds (fast food for kids) and Snapchat (social media for youth).

Orange is similar to yellow in that it’s playful and fun. You could call it yellow’s fun aunt. It has its own personality and associations.

Different associations with orange:

• Playful
• Vibrant
• Energetic
• Artistic

If your business runs on playfulness and is artistic, orange may be the right choice for you! For example, the Nickelodeon tv channel for kids is orange and so is Fanta. Both zesty, playful and gives high energy (or sugar highs!)

Orange is also known for safety. Think about safety vests (usually in orange!) or businesses that help with home improvements done safely like Home Depot.

Green is a very fresh and natural colour choice for logos. Just like it reminds us of health and growth in day-to-day life, businesses have played on that too. Whole Foods has a green logo and their PR is all about eating whole, good foods that nourish your body.

Different associations with green:

• Growth
• Health
• All natural
• Luck
• Money
• Financial stability

Green is also associated greatly with money and wealth. Quickbooks, TD Bank and H&R Block are three examples of businesses that are cashing in on the richness that green logos bring.

Different associations with blue:

• Medical-free
• Conservative
• Safe
• Loyal
• Honesty
• Fresh

Another big reason companies use blue is for loyalty, honesty and trustworthiness. Since blue is a universally favoured colour, it’s a safe pick for business. It relates to one-on-one communication and inspires wisdom and predictability for customers.

It’s a comfortable, feel good colour that a lot of Realtors and mortgage brokers use (helps with trustworthiness, loyalty and reliability).

Forget the oyster, the world is your rainbow and you get to pick the colour you associate your business with. If you’re looking to build a logo and are searching for a partner to work with, Steady Studio is your pot of gold. Reach out to us today to learn more about our logo and design process.

Now that you know the differences between a logo design and branding, it’s time to bring them together to take your company to the next level. Get the most out of your business by tapping into the untapped potential of your brand. And, we’re here to help with that.

Reach out to us today to help transform and bring together your logo and branding. Simply book a phone call or Zoom meeting with us and let’s get to know each other.

Forget forever young, we’re on the forever timeless train. We’d prefer timelessness over being young any day. When it comes to classic web design, there are a couple trends that have lasted the test of time. We’re sharing three that make a lot of sense to us.

1. A simple, minimal design.

Minimalism isn’t just for your closet — it works really really well in web design too.

A minimal web design means that your website will have the simplest navigation possible. It won’t be busy with copy and images and every element of your website will have a direct, specific purpose. The copy is clear and the images that you choose are easily the focal point of the entire website.

The images will immerse your website visitors into the possibility of your business. It’s also important to note that a minimal website design looks good on a desktop, but it looks really good on mobile.

2. Space that lets the design do the talking.

Negative space, otherwise known as white space, is a timeless trend in web design. Don’t let the name trick you though, it doesn’t have to just be white space. If your website is a different colour, it could be called pink space. Same same.

It’s simply the space on the website that isn’t filled to the brim with copy, images, buttons or navigation bars.

It’s breathing room.

Negative space has become a timeless trend because it allows your website to feel spacious, light and uncluttered. It allows the user to feel like they can browse the website in peace without 10 pop ups jumping out at them and having to read 7 paragraphs of text with no proper formatting.

Lastly, negative space allows your website to guide the user to the places they should be visiting.

3. Mixing and matching photography & graphics.

The final web design trend that we don’t see going away any time soon is the mix and match trend. We often see it with mixing photography and graphics together, so that’s what we’re going to focus on.

When a website overlaps photography with graphics, it’s like the company is using a loudspeaker on their website saying “This is our company! This is our voice! This is how we are unique and cool and special. Hear us ROAR!”

Graphics allow a user to get to know a company’s website really well. It becomes a way that a company can easily sprinkly in their personality without overloading the website.

Mixing photography and graphics is a type of charm that is hard to put into words. Let’s just call it the je ne sais quoi of web design. You can take a photograph on your website and with some fun graphics, turn it into your brand’s voice immediately. You often see restaurants and tech companies use this design trend. But, if your company doesn’t fall in either of those industries, don’t worry, you’re allowed to use it too.

Just be sure that the graphics are in your brand’s voice and you’ll be set.

It’s time to go steady with timeless web design. Just like fashion, there are fads when it comes to web design too. But, if you’re going to invest in a quality website, be sure that it will last the test of time. You’ll need updates here and there, but a website design should last you for many years to come.

If you’re ready to learn more about timeless web design, reach out to us at Steady Studio today. We’d be more than happy to set up a call to learn more about your business and what you’re looking for.