There are no AVERAGE days - thanks be

Being the first one in the studio has a certain privilege. I set my computer bag down near the rocking chair, hang up my jacket and search for the clicker to control the stereo. Brahms today, loud, before the guys come in.

Espresso maker on, I wait for the gurgling and move into my own space, deep blue art-covered walls and a large window facing the city, with a hairline view of the lake. Computer on, I lean back, and consider my top three deliverables for the day:

1. Dash off four letters about new articles for Special Glasses magazine
2. Add polish to an article on our research about featuring little-to-moderate text for legibility for interest, for action.
3. Submit proposals including flow charts to demonstrate progressive deliverables.

The front door opens and with it the instant panic of paws on the too-smooth floor as, one of two dogs has arrived, with master in tow. Is it Darko and Bella or Jason and Denby? The quieter of the two is Jason (and Denby),who will pop his head into my office only after he has settled in for the day. We have been in touch late into the evening before, exchanging ideas and outcomes around a design project. Text messaging is handy for communicating, in short code with my kids and the extended DUO team.

The door opens again and Raymond enters. He sets down his satchel and plunks himself down on my blue sofa. Today we review design concepts for an annual report, an exciting milestone, and Raymond is clearly animated and ready. The client presentation is two days from today. This is what we work for, to synthesize our ideas and strategies with the client’s aims and needs, to achieve a piece that is elegant and powerful.

The next two issues of our own publication NEED TO KNOW are laid out and ready for review or, for scrutiny, to be more accurate. Committing thoughts and beliefs to print in order to share those with peers, clients and those we want as clients is a process that requires courage tempered by careful deliberation, each and every month.

Darko and Bella enter. Bella comes looking for a scratch and a treat. Our canine ‘girls’ add a certain grounded-ness to the studio atmosphere. The studio is our calm oasis as we settle into the day. We draw comfort from our collegiality, engaged in the grand enterprise of graphic design and marketing communications strategy.

We have been together as a core group for more than 10 years. Through interest and inclination we sublimate the business of our clients and endeavour to express it through the opportunity at hand. There are days when I no sooner settle in and begin to work, only to discover that it is now late afternoon and the day has flown by. I can't understand when people describe how their work week drags on. I feel fortunate to be doing what I love - but then I would not suffer it any other way.

Here is where our confidence resides – through our ingenuity and tactical approach, DUO STRATEGY AND DESIGN is evolving again after 26 years. Our new signature offering, a tactic, produces very satisfying results. We will convene as a team tomorrow to discuss our web site redesign and the next issue of Special Glasses magazine.

We welcome you to join us as a visionary client. Would you like to apply storytelling to your communications? Would you like to add ‘gravitas’ to your brand by attaching purposely selected residual memories? Would you like to extend/expand a single belief into a legacy?

I welcome you to DUO.CA
Nora
416 255 0775