Taking A Look Back

2014 was a great year. It was the first full year of being independent with The Studio, I got married, traveled to new places, and worked with some amazing clients and designers.

The start of 2014 was exciting for me, but it was also a time of huge uncertainty. I wasn’t sure of the direction I wanted to take the studio, or if I would even have the chance to grow it into something sustainable. It was just a one-person shop and I constantly felt that I could either focus on work or focus on getting additional work.

Fortunately, The Studio started getting new projects, continued on with returning clients, and grew in total offerings. By the end of the first full year, The Studio had helped create 14 new identities, 1 mobile app, and 9 web apps.

andy-stone-logos

I’ve spent some time looking back at my digital projects from 2014 to understand what it was that made a project enjoyable and successful. For me, the three main factors that contribute to a project’s success are:

  1. The Client Relationship
    The client relationship can be either casual or professional, but there needs to be a mutual respect from both parties and an understanding of goals or deliverables.
  2. Managed Expectations
    The expectations for a project need to be closely managed from the beginning so the client knows exactly what is included and when it will be delivered.
  3. Continued Support After Launch
    Finally, support for a project from both the client and the designer after a launch is critically important for the long-term success—continued updates, measured analysis, and an understanding of change are all necessary for any digital product.

OpenSnow iPhone App

Towards the end of 2014, I started working with Jamie Emerson on a few projects. His background in user experience and development is something to be admired, and he quickly became a design partner on all of our projects. The two of us recently had the chance to work with Anthem Branding on a project for PeopleForBikes and are currently building a new application for Kapta.

People For Bikes Digital Yearbook 2014

While last year was fantastic all around, 2015 is quickly shaping up to be great in it’s own way. Jamie and I have partnered up and are hard at work on the upcoming launch of our new design and development studio: Emerson Stone. We couldn’t be more excited for the new studio, the new site, and all of the work that is coming out of it within the next couple of months.

Thank you so much,
Andy Stone

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