NAMING & NOMENCLATURE

A great name evokes curiosity, communicating a simple truth about who you are as a company - and getting there is a journey. I winnow through linguistic roots, obscure references, and pages of free association to sift out a few gems. Then, do it all over again. While finding your exact right moniker does take time, once we get there we’ll know it: it’ll sing.
 

STRATEGIC BRAND   DEVELOPMENT

Your brand isn’t just your look or your logo - it’s what you communicate as a company at every single customer touch point. To start to shape that identity, first I zoom out, engaging in a comprehensive discovery process. Then, I zoom in and dive deep, hunting for pearls. It’s those unexpected little insights, that allow for true differentiation.  

COMMUNICATIONS CONSULTING

It’s simple: Language is the means by which ideas are brought to life - and with 20 years of experience, and a masters degree in creative writing, it also happens to be a central part of my toolkit. I can take on everything from websites, ad creative, investor decks and email campaigns to long-form articles, video scripts, manifestos, speeches, and more.

CONTENT DESIGN & UX STRATEGY

Wireframes come before words, but words often uncover design hiccups that stand in the way of a smooth user experience. As any good product-builder knows, great UX comes out of an ongoing rally between visual & verbal design. So, if you’re looking for a content partner to help create products that people love to use, I’d love to collab with your team.

      CREATIVE       IDEATION

Sometimes I get projects where no deliverable, per se, is needed. The client just wants me to drop in, go deep, and offer up a new perspective. Have a special project along those lines that needs expert-level brainstorming, clever concepts, or just some really good ideas?
I’m all over it.

DAY-LONG
DEEP DIVES

Don't have budget for a long-term engagement, or only need a single deliverable tackled? Let’s do a deep dive. You give me your challenge, I give it a day of head-down focus, and you get quick results. Contact me for my day rate on projects needing an experienced eye - and a quick turn-around.

GREG

Bringing an AI-Powered Plant Care App to Life—Literally

TAPSTACK

Rethinking an App Built for More Meaningful Connection

HDS GLOBAL

Imagining Possibilities for a Robotics-Powered eCommerce Brand

A HUNDRED YEARS

Helping an Agency Dedicated to the Long View Realize its Potential

WAZE

Creating the Most Beloved Social Navigation App in the World

METROMILE

Transforming Pay-per-Mile Car Insurance Into a Lifestyle Brand

CULTURE3 FEATURE ARTICLE

Exploring the ways AI will transform Hollywood, particularly for actors

THE PRESENT
MOMENT GAME

Designing a Covid-Era Online Social Meditation Experience

GOOD MAGAZINE COVER ARTICLE

Pondering the Meaningful Axis of Sustainability & Death

TEDxJAFFA

Creating a Local TED-Like Experience—With Global Impact

MEANING MAKER. GOT IT. BUT, WHAT IS IT THAT YOU DO, EXACTLY? 

Drawing from 20 years of brand development & communications experience, I've managed to winnow my skills down into a suite of creative services that you can read more about, up above. You can also download my CV and check out my LinkedIn for a bit more background, too.

WHY SHOULD I WORK WITH YOU OVER AN AGENCY?

Agencies have overhead to meet, plus need to build costs into their project budgets to mitigate against scope creep. I, on the other hand, work on an hourly retainer, exchanging money for value in a 1:1 trade-off, without any hidden padding or bloat.

While I have a healthy hourly rate, you can still expect me to come in at a fraction of the cost of working with a larger naming / brand strategy / communications agency.

WHERE ARE YOU LOCATED? 

I'm based out of Portland, OR, but am also somewhat nomadic. I roll through Seattle, SF, and LA on the regular, but given that I work remotely, at the moment I could be just about anywhere.

:::taps you on the back of your shoulder:::
 

WHERE ARE YOUR CLIENTS LOCATED?

Given my tech focus, most of the orgs I work with are in and around the San Francisco Bay Area & Seattle, but I’ve also contracted with companies from Australia, Canada, France, Switzerland, Hong Kong, and Israel - so am accustomed to hopping on calls at all hours, without complaint. As long as your team is up to big, interesting things, I'm glad to join forces, no matter where you're physically located. 

WHAT KIND OF COMPANIES HIRE YOU?

The majority of my clients fall into these 3 categories:

• Early-Stage Tech Startups - With a fully-built-out team not yet in place, technical and business-focused founders of early-stage, VC-backed companies bring me on in true startup fashion: To tackle pretty much everything creative, all at once—and I bring it. One day I may be naming a company, building out its strategic messaging & positioning, or ideating new product features. And the next day I may be deep in product design collaboration with designers, building out user communication campaigns, or queuing up all creative for a launch. I love these engagements most ​because I ​get to bring my vast creative arsenal to the table, using all my skills at once.
  
  

• Well-Established Companies - In-house department heads bring me on for senior-level, temporary bandwidth to increase their team’s capacity. The work ranges from the strategic​ to the more tactical​, but what all of these engagements have in common is​ a ​mounting ​backlog of brand strategy / naming / marketing communications projects, without internal bandwidth or headcount to drive them forward. When I’m asked to come in and help, I jump in, use my expertise to swiftly bang out deliverables, and leave ​my clients with a newly clean slate — and a deep sigh of relief.
  
  

• Creative / Brand / Communications / Product Design Agencies - Strategy and Creative leads reach out when they’re short staffed on the projects they’re juggling, or just need fresh eyes and a crisp, new perspective on client work when they can’t see the forest from the trees anymore. Why does working with me work for them? They pull me in when they’re in feast mode, and cut me loose when famine comes. As a trusted agency partner, I drop in as needed, go deep, and do my part to help make the agency shine.
  

While most of my work is with tech companies, I'm open to clients from all verticals, and happily offer a 30% discount to certified non-profit organizations. 
 

HOW DO YOU STRUCTURE YOUR ENGAGEMENTS? 

• When I work w/ brands directly, I work on retainer, with a 3 month minimum. I’ve found this model to be the most transparent, results-driven, and win/win for the type of hands-on client work I love to do. Most of my clients sign a second contract with me, some even a third or fourth. So, if you’re on the market for a long-term partnership that feels like an actual team member, I’m your gal.

• I also offer day-long consulting sessions. If you’d like me to add value to a project you’re working on but can’t commit to my minimum retainer, above, a day-long deep dive is a great way to work together. This 8-hour engagement may include an overall brand audit, kicking up communications on a website or investor deck, or a single focus on any other deliverable. Interested in learning more? Reach out, below, and I'll be happy to discuss my day rate and availability with you.

• Agency work is shorter in scope. These engagements are built around the needs of each individual project. Let’s discuss!
   

WHAT DOES A TYPICAL RETAINER LOOK LIKE, WEEK-TO-WEEK?

My standard minimum retainer breaks down to up to 80 hrs/month (~20 hr/week). It may not sound like much, but given that these are fully-dedicated, head-down hours, my weekly output likely rivals that of a FT, in-house employee. Their on-the-clock time each week is clogged with meetings, calls, emails, Slack, socializing, and lunch / coffee / snack / bathroom / Instagram breaks. However, when you're working with me, you're paying for something actually quite different: 100% productivity.
 

HOW MANY CLIENTS DO YOU WORK WITH AT A TIME?

Having worked for most of my career on the client side, I know very well what it is to hire someone for a pretty penny who makes big promises at the outset, but ultimately fails to deliver. For this reason, I generally only work with 1-2 clients at a time, to ensure I'm able to provide each with the undivided attention they deserve.

SOLD! HOW DO WE BEGIN?

Drop me a line, below, and I'll take it from there. If it makes sense to, we’ll set up a call, and should you decide to work with me, I'll send over my straightforward 2.5 page contract. Then, once you sign it and send it back my way, it's settled: I'm all yours.
 

SHOUT-OUTS. 

Infinite eye animation used with the permission of Louisville-based illustrator & cartoonist, Jesse Lucas // Bear hand video clips used with the permission of Stuttgart-based video production agency Studio Flox // Logo developed alongside designer, Daina Reed // Huge <3: DN // Big <3: AA, HZ, SR, AM & BG.

Wanna explore the possibility of working together?

Share a bit about your your needs, below, or drop me an email at: alli@meaningmakercreative.com