For some of us, branding can feel like a superficial process, a glossy sheen that glazes over the day-to-day realities of running a business. Yet the best branding—the kind that meaningfully connects with customers—reflects the real-world experience of your business or services, as well as the values and personalities of the people on your team.

Looking back over the past year, there’s one primary trend we’ve seen in our business. While we continue to work on a wide range of creative services, websites have become one of our most frequent requests, as our clients’ digital presence has replaced their in-person meetings and physical storefronts.

Prior to founding Cognoscenti Creative, our careers were built on in-house marketing and design teams. For us, that means we’ve seen the full lifecycle of creative: from brainstorming, to iteration, to dissemination, to results (or lack thereof). Through that experience, the most important lesson we’ve learned is that not all catchy creative ideas actually move the needle on your business goals.

When it comes to gift-giving, we’re always on the lookout for unique ideas that delight our friends and support small businesses. Over the years, through both our creative and editorial work, we’ve had the pleasure of meeting and collaborating with movers and shakers across Colorado’s food, hospitality, wellness and lifestyle industries—and more often than not, we become customers of these incredible clients! What’s more, we can vouch that behind each and every one of these vetted gift ideas is a wonderful team of creative, innovative, lovely humans. And that’s something we can all get behind this holiday season.

When launching a business, it’s typical to focus all your energy on developing a product or refining your service lines. But as many entrepreneurs and small business owners can attest, simply making or offering a great product isn’t enough to attract your target audience.

We loved collaborating with founders Adam Hodak and Alex Lerman on the concept for L Bar—an unpretentious, uniquely Colorado bar serving decidedly upscale cocktails. Thanks to The Denver Egotist for featuring this foundational copywriting and menu design work!

While our clients come to us for a wide variety of creative services, nearly all of them struggle with clearly and persuasively communicating the value of their product or service. Of course, that isn’t to say founders don’t know why they started their business. Rather, it’s an owner’s closeness to their brand—their passion for the work and intimate knowledge of their company’s history—that often prevents them from seeing it from the perspective of a new customer.

We’ve been ardent believers in Moxie Bread Co. founder Andy Clark’s vision since the bakery opened its doors in 2015. After years of friendship and collaboration, we were thrilled to help create a website that lives up to the bakery’s dramatic influence on the local food and agriculture industries. Thanks to The Denver Egotist for featuring our work!

Human connection, hospitality and creativity have always been defining elements of our work at Cognoscenti Creative. Over the past few months, we’ve been challenged to reimagine these high-touch interactions from a social distance—not only for our own business, but also for those of our clients.

Over the past week, we’ve had countless conversations with clients and collaborators across Colorado (and beyond). As we all adapt to this “new normal,” many of us are wondering how to best communicate with our staff, team members, guests and larger brand audience. This transition has been challenging on a number of levels, especially for businesses built on in-person interactions.

We’ve always been incredibly influenced by storytellers—individuals who know how to tie together observations and details in a compelling, transformative light. So we were truly honored when Carly was chosen to become a featured storyteller at Creative Mornings—one of the world’s most respected platforms for continuing personal and professional education.

The new year will mark five years since we founded Cognoscenti Creative, and it's incredible to look back on how much things have changed since then. We're so grateful for the skills and experiences we gained in New York City, as well as the feeling of home that we've found and fostered in Colorado. As we begin the next chapter of our business, we're proud to continue evolving alongside the Front Range's creative and entrepreneurial community—and to be a small, women-owned business in Denver.

After 5 years of cross-country collaboration, we're thrilled to announce that Carly has officially relocated to Denver. We’re so grateful to the Colorado creative community—and to our friends further afield—for continuing to refer us to clients, for recognizing our unique perspective and for providing so many exciting opportunities for collaboration. We look forward to deepening our roots in the Rockies, the greater Southwest and beyond!

Spring is finally here, with the energy of fresh ideas and welcoming new perspectives. We’re happy to say our seasonal projects have followed suit, from exploring the “green” initiatives of New York’s most innovative eateries to developing bold graphic treatments for Denver’s upcoming Chalk Art Festival.

With more than 10 years' experience in branding and marketing, we're no strangers to crafting persuasive campaigns.

As the holidays approach, it's natural to reflect on another year gone by. For us, 2018 has been a year of both connection and growth, as we deepen our roots in the Colorado community and take time for adventures further afield.

Welcome to fall. The season of sweaters, jewel-toned sunsets and ch-ch-ch-changes. Which is why, for this edition of Cognoscenti Quarterly, we're switching things up. Instead of featuring a range of different clients, we're excited to share the soup-to-nuts design, writing and strategy project we've been developing for a new boutique hotel in Buena Vista, Colorado.

Most people will tell you that "size matters." But at Cognoscenti, we offer clients of all sizes the unique opportunity to work with a small, dedicated creative team. With bigger agencies, you'll primarily speak with account managers—not directly with the creatives who will execute your project. Needless to say, we thought there was a better way to do business (and to manage your budget). So whether you're launching your first business or a national marketing campaign, we're the voices you'll hear on the other end of the line and the talent who will execute every detail of your creative requests.

The beginning of a new year is a time to refocus—or, at least, to get back to the grind after an extended holiday. At Cognoscenti Creative, we’ve been working hard on our goal of providing personalized resources for small businesses, from boutique hotels to family-run farms. Few places embody this artisanal ethos better than the quaint ski town of Crested Butte, so we’re kicking this newsletter off by revisiting one of our favorite articles for Life & Thyme magazine.

As the holiday season fast approaches, a mindset of gratitude and reflection starts to set in. At Cognoscenti Creative, it’s been an exciting year, with many new projects in the pipeline – and the recent marriage of co-founder Lauren, who had the pleasure of reconnecting with clients Bread Bar and Moxie Bread Co. in planning her celebration.