Inkling Creative

10/09/2026

CRINGE. There's a first time for everything, and Wednesday was my first time being interviewed on live television. Per the usual, I think I thought I did worse than I did...until the end. *cringe* But if you want a behind-the-scenes report on the designing of the 50th anniversary Gate River Run logo, take a peek! (...please skip the ending...)

The Gate River Run is getting ready to celebrate 50 years, and its anniversary logo has a distinctly Jacksonville look. The design incorporates the Hart Bridge into the number 50 and was selected from more than 100 entries. But for the woman who designed it, there's also a special family connection....

10/06/2026

Some of my favorite logos have something to discover.

Maybe it's a letter hidden in a shape. A reference to a place. A detail that means something to the people who know the story.

You might not notice it immediately.

But once you see it, you can't really unsee it.

That's one of the things I love about designing logos. A mark doesn't have to say everything about a business, school, or organization.

It just needs to give people something worth remembering.

Here are a few of my favorites from over the years. See what you notice before you swipe. →

✦ Let's make it memorable.

09/23/2026

GRATEFUL. It's official! In a super humbling turn of events, my design was selected as the winning logo for the 50th Gate River Run 15K! The concept started with Jacksonville's Hart Bridge. The road approaching it looked like a 5. The bridge arch looked like a 0. Once seen, it couldn’t be UNseen.

But the story became much bigger than the design. My father-in-law, John Waller, ran the first River Run in 1978 and is one of only 17 remaining "streakers." He's also the person who sent me the contest to begin with.

In 2027, he hopes to complete his 50th River Run wearing the anniversary mark his daughter-in-law designed. I wrote the full story — including the unexpected connections to my own 2011 brain injury, memory, faith, and design process — at the link in the comment below.

09/22/2026

This was an exciting weekend :+)

09/22/2026

Consistency is one of the most powerful things a brand can have.

When your logo, colors, and fonts show up the same way every time — on your truck, your business cards, your invoices, your website — people start to recognize you. And recognition builds trust. Trust wins jobs.

People do business with people they know, like, and trust.

But here's where many of business owners get tripped up: they think consistency means everything has to look exactly the same. Same layout. Same photo. Same format. Every single time.

It doesn't.

Consistency is the foundation — the colors, the fonts, the logo, the overall feel that makes your brand unmistakably you. What you build on that foundation can be as varied, creative, seasonal, and personal as you want. It all still holds together because the underlying identity is solid.

Think of it like a uniform. Every player on the team wears the same colors. But they each play their own game.

Consistency isn't a straitjacket. It's what gives everything else room to breathe.

What does your brand look like across your different touchpoints? Is it telling a consistent story?

09/08/2026

After working with contractors for years, I've noticed a pattern.

The ones who grow — who land bigger jobs, charge higher prices, and build teams — aren't always the most skilled. They're not always the most experienced. They're not even always the cheapest.

What they have is this: they look the part.

Their truck is wrapped and branded. Their business cards don't feel like an afterthought. Their estimate arrives in a professional folder, not a handwritten note on a torn piece of paper. Every touchpoint says "I take my business seriously" — before they've done a single minute of work on your home.

The contractors who stay stuck are often just as good at the actual work. Sometimes better. But they're losing jobs in the first five seconds — before anyone has seen what they can do — because their brand isn't making the case for them.

Your brand is working for you or against you before you ever shake someone's hand.
The good news? That's entirely fixable.

Does your brand make the case for you before you shake someone's hand? If not — you can change it.

09/01/2026

Here's something most contractors and realtors don't think about until it's too late.

Before a homeowner calls you, they've already judged you.

They've seen your truck in the neighborhood. Found you on Google. Checked your page. And in those first few seconds, before you've said a word or shown them your work, they've already decided whether you feel like someone they'd trust in their home.

Your logo is doing a job whether you want it to or not. A professional, consistent mark says "established, trustworthy, worth paying for." A clip art logo or no logo at all says something too — and it's not what you want it to say.

The good news? You don't have to be a big company to look like one. You just need a mark that works as hard as you do.

08/27/2026

A logo is just the first step to memory.

Memory begins with repeated recognition over time.

And that's why businesses that take their branding seriously put their logos everywhere. A uniform is something you see every day.

08/25/2026

Everyone has to start somewhere.

Thomas Edison didn't create the lightbulb the first time (it took 1000), but he started somewhere. And he kept going.

What do you want to accomplish? Think about it, then decide to start somewhere.

Then start.

08/20/2026

Respect Foods needed business cards for new employees; my job was to create new cards that matched the existing ones. Because consistency begets recognition, and recognition is a must for memory.

It's a simple principle, but one that's not always remembered... or practiced.