Westerly Creative Studio

04/27/2025

A little pattern goes a long way!

For TA Lorton, we brought the brand to life with custom designs that reflect the unique textures, colors, and shapes found in her shop and interior design work.

We love that her modern logo can look sleek on its own, or it can be played up with these lively patterns.

Why patterns? Because they mirror the beautiful textures, shapes, and variety of goods she offers—from cozy textiles to bold, statement-making pieces. Our goal was to make something that represented her eclectic and refined aesthetic.

Which pattern resonates most with you? 1, 2, or 3?



This project was in collaboration with Nicely Built.

04/24/2025

When we stare at our own website for too long, it can be hard to see what's working and what's not.

We're so invested in our own story that sometimes we don't see where there's gaps ... or so much detail that we're losing our audience.

In fact, one of the top mistakes I see is too much text.

People are going to skim your headers on their first visit to see if they're in the right place. So if you're curious what they're absorbing, write out your headers.

You might be surprised at how boring it reads. 🫣

And we know your business isn't boring!

For tips on how to fix this, as well as 9 other common mistakes, check out my free resource: Top 10 Website Mistakes That Hinder Conversion.

🫶 BONUS: You'll also get access to a free audit.

It's been a rough year. Let's get your website working for you instead of against you. Sound good?

01/28/2025

Are you treating your marketing as an experiment or posting just to post?

Do you feel like you're wasting your time making unsuccessful posts?
Maybe you know you need to show up more but it just doesn't feel worth it.

Here's what we tell our small business owners and clients to do:

➡️ 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮.

What blog posts are the most read? What Instagram posts got the most saves? What LinkedIn post got people talking?

This data will help you figure out if you need to change your timing, platform, topic, etc. Once you better understand your audience, then you can create content that they'll see, follow, and engage with.

More data = less guess work.

➡️ 𝗖𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘁 𝘂𝗽.

If you don’t have a plan, it’s hard to tell what’s working and what isn’t. By creating a plan, even if it isn’t perfect, you can modify it until it works for you. Otherwise, all you have are questions.

Even business owners who randomly go viral end up in much the same place they started because they can’t replicate it. Was it the time of the post? The hashtag? The topic? The post type? The phase of the moon?

Set constants and identify your variables.

➡️ 𝗕𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁.

If you’re only posting sporadically, then your reach is going to drop. You'll have to retrain the platform 𝘢𝘯𝘥 your audience.

One of the easiest ways to gain traction is to get your account to be part of your audience's routine. Keeping them engaged is far easier that repeatedly reengaging them and it helps you subconsciously build trust.

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👋 We serve nonprofits and small businesses through branding, web design, social media support, consultations, print + digital collateral, and more!

2025 has been a rollercoaster already. If you're looking for strategy help, we're offering 50% off our Expert Clarity Calls until the end of February.

01/16/2025

Social media is vital for small businesses. It's how we sell, network, and build community. As a woman-owned business, we have to ask:

How will Meta's recent announcements impact entrepreneurial women? What will this "new era" bring?

Here are our predictions:

⬆️ Increase in Harassment.
From threats to insults, women are more likely to experience "digital violence" than men.* This can be a huge barrier, especially when showing your face has become almost a requirement for gaining a following. It also adds more layers of work (not showing your home), mental load, etc. that all negatively impact our ability to earn $ (which we're already earning less of anyways).

⬇️ More Competition, Less Reach.
Political posts are going to increase, which always impacts general reach. Sadly, the one thing everyone asks Meta for is becoming less and less likely: to have our followers consistently see our content. This will likely result in an increase in the dependence of ad spend, which means more competition.

⬇️ Decrease in Audience.
We're already hearing of people spending less time on social media and for many, that trend will continue. Whether people logon less or leave for good, small businesses will start to see a decrease in ideal clientele regularly interacting with content.

So ... what can we do?

7 tips in our latest blog post: https://lnkd.in/gXk-jg2U

10/24/2024

It's finally live! 🎉 My interview for Bold Journey Magazine was published today.

Bold Magazine strives to share stories of real people facing real challenges in an effort to create a space where we can learn from one another. In my interview, we discuss Imposter Syndrome, burn out, and my advice to those entering the design industry.

10/15/2024

This is a perfect example of the kind of conservation logos we love to make:
🫶 Clean, modern, refined!
🫶 Story-rich symbolism
🫶 Strong typography

Located in the South Carolina Midlands, the Congaree Biosphere Region is a unique designation dedicated to driving sustainable solutions through local collaborations.

✅ This branding features a Yellow-Crowned Night Heron, which is one of the most common birds in the area. As a water bird, they depend on healthy land, water, and air — all of which are represented in the logo.

✅ Additionally, the heron imagery is a reference to the many human activities that draw people to the area. From birding to synchronous fireflies, the Congaree Biosphere Region offers unique opportunities for appreciating flora and fauna that people may otherwise not have the opportunity to see.

✅ The red sun is a nod to South Carolina and the warm climate. It could also be interpreted as a reminder of climate change and the vulnerability of our local resources.

07/03/2024

Congrats to our client Expat Parenting Collective for reaching their goal of over 1k followers on Instagram! 🎉

We started out by:
✅ Designing their new grid
✅ Creating Canva templates
✅ Providing photography suggestions

Now every month we:
✅ Hop on a Strategy Call
✅ Design + write a set of posts
✅ Provide caption ideas for each

We offer retainers like this to small business owners to help them:
👉 Build a professional grid
👉 Lessen the burden of posting on Instagram
👉 Offer platform-specific guidance
👉 Attract followers aligned with their offerings
👉 Make it easy to post consistently
👉 Feel confident in their marketing

Detailed package information available upon request.

(Like their look? 👀 We also crafted their branding and website!)

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06/24/2024

Your website has SECONDS to convince someone it’s worth looking at and hierarchy ensures that the most important information is what they see first. ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Before we design any website, we determine:
— Who we want to reach
— What we want them to do
— How we can make it easy
— What key points will convince them

Then we use design to highlight the content we've generated and guide the viewer through consistent applications of color, fonts, images, etc.

If the hierarchy is messy, it's too much work to sift through it all. People want to be welcomed with a solution, not given a task!

Want more ideas on how to upgrade your site? Check out our new resource: Top 10 Website Mistakes That Hinder Conversion.

06/10/2024

Sneak peek 👀 at one of our latest branding projects! ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​When it comes to community-centric organizations, we make sure to ask ourselves during the development process:
💭 Would this look good on apparel / would people wear it?
💭 Does the logo tell (or hint at) a story?
💭 Does the logo look strong in one color?

Getting people to represent the logo visually can dramatically increase logo brand awareness. People are already using brands everyday to show what larger communities they associate with. If soda brands can do it, you can to!

05/31/2024

Marketing is vital for small businesses ... yet creating a strategy can be incredibly overwhelming.

It becomes the classic conundrum:
⏰ It takes too much time to learn how to do it right
💸 You can't afford to do it wrong

The frustration is valid:
🌀 Algorithms are constantly changing
🌀 It's hard to tell what works for YOUR business
🌀 Organic marketing takes too long
🌀 There are too many platforms and best practices
🌀 You don't have time to research everything

If this resonates with you, I highly recommend checking out the course Right Relations just launched!

✅ Learn the basics in one place: websites, emails, social media, paid advertising, ai, and more!

✅ Get 4 templates to track your new strategy:
1. Business Marketing Strategy Template
2. Grassroots Marketing Template
3. Marketing Metrics Tracker
4. Business Advertising Plan Template

✅ Attend 12 LIVE training calls: get your questions answered every week by talking with the experts.

👩‍💻 Enrollment ends soon — 🔗 in comment below!

05/28/2024

Learning how to market your small business can be such a headache! With algorithms and technology constantly changing, feeling like you have a grip on just one platform can feel impossible ... and you know that what you *really* need is an overarching strategy.

If you're seeing low leads, experiencing burnout, or are prepping to scale your marketing efforts, this course is for you!

✅ Led by a marketing and PR agency
✅ 12 Trainings with 12 Live Workshops
✅ 4 Templates: Business Marketing Strategy Template, Grassroots Marketing Template, Marketing Metrics Tracker, and Advertising: Business Advertising Plan Template

Course covers everything from tracking your marketing data to integrating ai, launching ads to dialing in your funnel.

Westerly Creative Studio will be covering a segment on creating your digital home — be that a full website, landing page, or email marketing system.

Early-Bird pricing available through May 30th!

Unlock the Power of Marketing: Your Comprehensive Guide to Business Growth

05/21/2024

🎉 We recently launched a website for the Kenwood in Minnesota and we're still swooning over how it came together.

To ensure this site not only brings in new customers but makes their life easier, we:

✅ Created a menu they can easily update in Google Docs, then copy in. This allows for fewer mistakes and requires almost no platform knowledge.

✅ Designed a custom pattern that matches their restaurant interior.

✅ Made it easy to switch out seasonal menu photos in the future.

After launching the site, we even created a menu template on Canva — matching the website styling of course!

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
“We had such a wonderful experience working with Meghan on redesigning our restaurant website! She went above and beyond while listening to our needs to put together a beautiful site. She is fun, professional and very quick to respond to any questions throughout the process. I would highly recommend her for any Squarespace needs!” — Joel D.

✍️ Copywriting credit goes to the amazing Maddie Lemay at Lemay Story Studio.