MoJo Design

05/29/2026

Need a Little Momentum? I've Got You. 🎁

Building a brand can feel overwhelming when you're doing it alone. That's why I created The Strategic Brand Toolkit—5 practical worksheets designed to help you build, introduce, clarify, and differentiate your business.

No fluff. No theory you'll never use. Just actionable tools to help you get clear on who you are and what you stand for.

Whether you're launching something new or refining what already exists, these worksheets will give you the foundation you need to move forward with confidence.

It's free. It's yours. And it's designed for wherever you are in your journey.

Get The Strategic Brand Toolkit here:

https://www.designwithmojo.com/mojo-home -resources

What's one thing about your brand you wish you'd clarified earlier? I'd love to hear what's been holding you back.

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Boutique brand strategy and design studio in Mill Valley, CA. Specializing in brand identity, logo design, Squarespace websites, and rebranding for entrepreneurs and small businesses in the Northern Bay Area.

05/25/2026

A canceled meeting used to feel like the worst possible thing.

Now? Sometimes it feels like relief.

In this episode of Honest Brew, we talk about the unexpected moments in entrepreneurship that quietly reshape the way we think and operate. The situations that once triggered panic can eventually become the moments that teach you the most.

We talk about the pressure business owners put on themselves when things go sideways and how quickly stressful moments can turn emotional. Because entrepreneurship is not about controlling every situation. It is learning how to move through uncertainty without letting it consume you.

New episode 👇

🎧Listen now → honestbrew.co or https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/you-take-business-problems-personally-and-it-is/id1852948588?i=1000769490490

Check out our YouTube channel for clips and highlights: https://www.youtube.com/

05/19/2026

Pricing your work is rarely just about picking a number.

It shapes the way people experience your brand and plays a bigger role in your business growth than most people realize.

In this episode of Honest Brew, we unpack the realities behind pricing as a business owner. From undercharging early on to navigating custom proposals and client expectations, this conversation goes far beyond generic pricing formulas.

We also talk about how positioning influences pricing decisions and why understanding the person you are serving matters just as much as the work itself.

Because pricing is more than just numbers.

New episode 👇

🎧Listen now → honestbrew.co or https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-prices-reveal-more-than-you-think/id1852948588?i=1000768462869

Check out our YouTube channel for clips and highlights: https://www.youtube.com/

Podcast Episode · Honest Brew: Unfiltered Conversations on Business Growth · May 18 · 28m

05/15/2026

NEW ON THE BLOG 🎙️

"What I told myself before my first podcast recording (and why almost all of it was wrong)"

When someone first invited me to be on a podcast, my internal response was... EEK. I'm not quick on my feet. I don't love being put on the spot. I fumble my words when I get nervous. And I definitely didn't think I had the right equipment.

(Spoiler: the equipment was already in my house. Zero dollars.)

The fears felt very real. The reality turned out to be very different.

Just dropped on the blog: my honest account of podcast apprehension, what actually happens when you commit anyway, and how I finally found my footing in front of a microphone.

If you've been putting something off because the idea of it is scarier than it probably is—this one's for you.

Read more at the link in the comments!

What's something you talked yourself out of that you wish you'd tried sooner? 👇

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https://www.designwithmojo.com/blog/podcast-apprehension

I also had no idea what the practical commitment would look like. How often would we record? What would production involve? I filled in the blanks with the worst possible answers and convinced myself it would be relentless and overwhelming. Here's what it actually was: a conversation.

05/12/2026

A difficult email can feel a lot bigger than it actually is.

Especially when you care deeply about your work.

One message turns into spiraling. Overexplaining. Wanting to fix everything immediately. Or reacting before you’ve even had time to process what actually happened.

In this episode of Honest Brew, we talk about the moments that test business owners emotionally and why learning to pause can completely change how you handle conflict.

Sometimes the strongest thing you can do is wait before responding.

Not every situation deserves your energy immediately. Not every message deserves access to your nervous system.

Because how you communicate under pressure becomes part of your brand too.

New episode 👇

🎧Listen now → honestbrew.co or https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/advocating-for-yourself-without-burning-bridges/id1852948588?i=1000767230081

📺 Check out our YouTube channel for clips and highlights: https://www.youtube.com/

Podcast Episode · Honest Brew: Unfiltered Conversations on Business Growth · May 7 · 26m

05/08/2026

There's something that happens when you've worked with a client before. They trust you. You trust them. And somewhere in that comfort, the process starts to feel optional.

I learned this the hard way recently.

An existing client came back for more work—exciting, right? But this time, we skipped the foundation. They had ideas. I had a history with their brand. We both figured we could move faster.

We couldn't.

What unfolded was one of those quiet creative spirals where nothing feels quite right, feedback gets murky, and you start second-guessing work you'd normally stand behind. The designs weren't bad. But they weren't grounded—because we hadn't done the grounding work.

Here's what I know to be true: my process isn't about protecting my time. It's about protecting the outcome.

When I skip discovery, I lose the why. When I lose the why, I'm just making things pretty. And pretty without purpose isn't what I do.

So I did something uncomfortable. I paused. I named what was happening. And I made a case—respectfully, but clearly—for going back to the beginning.

It wasn't easy. But it was the right call.

Integrity in your work means knowing when to pump the brakes, even with people you like, even when it feels awkward, even when you're already three steps in.

Your process exists for a reason. Trust it. Protect it. And don't abandon it just because the relationship feels familiar.

Have you ever let comfort with a client lead you away from what you know works? I'd love to hear how you navigated it. 👇

05/01/2026

A book was pulled because an AI detector said it looked artificial.

That should make more people pause than it does.

Because this is what happens when tools built on probability start being treated like proof.

When speed matters more than discernment, context gets ignored. Reputation gets damaged. Human judgment gets outsourced.

AI can be useful. It can support ideas, save time, and remove friction.

But the moment we let it replace thinking, we create new problems dressed up as progress.

In this episode of Honest Brew, we unpack the Shy Girl controversy and explore why discernment matters more than ever in an AI driven world.

New episode 👇

🎧Listen now where you find your favorite podcast → https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/honest-brew-unfiltered-conversations-on-business-growth/id1852948588

04/24/2026

THE AWKWARD QUESTION MORE DESIGNERS NEED TO ASK 😬

"Do you have the font licenses for those typefaces?"

I've asked this question more times than I can count—and more often than you'd think, the answer is some version of: "I assumed that was included."

It wasn't.

Fonts are intellectual property. Just like photography, music, or software—you don't own the right to use them commercially just because they're installed on a laptop or came in a design file from your last rebrand.

Here's the part that stings: licensing problems don't show up right away. They show up later. When you scale. When you launch a new website. When you've invested heavily into your brand, and then a font foundry's legal team reaches out.

I've helped clients navigate this twice now. In one case, the correct license was completely manageable—sorted quickly, no drama. In the other, the proper license was financially unrealistic. So instead of panicking, we found a high-quality alternative that preserved the brand's feel, updated the system, and moved forward.

It's a solvable problem. But it's a lot easier to solve before it finds you.

If you've had a rebrand done in the last few years, it's worth asking the question now. And if you're a designer: this is part of the job. Due diligence on what you're spec'ing is part of the value you bring.

Has font licensing ever come up in your business? I'd love to know how it was handled. ⬇️
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04/22/2026

Revenue goals can start with excitement.

At first, they feel motivating. A clear target. Something to move toward.

But somewhere along the way, that same goal can begin to feel heavy. Less like direction and more like pressure.

When growth is tied to one number, it becomes easy to miss the quieter signs that your business is still moving forward.

Sometimes progress looks like having more room to breathe. Sometimes it looks like work that feels sustainable. Sometimes it looks like building a business that fits your life instead of consuming it.

In this episode of Honest Brew, we talk about why success is more personal than social media makes it seem and how growth often looks different than what gets advertised online.

This clip comes from a conversation about revenue goals, sustainability, and building a business that actually supports the life behind it.

New episode 👇

🎧Listen now → honestbrew.co
📺Watch now → https://youtu.be/lXjH9kZO5UE

Revenue Goals

04/17/2026

NEW BLOG POST

"Why your brand design isn't just a design problem."

I used to think strategy lived in one lane and design lived in another.

Designer over here. Strategist over there. Different people, different roles.

Then I realized: the best design IS strategy. And if you're only thinking about how something looks—without thinking about how it scales, what it says, and whether the whole system holds together—you're only doing half the job.

Just dropped on the blog: "Brand Design Strategy: Why You Need Both, and Why One Person Can Do It"

Sneak peek: There's a question I ask about every single design decision I make—and it has nothing to do with aesthetics. Read the full post to find out what it is at the link in the comments.

What's one branding decision you wish you'd thought through more strategically? 👇
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Here's a belief I held for a long time that I've since completely unlearned: strategy and design are different jobs. Strategy is for the messaging people. Design is for the visual people. Two roles. Two lanes. Keep them separate. It made sense on paper. But in practice? It never actually worked.