Studio Update #24
This is my mid-month studio update (even though it’s already OCT 22). The first one was a bit late (OCT 14) so I had less time for this one. I should be on track by next month. My ideal update schedule is:
5th of the month -> month beginning update
15th of the month -> mid-month
25th of the month -> month-end update
Anyways, it’s not that serious I just need 3 updates a month really.
Let’s get into it.
Progress check
This is a review of the items / goals I set for myself on the last update.
Create Agency Profiles
Boom done. I created profiles on popular agency galleries, submitted our websites to inspiration sites, and got us up and running in review platforms. I’m awaiting confirmation on approval on some restricted platforms, but we have approval on most of them. Each gallery is up to date with case studies and project info, and I’ll maintain them whenever needed.
A quick W I want to share here. I reached out to muz.li if I could post my Process Breakdowns on their platform (200K+ followers) + they said yes. So, you’ll see that some of my past posts are under their publication currently which is resulting in a decent uptick in traffic to my Medium page.
Ship Replo Case Study
It’s live currently on the HEX website and on this blog. The blog has some additional information on our process, while the HEX case study focuses on the work mainly. A lot of the content is the same though.
I’m pretty happy with the way the case study turned out. The information heavy is pretty useful for a web / product design project, not too sure about brand work where the results are purely visual.
Ship 2 YT Videos
I did. They’re both currently private but they’re done and uploaded. I’ll release them when the time is right.
Client work updates:
- Helping with dev updates
- Directing some motion graphics for a website
Mainly chilling on client-side; lot’s of work just wrapped up so now took some time to focus on things I wanted to get done with studio before we move into the next lot of work.
Other things:
- Posted 3 Reels on IG:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DBWqa3LSFQE/?img_index=1
https://www.instagram.com/p/DBOQPbDPKsn/
https://www.instagram.com/p/DBI9ZpAPWKN/
Still experimenting with content style here. I know the brand work carousels work really well so doubling down on that as well, but with Reels I want to do more of the BTS-style stuff like the 3rd video. - Sent over 2 proposals on projects I really want to jam on. We’ve almost booked availability, so I wanted to take the opportunity and see if we might be a fit.
Goals
These are goals I’m setting for myself to complete for the next update
Experimental Case Studies
HEX is an experimental brand studio. I’ve been saying that because that’s the direction I want us to head in. I can design a buttoned up identity with no personality, but I don’t enjoy that process. I like when we research old magazines and go in rabbit holes reading about how arcade games were designed. That’s fun. And I want our identities to reflect that fun. All that to say, we have a lot of “experimental” brand work and explorations that are currently just on the SWIPE FILE but there’s no real home to those explorations. I want to add them as case studies so they can be highlighted with context of the project.
Google Paid Ad Test
Last time I said I’ll search Google Ads and see if it’s worth it. Idk if it is but I have like $600 of credit for some reason. I’ll just use that and drive people to our VC landing page + see what happens. If it works (gives me 1 lead), I’ll move forward with experimenting this.
Design a new brand
This isn’t something I usually add in my list since this is literally all we do. But, today I’m adding this for two reasons. First, I’ll be creating this brand for my own curiosity. I want to explore the 8-bit art style and I’m fascinated by the level of detail that went into those old, seemingly simple games. I used to play Roadrash as a kid all the time and if I can do an identity that caputures the essence of that game I’ll be happy. The second reason is, I want to make some content around it to share on socials. Recently, I’m super bored with the way Twitter / X design is looking. Same work everywhere and I feel like I’m not contributing much either. This will be a fresh breath of air. I also want to explore doing this on IG.
I already started with this brand yesterday. Will report back here later.
Notes:
Putting this here as well:
Looking for a video editor. Found some good local people / friends who can help film but need editing help as well. The task for this week will help set this piece up for when the time is right.
Other than that, I’m going to keep our agency profiles updated everywhere.
