Launch day — the new Spruce Rd. site is live!

Today’s the day! I’m beyond excited to reveal the launch of the new + shiny Spruce Rd. site! This site has been in the works for a while now, and I couldn’t wait to reveal the completed site after I last updated you on the strategy behind the changes.

Here’s a quick run through of new features on the site I hope you enjoy!

New classes!

One goal of Spruce Rd. is to provide quality + in-depth education to designers, freelancers and DIY-ers. This takes the form of weekly blog articles, premium courses like Share-worthy Design, products in the works and now in mini classes! All of these education avenues now have a home on the “learn” page. I’m super excited for these classes, and have a slew of topics I’m itching to touch on. These will be very specific topics, covered in-depth, and at an affordable price. Maybe you aren’t in a place where you need an entire premium course, and just want to learn something specific. These are for you.

To celebrate the new website launch, I’m announcing the latest mini-class — Designing ConvertKit. Over the past few months I’ve made the switch from Mailchimp to ConvertKit in an effort to better serve my community. While I absolutely love this software (seriously, you should make the switch!), the only downside is the design. ConvertKit’s goal has always been to streamline newsletters, so you can focus on content and not get hung up on fancy campaigns + design. I totally support this concept, however as a designer I was itching to at least improve the spacing of the font so it is easier to read. 
 

Hence — my latest mini-class on designing your ConvertKit template. This class gives you the CSS template file, ready to upload + customize to your brand. I even included 10 videos (watch all in 30 minutes) on how to adjust the template in case you aren’t familiar with code. If you’ve never touched code before, you can definitely handle this class. I’m a designer (read: not developer), and provide the template in a way that anyone can use it!

Blog posts at a glance

Previously, the articles created for Spruce Rd. were difficult to navigate. It showed complete blog posts with large images, and had too many pages to scroll through to view all posts. With the new site, this was one issue I was eager to resolve. Now, you’ll see that you can view 20 blog posts on a page, with a brief excerpt on each post to provide a summary of the article. (Thanks to my assistant Cameron for summarizing every. single. post.!) Through only showing the text in a list format, it is much easier to glance through the various posts without endless scrolling! Head on over to view the full blog design.

A home for lunch + learn workshops

Previous lunch + learn workshops (and upcoming workshop invitations) now have a lovely home on the new site! You can watch previous workshop recordings and view notes to guide you along. Currently we’re off season for the workshop series, but once we pick it back up again you’ll see invitations to join live on this page as well!

Branding that better reflects Spruce Rd.
 

Overall, the branding for Spruce Rd. endured a shift. It’s been in transition for a while, and is just now making it live to the site. No longer will coral act as the primary accent, and instead we have a more gender neutral tan/orange color. This better speaks to my audience, and allows the Spruce Rd. brand to grow beyond the feminine aesthetic. 

With the fresh site came new illustrations + photography that I couldn’t feel more excited for! I practice what I preach, and collaborated with an illustrator and photographer to best reflect the Spruce Rd. aesthetic. These elements are what add so much depth to any brand, and add that custom character needed to stand out. Which brings us to another much needed update to the site!

Presents the value of our services, approach + case studies
 

Though our premium branding package has been in the works for over six months, it now takes the stage on the updated site. Our studio specializes in holistic branding — everything from the logo, marketing materials, templates, illustrations and photography — which is now more apparent on the “let’s work together” page. Though this means we are turning down clients left and right looking for “just a logo” or “just an ebook,” this move feels right to us. We’ve only ever offered branding (and not isolated marketing collateral), because it best fits our vision.

We immerse ourselves in our client’s brands, and provide them with the best + enduring brand we can. This means we don’t cut corners, and offer the works when it comes to branding. Our approach is unique, and isn’t for every stage of business. We’ve made this clear on our updated site that we work with brands who’ve reached their tipping point and are ready for that next step.

To show the premium quality our clients can expect, I’ve updated our portfolio to include case studies. This better emphasizes the concept behind the brand, and articulates the strategy you can expect from our team. It’s been awhile since I’ve shared the samples of work (aside from on Instagram), so head on over to view the updated portfolio!
 

Overall, I’m so excited for this site + brand refresh! It’s been a process that’s been in the works for a while now, and it feels good to have a more accurate reflection of our studio presented online. Hope this behind the scenes peek into the new site sheds light on the entire process from strategy to design!