5 things to know about Studio Design

If you’re an Emma customer, you’ve probably heard about this little thing called Studio Design, which is an entirely different (dare we say, groundbreaking) approach to custom design. But as thrilled as we were to launch it, our customers’ enthusiasm quite simply made us feel like dancing.

And so, with the helpful feedback of our community and fellow staffers (except this guy, who really just did the dancing), we’ve put together a handy-dandy user’s guide to our own little design revolution. Which, of course, is not to be confused with Dance Dance Revolution, even though they do, on occasion, look quite similar.

1. What it is

Studio Design is a new way to get custom stationery that relies more pointedly on *your* art direction. One particularly astute customer noted that requesting Studio Design vs. Concierge Design is a lot like answering a multiple choice quiz vs. a short essay question. With Studio Design, we provide a hefty assortment of styles and motifs, and from there, you choose your own design adventure. Side note: Never fear! At Emma, said adventures never end in shipwreck or scurvy.

So how does it end, you ask? With beautiful stationery created by one of our fabulous designers, of course! And because of the systematized process, we get a streamlined work flow, and you reap all the benefits: shorter turnaround time, minimized design cost and more direct control over the look of your stationery.

2. Who it’s for

If one or more of the following sounds familiar, then you could be a great candidate for Studio Design:

• You want stylish, professionally designed stationery, but you want to be directly involved in the design-making process.
• Your stationery needs to reflect your brand identity, but you don’t have a lot of your own supporting graphics to use.
• You want a simple header that contains your logo or name, and possibly (but not necessarily) a slogan, background color or texture and/or a couple embellishments to make it look extra special.
• You have good, solid ideas about how your stationery should look, but you could use some help articulating what you want.
• You don’t know exactly what you want, but you know what you don’t want — so choosing from a gallery of original graphics would help you figure it out as you go.

3. Where to get it

If you’re an existing customer, just head on over to the online form.

If you’re interested in joining the Emma community, we’d love to chat and get you started! Just give us a ring at 800-595-4401, email us at hi@myemma.com or fill out a quick form.

4. How it works

The first step is to give us your basic brand information: your logo or company name, your slogan and your color preferences. You can then choose a background texture and up to two design elements to complement and enhance your brand. There are dozens of graphics in several different styles, and you can filter them thematically if you’d like (e.g. “Illustrated,” “Modern,” etc.) to help you find the imagery that will really make your brand shine.

Finally, select the shape of your header and whether you want a drop shadow. You can also provide your social media links if you’d like those included. Your designer then takes all the information you provided and creates something new, custom, brand-consistent and quite possibly dance-worthy.

5. When it’ll be done

The turnaround time for a Studio Design stationery is two business days from the date we get your request. Keep in mind, of course, that the form does not generate a preview of your stationery. That’s because each header is handcrafted by a real designer, who uses his or her graphic design skill after you submit the request to make judgment calls on things like scale, composition, opacity and angle.

So what if you chose the most perfect shade of green, only to realize that it wasn’t so great after all? Rest assured that you can ask your designer for a revision if you change your mind about any single aspect of your stationery.

Of course, we’re still offering Concierge Design too, our completely custom option where your Emma designer designs a new stationery from scratch, based on your branding and/or art direction.

To see real-life examples of both Studio Design and Concierge, check out our design showcase. Ready to request your stationery now? Click here for the Studio Design form, or here for Concierge.

[ Post updated on 7/12/2011 to reflect changes to the Studio Design process. ]