Sarah Giffrow

Building a Nest for a Happy Brand

When we first met with Emily of Happy Nest, she had a busy day-to-day of running her professional organizing business and caring for her young children. She had the start of an online presence, but her brand didn’t feel like a good fit. “It’s just… not awesome,” she told us. So, we made a plan to turn her disappointment into excitement, and …

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Why Letting Purpose Drive Your Brand Makes Your Business Stronger

Jessica and I recently enjoyed a panel discussion at Pull The Weeds, an exhibition and event centered around purpose-driven branding hosted by FIRNW. Kirk Souder, Thom Walters, and Jen Michaelis Van Arkel shared their thoughts about what drives branding when social good is at the center of the organization. The most obvious purpose-driven brands are the ones that are engaged …

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Legal Marijuana and Changing Brand Perception

Branding is all about creating a memorable impression of your work that appeals to your ideal client. Sometimes, that means overcoming common assumptions about your product… and when it comes to public perception, legal marijuana dispensaries have an especially tough challenge. Marijuana was legalized in Portland less than a year ago, and as a previously illegal …

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On Keeping Projects Moving and Shifting Gears: an interview with Kelley “Frisky Sour” Gardiner

Writing a book is no small undertaking, and neither is being a parent. Kelley “Frisky Sour” Gardiner didn’t shy away from either of those things, though–she resolved to write and edit her first book throughout her pregnancy, and publish it before her little one’s due date! Now, she’s created Roller Derby for Beginners, a definitive roller derby resource book …

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Are You Our Next Project Management Ninja?

UPDATE: this position is CLOSED! We’ve found our new team member, but we appreciate hearing from you! We’re looking for someone who’s interested in project management for the creative industry, particularly in the area of branding and web design. It’s currently a part-time role, but it’s growing into a larger time commitment–the more you bring to …

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Freelance Web Designers & Developers: We’re Seeking You!

Are you a freelance Designer or WordPress Developer? It’s looking like a busy Fall here at Upswept, and we might just need your help! So, we’re updating our resources and looking for smart, fun, and all-around-stellar people to work with us on current and future projects. DEVELOPERS: We have front-end development projects coming up in the …

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Open Source Bridge Day 2: You Are Not Your User

Day Two of Open Source Bridge encouraged us to look beyond our own experience, and try to see the world through a different lens. Not only does it help us be more compassionate as people, but it also helps us create and code better design and user experiences for everyone we want to reach. Algorithms …

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