Sarah Giffrow

4 Reasons Why Hackers Might Target Your WordPress Web Site–And How To Stop It!

Your web site is vital to your business. It connects the world with your work and gets your audience energized, and every minute you’re without it, you could lose out on a new client who’s ready to love what you do. Does a web site hacker care about any of that? Well, you can probably guess …

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WebVisions PDX: Design is about People

I got to drop in on the WebVisions Portland conference earlier this month with a longtime collaborator, Jen Barth of Big Small Brands. The conference was a multi-day affair, but even a one-day peek felt like time well spent! The two talks I attended on Friday morning weren’t especially similar, but they had one very important thing in common: they …

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When April Fool’s Jokes Become Smart Branding

Business branding may seem like an odd stage for pranks, but I can’t help appreciating the creativity that April Fool’s Day seems to bring out in some parts of the internet–especially now that businesses are taking part in clever ways. Instead of being a terror-inducing and mean-spirited occasion, it can become a neat project for the business and a smart …

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Saddling Up for a Fun Social Media Campaign

We launched a five-day social media campaign last week, and we had some, ahem, unique personalities stopping by the studio to be a part of it, earlier in the month. We’re sponsoring the High Rollers in their 2015 roller derby season, and this past weekend, they threw The High Rollers Showdown Throwdown, a fundraiser party to support the …

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Goal Setting: What can you learn from yourself?

If you’re an independent business owner, you’ve probably spent a lot of time reflecting over the past year. How did your year go? If you’re like a lot of folks, there were probably some plans that went swimmingly, and others that, well, didn’t go quite as nicely as you hoped. I’m certainly no exception to that! …

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Give Shelter Pets “A Bowlful of Heart” This Holiday

We’re lucky to be connected with wonderful people who love to give, and we’re thrilled to be reviving A Bowlful of Heart pet food drive for the 2014 holiday season! We first teamed up with Alyson Clair of Clair Vintage Inspired in 2011, to work together with Portland businesses and collect pet food donations. Thanks to their help (and …

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Ello and How to Make Your Web Site Experience Easier

“This UI is bonkers. I tried to post an image…it was not successful.” “I know this is beta, but it seems really clunky.” “I can’t find anything on this thing!” If you’ve been on Ello, you’ve probably noticed that, well, it’s not exactly easy to find things. We’re not talking about obscure user settings, either–we’re talking about …

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We’re Hiring!

10/13/2014: This position has been filled, but we super-appreciate your interest! Keep your eyes peeled for other opportunities in the future! 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 …

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October Open House with Design Week PDX!

Our next Open Studio event celebrates three years of branding and design magic at Upswept, and we’ll be opening our doors as part of Design Week Portland‘s impressive array of events! We had a great time at our Design Week Portland event last year, and we’re super-excited to share what we’ve been doing in 2014! This night’s …

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