Today I Wrapped Up a Branding Project...
I try to only tap in with the Substack community every couple of weeks but I had to get this off my chest. Today, I wrapped up a branding project.
And instead of riding the high of a finished identity system, I spent five hours exporting logo lockups.
Nine versions.
Three file types.
Nine colorways.
Multiple resolutions.
Manual. Every. Step.
By the end, my brain felt like a soggy artboard.
Now to be clear—this isn’t me throwing shade at client work. I still take on the occasional branding project while I continue building Ideate. It keeps the bills paid. Keeps me sharp. Keeps me grounded in the real problems we’re trying to solve. It’s part of the grind. And honestly, I love the work.
But this part?
The production slog?
The death-by-export phase?
This is not the work designers should be doing.
These moments are exactly why I’m building Ideate in the first place.
We didn’t get into design to spend hours babysitting files.
Or clicking through dropdowns for every single logo variant.
Or compressing creativity into folders labeled “Final_final_really_final_v2.”
Designers should be solving problems, not stuck in production purgatory.
And while I’m still proud to be a designer—and even prouder to still be in the trenches—it’s clear the process is broken.
Design is a high-leverage skill trapped in low-leverage workflows.
That’s what we’re fixing with Ideate.
Better tools. Smarter processes. Less grunt work. More actual design.
Because every hour you spend clicking “Export As” is an hour you’re not pushing ideas forward.
And frankly, the work deserves better than that.
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Building for designers.
Built by one who’s been in the trenches.