NNBW Support Your Local Business Sweepstakes profile: Design on Edge

EDITOR'S NOTE: On April 7, the NNBW launched the “Support Your Local Business Sweepstakes” as a way to support local businesses in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Throughout the Sweepstakes in April, May and June, we'll be featuring each of our business partners in a special Q-and-A. Today, we profile Design on Edge.

NNBW: Tell us about your business and some of the most important services you provide?

Answer: Design on Edge is a boutique creative agency based in Reno, Nevada, a full-service creative studio and integrated digital marketing agency specializing in design, logo development, brand strategy, advertising, campaigns, and website design. As a team, we strive for the absolute best in cutting edge design and business identity. Our goal is to build better relationships between the business owner and the consumer through strategic marketing and one-of-a-kind branding. We are collaborative problem solvers who listen to our client's challenges and find smart and creative solutions offering effective and impactful creative campaigns based on decades of experience. We like to think of ourselves as visual storytellers, a team of creatives who carefully assemble images, typography, or motion graphics to create visual concepts that communicate and inspire.

NNBW: What are some of the key things your business does to ensure premium levels of customer service?

Answer: We are committed to the community first. As a woman-owned, family business supporting the city and small businesses is an area we take great pride in helping. Our team was established with a creative first approach. With the desire to support our customers in a way they feel like they are always a priority, we are flexible, adaptive, and accessible. We are designers and visual storytellers foremost, and then we work collectively to share those visuals with a vast community in a way that they are effective and provide trackable results in a multitude of mediums. Every project that enters our studio and the new or potential clients we connect with will experience insight and an honest approach from every member of our team. We thrive on the creative process and building sustainable relationships with our clients. Projects we work on often include a significant level of collaboration with other like-minded entrepreneurs and community stakeholders, so at the end of the day, we have not only provided a successfully branded project, but we have helped to build our client's network. We spend a great deal of time doing our research on the client and their industry. We work one-on-one with our clients through several processes to accurately identify the client's goals to provide long term solutions. We feel it is essential that when building or developing a brand, we generate an iconic voice and coordinating visuals that help guide the client's marketing efforts for the future. Our creative team has been recognized regionally and nationally for work in design, marketing, and adverting. We provide client consultations as companies change over time as well as provide immediate solutions in times of crisis.

NNBW: What makes Northern Nevada such a great place to own and operate a business?

Answer: Northern Nevada is an extraordinary place to own a business. When you operate a company in our community, you are supported by so many individuals and fellow entrepreneurs. Our passion is helping people achieve their dreams, so having the opportunity to connect with driven, like-minded people is an incredible experience. We are a family-owned business, and the network we have established through the past decade has allowed us to expand that sense of family into a personal and professional network. In addition to the opportunities for collaboration, the philanthropic spirit of Nevada is unmatched. We are a smaller company, perhaps even much more than our industry peers, but the heart and soul of our companies values are directly tied to the roots of this Battle Born state.

NNBW: As a local business owner, why do you feel it's important to give back to the community?

Answer: We proudly call Northern Nevada home; we want our clients to succeed in not only business but in their individual lives. It's important to us that our families and the families of our team have the resources and support they need. At Design on Edge, we strive to be a collaborative force, and responsible member of our community while remaining committed to the organizations we love. We feel that by supporting our community, they will reciprocate that support us back in times of crisis, times of transition, and even in times of success. We built a company we can be proud of and have aligned ourselves with organizations, causes, and individuals that share the same values. It's important to us that every business we work with carries the same mission to support a charity or cause that inspires them. We also feel it's essential to support those in our industry and the efforts they are committed to. By helping one another in times of positive growth, we have a stronger bond in times of crisis.

NNBW: What are you doing to support other local businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic?

Answer: At Design on Edge, we responded immediately to the crisis; we represent the marketing efforts of the Riverwalk District, organized by a collation of more than 75 businesses directly affected by the business shutdowns, in addition to 2-dozen other companies in our area. Beyond that, so many of our peers and partners were also affected. Ultimately we have strived to become a resource for our peers, the media, and small businesses. Our primary initiative was the development of the Reno Resilient campaign, a partnership we developed with MUSE Group. This online platform allows us to introduce the community to local experts, through free online courses, while at the same time empowering individuals to learn new skills and help meaningful causes supporting others during the crisis. We have successfully organized grocery donations to assist seniors, individuals on fixed incomes, and those vulnerable to the virus while still supporting local markets and vendors. We have been instrumental in migrating most of our organizations and client accounts to a virtual format through education and upgraded website development. Recently our team helped participate and launch effective campaigns for the Community Caregivers Initiative, Stay Home for Heroes, COVID Nevada Strong, Virtual Giving, and Small Business Strong. We have collaborated with other industry peers to help activate programs to support the arts, through a virtual concert series sponsored by Wild River Grille and Sierra Arts. Our company assisted with Rounds Bakeries' efforts through the Feed Our Heroes Program, which is committed to feeding local ER staff and first responders. Currently, we are organizing videos highlighting Riverwalk businesses that showcase their pioneering spirit during this transition; we have spearheaded the creation of virtual thank you cards, enabling virtual tip jars, and assisted in efforts to support students at home. We have also significantly contributed to the development of several local podcasts, live interviews, and virtual media platforms to help other local solopreneuers and business owners share their current experiences. Our efforts are endless and driven by our passion and purpose to provide relevant and inspiring content and resources to the community. Our team, although remote works together, tirelessly to help every one of our clients and their families in hopes that we will be stronger tomorrow.