Luck of the Irish
March 12, 2025
After 25 years of bringing Irish culture to the Midwest, the Michigan Irish Music Festival (MIMF) needed a change, and they needed it now. The
After 25 years of bringing Irish culture to the Midwest, the Michigan Irish Music Festival (MIMF) needed a change, and they needed it now. The
In marketing, design serves as both a strategic Swiss army knife and an artistic playground—and when you put it that way, it’s an unlikely pairing.
Navigating the legalities of fonts can be a perplexing endeavor, particularly for busy entrepreneurs and marketers striving to make their content shine in the crowded
Video has become one of the most effective tools for building a deeper connection with customers. Look at TikTok, Instagram Reels, YouTube, streaming ads, and
Branding is a powerful tool that can make or break a company, but did you know that it can also be used in pop culture?
We love our dogs, you know that and we love design– you also know that. We couldn’t resist matching up the #dogsof834 with graphic design
When we say we work with a bunch of different industries, we mean it…and yes, that is your official whiplash warning. If you read our
“Good design is a matter of discipline. It starts by looking at the problem and collecting all the available information about it. If you understand
Summer in Michigan is what songs are written about—just ask Kid Rock. We spend our time outside by fires, inhaling ice cream, boating, and heading
Welcome to our second edition of brand fails, it’s when we call out brands for some really weird, insulting, idiotic products or campaigns. Our 2016
Mood boards serve as a bridge between concepts and the creation of a brand. They are your design process roadmap, if you will. They identify
This blog is dedicated to Frank Blossom, he was one seriously cool dude and our industry was better because of him. Below is a picture
Welcome to part deux of Email Marketing Best Practices, read the first here and let us remind you to NEVER BUY AN EMAIL LIST. You
We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: websites are living, breathing things. You can’t just “set it and forget it.” Well, okay, you
We’re pretty sure a person’s attention span nowadays is .00001 second, which means no one is reading all of those words you’re writing. In fact,
We’re not big into feelings and lovey-dovey stuff over here but we have to tell you, 2021 wouldn’t have happened without our incredible clients. Partnering
We’ve done a lot of reflecting in the past month. From Top 5 PR Wins to our Top 5 Opinions, needless to say 2021 was
Being an integrated communications agency means we focus on not only inbound but also outbound marketing, and print is an important part of that. Outbound
Do you even exist if you don’t have a website? The answer is no, which is why we are writing another blog on website trends
It’s winter, in Michigan and we have at least 60 more days of it. It’s hard to tell when we’re spending all day, every day
First off, if you haven’t read part one of our Healthy Battle Creek case study, go do that now. We’ll wait.All set? Good. Let’s continue.
We know the phrase “work from home” has taken on a new meaning in these last several months…or has it been years? We usually write
We can’t contain ourselves anymore. We LOVE fall, including the scarves, cozy sweaters, falling leaves, crisp autumn air, spiked apple cider and plaid…all the plaid.
Every year, we have the pleasure of being a part of the Michigan Celebrates Small Business (MCSB) Awards Gala, an event that celebrates and acknowledges
KNX Utility Services first came to us without any sort of logo or branding at all. Immediately, we knew we needed to do something. 77%
As marketing people, we spend a lot of time explaining to people that their logo is not their brand, it’s part of it sure…but it
We love doing color palette blogs, and you guys eat ‘em up like candy. As far as we’re concerned, it’s a win-win. Anyway, we know
We like to reminisce at the end of the year. As a team, we reflect on our wins, losses and everything in between. We wake
When we say integrated communications is our jam, we really, really mean it. Our client, BCVision, is an initiative of the Battle Creek Community Foundation.
We love our creative team. Whether they’re whipping up flyers for a client’s last-minute conference or designing a logo for a new company, our team
Be honest. How excited were you when you saw this blog? Super excited? We know. And you should be! The last time we wrote about
If you couldn’t tell from our recent storytelling blog, all of us at 8THIRTYFOUR are huge fans of writing. We’re an integrated communications firm, after
Now that the holidays are far behind us, it’s time to move past the tacky in-your-face reds and greens that we associate with the season
With the official start of fall just around the corner, the 8THIRTYFOUR design team is exploring warmer color palettes for seasonal designs for our clients.
Have you ever swooned over a beautifully designed logo? Have you ever seen that same logo immediately ruined by the use of Papyrus, or a
Halloween just passed and in true 8THIRTYFOUR style, the day was marked with lots of treats…and a few tricks – we like to keep things
You know the adage “cobbler’s children never have shoes”? It’s a phrase that resonates around here. We LOVE our clients, and we LOVE what our
Edit: Wow, you guys really like this blog! That’s why we updated it. Check out this blog, and then read our new edition to learn
It’s officially summer, a.k.a. the best time of year! It doesn’t get much better than beaches, ice cream, drinks on the patio (beer for me,
A study conducted by Yahoo’s Aabaco Small Business shows that 83% of eCommerce customers never buy the stuff in their cart. (Hint: eCommerce customers = people who are
There’s one place on earth about 90% of shoppers can agree is “their happy place.” The wonderland of Target is indeed a tempting place to
Print is by no means, dead. Print, unlike any other form of branding material offers a tactile, engaging display of your brand, that if presented
This is an old post! Check out our updated one here. Graphic design and public relations are often thought of as two separate disciplines, independent
Pantone’s 2017 Color of the Year: Greenery There has been a lot of talk about Pantone’s choice for the 2017 Color of The Year. We
Your favorite color is yellow? That’s great, but I don’t care. As the creative you’ve hired to develop a compelling and effective brand identity, it’s
As a creative director for a small, but thriving, integrated communications agency, my days are, by definition, anything but typical. Generally I’m pretty all over
We live and breathe branding at 834. In fact, we are in the midst of two very large projects which got us thinking about politics
Clients often come to us with rebranding requests of all shapes and sizes. It’s rare, however, to find anyone outside the industry with an in-depth understanding
It may not bea glamorous topic, but knowledge of file types and uses is inherently necessary in the design industry. So how does this effect you?
Here in West Michigan we are surrounded by a thriving art and design culture. The West Side is host to multiple art museums, art-focused organizations
‘Less is more’ is a little cliché, but for the sake of argument, we aren’t going to reinvent the wheel. It’s a concept that applies
Typography is absolutely essential to every project a designer creates: layout, composition, brand identity, etc., because type can convey almost any message to your audience.
Today we are taking things in a different direction. Today we are talking about design thinking. Since I am currently the most dissatisfied airline passenger there
We live in a digital age. We are constantly consumed by so much digital messaging that we have to actively turn off those receptors to
In today’s world with knowledge only a keyboard click away, the amount of information can be overwhelming. We’ve picked out some of our favorite online
Everyone always asks us, what is integrated communications? What do you mean 834 is an “integrated communication firm”? Here is the deal. A long time
There’s a lot more to planning an event than, well, simply planning the damn thing. It takes massive amounts of energy and dedication to properly execute event
Staying detached from your client work is a key part of being a graphic designer. That may sound really strange off the bat, but let
Recently we had the opportunity to work with a brother and sister team that are taking the local business world by storm. Rosa and Mario
If you are going to partake in social media, then it is important to customize your account. Twitter is no different than Facebook in that
We love clients with unique and creative names. The Funky Junk Flea is Grand Rapids’ weekly vintage flea market that runs from June to August.
I often say that I love our client, because without a doubt it is true. We have had the pleasure of working with a local
West Michigan based Elite Masonry needed to expand their presence through the launch of a new website and social media initiatives. 834 worked with Elite
A logo was needed for a small business focused on providing your dog with only the best in bones. 834 designer, Chris Koens, developed a
The team at 834, worked on a logo, website and set-up of social media networks for a newly formed marketing organization called the Vignette Group.
Industry: Food Client: Michigan Celery Services Performed: Branding Description: Develop a new brand to reflect the history of the co-op, while also capturing the new
Industry: Online Marketing Client: Sweet Marketing Group Services Performed: Public relations, branding, media relations, graphic design, business development, copywriting Description: Re-brand the company to reflect
Industry: GovernmentCommunications Client: SHE Marketing Services Performed: Logo designBusiness card design Description: Work with business owner to develop a logo design that would appeal to
Industry: Retail Client: First 15 Sportswear (www.first15sports.com) Services Performed: Branding, Logo Design Description: The owner of First 15 Sportswear approached 834, asking for assistance with
Industry: Education Client: Grand Valley State University (www.gvsu.edu) Services Performed: Graphic Design – Ad, Print, Web Description: GVSU Alumni Relations contacted 834 to develop several
Industry: Life Science, Medical Device, Product Development, Manufacturing Client: Keystone Solutions Group (www.keystone-pd.com) Services Performed: Design, Public Relations, Branding, Marketing Strategy and more Description: 834
Industry: Refractory, Infrastructure, Construction Client: Empire Solutions Services Performed: Develop overall marketing plan, PR campaign to re-introduce company to local community, logo design, branding, marketing
Industry: Construction, Design & Build Client: The Granger Group Services Performed: Copyrighting, design, project management Description: 834 worked with the internal team to develop an