It’s been a wild year that challenged us in ways we never expected. But it was well worth it because we pushed ourselves to take on larger, involved projects and bring our amazing clients even more original ideas.

So now that we have a moment, we’re reflecting on what happened to (and for) KEYLAY in 2019. The lessons learned, our triumphs, and what 2020 will bring.

Starting with…

Embracing Some Unique Design Challenges

During the year, we had the opportunity to take on some significant projects for our clients. Here are two of our favorites:

Working a Little Trade Show Magic
When one of our clients came to us needing assets for an upcoming trade show, we jumped into action. There was one little issue though. They didn’t have all of the images needed to promote their exclusive products.

There wasn’t enough time to hire a professional photographer. The clock was ticking and the exhibition date was looming. So the client asked us to figure out a solution that would work with what they had.

Luckily, they had recently shot a professional video, which showed their products in action. We enlarged the footage and took screenshots of the equipment. From there, we used a little photoshop magic to clean up and combine the images for the booth design.

This workaround proved to be a resourceful solution for a time-sensitive issue. The end result was a success. Our client was pleased and received rave reviews from trade show guests.

Blending Illustration with Interactive Elements
When a company has a complex product, it can be challenging to relay exactly how it works in reality. We were tasked with showing how a component buried within a piece of industrial equipment functioned.

Our client wanted to display this using illustrations and interactive imagery.

One of the biggest hurdles we faced with this project was to combine both the component and machine to make them look like they matched. When our team received the elements, the tones and shading of the illustrations were off. When paired with the photos, they didn’t seem like they belonged together.

Everything looked flat.

So we dove in and did a few tweaks to the color schemes and tones. This experimentation led to an effect that was cohesive and realistic. We altered the illustrations and made them transparent.

When the products were shown in use, everything looked like it was part of the same scene. The final design looked great and was an exercise in troubleshooting graphics to create one unified image.

We Expanded Our Horizons

KEYLAY made it passed the decade mark. In 2019, we celebrated our 11th year. During that time, we’ve seen many design trends come and go. Designed new brands and revamped old ones.

In all of this time, though, there is one thing we’ve been hesitant to do.

Enter design competitions. Cue dramatic music.

One of our goals for 2019 was not only to challenge ourselves creatively but also as a business. It’s intimidating to know our work will be judged beside some of the most recognizable design agencies in the world.

But there comes a time when a business has to do something different if it wants to grow. As KEYLAY’s owner and creative director, Kyle Strahl, stated, “Doing something is better than doing nothing.”

So we took a chance, and it paid off.

We created a list of the top advertising and marketing competitions that made sense for us to enter.

First up was the MarCom Awards. We only had a couple of weeks to decide which categories to enter and pull together the projects before the final deadline.

We entered submissions in four categories: trade show exhibition design, website redesign, logo design, and packaging design.

Out of those four, KEYLAY took home three awards, two gold, and one platinum.

The lesson learned here is no matter the outcome, sometimes you have to just jump right in the deep end.

We Worked with the City of Atlanta

This year, our team embarked on a project where we could make a significant difference for the city. It took over eight months of back and forth with city decision-makers before the final sign was approved.

Working directly with the City of Atlanta, we helped drivers visually interpret confusing parking signage. The new design not only simplified parking lot rules, but helped cut down on costly tickets and fees.

So far, the response we’ve received from people has been nothing but positive. It’s exciting to see our far-reaching this design has become.

We’re Dedicated to Building a Better KEYLAY

Sometimes we’re so focused on doing the work that we forget to look for ways to improve how we work.

As part of our plans for 2020, we’re going to standardize KEYLAY’s process and make it easier to guide clients through their projects. We’re going to implement more systems related to design kickoffs and project progression.

Clients deserve to have a clear understanding of how each design moves from point A to B. And we’re going to give it to them.

These improvements will go beyond the day-to-day.

We’re also working on some exciting changes going on within our own brand. Did someone say ‘new office?’ Maybe. But for now, we’ll keep it as a surprise.

Here’s to 2020!

We plan to work with even more amazing clients and continue giving back to the Atlanta community. While we can’t predict the future, we’re excited about what comes next for KEYLAY.

So as we put 2019 to bed, we’re looking forward to building brands and spreading our creative wings even further in 2020.

Three cheers for the New Year!