Los Angeles, California, United States
raven + crow studio is a Brooklyn-born, Los-Angeles-based creative agency that specializes in not being jerks.
Also, non-profit, corporate, and small business branding; logo development; design fro screens and print; web design; marketing strategy;
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3 customer reviews
Kate Caldwell ElderTree
Raven and Crow created my logo 9 years ago. I can not tell you how many positive compliments I have had. Katie and Troy have been great to work with, all of the design work they complete for my business is above and beyond.
Reviewed on Facebook
Krimsey R.
Professional, kind, and talented! Â Troy and Katie do some amazing design work and they really care about what they are creating.
Reviewed on Yelp
Tree F.
I work for a non-profit and have used Raven and Crow many times to design invitations. I also hired them for a few special projects, including event photography and the creation of a manual. Â Troy and Katie have a beautiful aesthetic and always create the perfect product for my needs. Â They meet all deadlines, and are very friendly. Â I couldn't imagine using any other design firm. More...
Reviewed on Yelp
What makes a great website?
A great company/organization/individual—the days of crazy, intense, bells-and-whistles sites are long past and we've thankfully moved into a time where content is king. We're done tricking people into loving us. The best site is the most transparent site that shows clear through to the core of who it represents and communicates that in an uncluttered way with direct messaging and beautiful, honest, (non-stock) images.
What questions might you ask a client when starting a new project?
What's the why. Meaning, why are you doing what you're doing and what makes you good at it. In this ever-expanding world made all the more large with widespread use of the web, the field is beyond crowded—regardless of what you're doing, there's someone else out there doing it too. How do you 'sell yourself' to your audience and what are your goals, short- and long-term.
Describe your creative process.
The nitty gritty depends on the project, be it design for screen or print, illustration work, branding, or bigger picture marketing. But they all start in the same place—us getting to know you and what you do, taking your insider knowledge of that and playing it against our outside perception of your work to shed light on your audiences' perceptions of you and how they are and/or aren't working for you and your goals. Then it's a matter of identifying new, creative avenues to get your message and mission out there (that's the fun part).
What information do you need from a client before you can start work?
All of it. Seriously. We want to get to know you and your work—past and present—as much as we can. We need to be brought up to speed on everything you're doing in terms of creative and marketing so as to best understand how to improve upon the work and get you closer to where you want to be in your field. If you were happy with where you are, you wouldn't be reading this, so tell us why.
What do you love most about your job?
We allude to this elsewhere, but the thing that's kept us going for the past 10+ years is when we get to use our skills, creativity, and experience to further missions and products we really believe in. Sure, we have to keep the lights on, but it's so so fulfilling when we get to see our work directly advancing things like environmental sustainability, animal advocacy, equal rights, cruelty-free, responsibly made products, and the myriad other causes and goods we feel are going towards the greater good.
What inspired you to start your own business?
We love working together and for ourselves, and we're good at it. Getting to call the shots, leaning on our experience working together in the creative field for over ten years, and lending those skills to our long list of clients is something that's hard to not love doing.
Why should our clients choose you?
See above?
No, we don't mean to come off as overly confident and there are many, many skilled freelancers and firms out there, but we've been doing this for a long time. And well. What we always come back to as a longterm strength is the prioritizing of strong, long client relationships. We have clients that we've worked with regularly for the entire life of our firm and we love that. We love being—effectively—the creative department for so many great small businesses, not-so-small businesses, individuals, and multinational non-profits. It's awesome.
Branding
Site Design
Design for Print + Screens
Illustration
Marketing
Art Direction