Hey, hey, welcome to the Summit Host Hangout Podcast where you'll learn how to host a high converting virtual summit that leads to your biggest signature offer launch yet. I'm your host, Krista from Summit in a Box, and I'm excited to be talking about something a little outside our norm by diving into design and branding for your assignment with a guest today. And I looked back at our episodes and we have not talked about anything related to visuals for your event since episode eight back in 2019, so six years later. I think it's pretty safe to say that we can, like, glean some fresh new perspectives and tips today. And like, design really does matter when it comes to summits. That's one of those things when someone's summit flops. Design is one of the first things I look of course I can point to messaging and positioning and all this stuff, but design truly, truly does matter. And I thought it was time for us to talk about it again today, to give you some background information on the wonderful guest I brought in. She's the creative force behind Soapbox Studio, which is a graphic design agency founded in 1997 which was originally serving Chicago's local businesses that has now evolved into an online business offering membership based design services for digital entrepreneurs. And today, she is passionate about helping business owners, including summit hosts, create visual identities that do good things for their businesses. And in the context of a summit that looks like being able to attract dream speakers. It means boosting registrations, driving sales, building trust, all of those things are so important. So without further ado, let's dive in and talk with Tracey Albrecht of Soapbox Studio. Welcome Tracey.
Hi. Thanks so much for having me.
I'm excited to have you on. You guys, like I have always hesitated to have a designer on again, because I was telling Tracey earlier, I just feel like it's not the most fun conversation, but I had her, I partnered with her, I guess in a way, in a recent summit we hosted in seeing her in action, giving our summit host critiques, having her have a presentation that was so widely loved by our attendees. I was like, okay, like, this is really something people need. It's a conversation we need to have, and I just love her approach on it. So I'm just excited to talk about this topic again, because it's been a while. So...
Yay, me too.
It's gonna be good. Tell us a little bit about you and your business, and we'll dive into talking about this topic.
Okay, well, you gave such an amazing intro. I love it so much. Yeah. So I've been doing this a very long time, like it has been ever since I was a small child, I all I wanted to do was draw and paint and color and, you know, before computers were on the scene, you know, I wanted to be an artist, so I ended up fulfilling my dream, and I get to live it every single day. I just feel, you know, so blessed that I get to do what I love every day and help other business owners specifically have more confidence in their business just by having a more professional look. And that has come about, like the last several years, like I would say, the last five years, we've been focusing a lot on online business owners, because we see the need out there. They do their logo themselves in Canva or other non-design, I'll say programs, even though Canva is kind of a design program, like we have used Illustrator and, you know, all the, you know, design software. So when, when we started seeing these logos come out, and then clients come to us with these logos and say, I just, it just doesn't feel right, like it is, because you're not a designer like and they don't, you know, know what is going to attract their audience. So it's, it's one of those things that I think it's great to start out when you're a new business owner with something simple and basic for a logo, but then grow into hiring someone to at least, at the very least, design your logo. It makes it I know that was a very long
no
thing, but...
That's perfect. I mean, I totally agree with you. It's one of those things that we can get get away with for a while, but when we're ready to, ready to, like, elevate the kinds of clients and customers we're attracting, the visuals need to come with it, because it makes such a strong first impression. And I would say, the more I don't want, I'm trying to think of the right word here. But like, the more experienced your target audience is with hiring and with working with online businesses, I think the more picky they get with like, I make very quick snap judgments. Am I gonna give you however many $1,000 you want from me or not based on how professional it looks? So...
Absolutely and yes, absolutely, and, you know, I think it's just a point, like you said, like it gets to a level in your business where you realize that, like, amateur looking branding and graphics is costing your money, like it's costing you registrations. It's costing you sales. And when you come back to try and figure out why things aren't working, you can usually identify that that's one of the key pieces.
Yeah, and something else I love about you is, you know, I know we'll talk about like, specific offerings and stuff later, though, is that you make it way more like within reach for the typical business owner to get this than really any design studio I've seen before. I'm not gonna have to dish out $10,000 for for a logo, and I just love that about you, and like everyone, something I want you to know about Tracey is how genuine she is, like she has so much love and care for the people she works with. I've collaborated with her multiple times. We're in a Bible study group together that's been going, what, two years now. So like, we talk a lot, and I have never heard anything come from her mouth that is anything other than just like, wanting people to succeed, and it's just beautiful. So she's a wonderful person to look at.
For sure. I love seeing business owners take their, you know, homemade or DIY brand, and level it up to a professional level, because they are professionals. Like most of the women that I have worked with in the past several years, are super smart, super professional. They know what they're doing, they know their audience, but yet they look like they don't, and so that one shift in their brand could just elevate them to the next level. And I've had clients come back to me and say, Look, I got my logo, you know, on a hat or on a mug or something like that. It is official. I am a professional, you know, I hired you to do this, and I am a pro now. And I'm like, That is so awesome. Like, everyone should have their logo on their hat.
Seriously, it's so fun. Okay, well, so we have known each other for a long time, and coming up on one of my recent summits, you reached out to collaborate, because you were like, I see a lot of summits out there who need help, and I would love to offer that help. So I am curious to hear more from you about like, what design mistakes are you seeing over and over that you think are hurting summit hosts?
Yeah, that is something that when I hosted our summit in 2023, I was really diving in, like, in the planning process, like looking at everyone's Summit, like everyone that I could possibly, like, look at, I'm looking at it. And I did notice a lot of, you know, not so great looking visuals in the summit. And so we started actually working with some clients that in the online world that were doing summits, even before we hosted ours and we would help them with their graphics. And I had one a mutual friend of ours, Shelby. She has reached out to us. We've done her summit logos. We've done, you know, summit graphics for her and other visuals for her. And just the level has gone up a notch, you know, in her professionalism with these professional logos and graphics. And so some of the things that I see is not a professional logo, so they'll maybe they'll have one for their company, and then they'll create their summit logo, and it just looks disjointed, or it's in a different color scheme. It, you know, and and color schemes could be different, but it should still kind of, you know, lend itself to your business, you know, your original business, so it doesn't look like a completely different thing. And then just low resolution images on the registration page, just not enough images, too many images, like, there's just such a visual balance that you need, especially on that registration page to, like, give the eye a break, you know, and then have copy and then a graphic or a photograph. So, yeah, just, I think, the balance. And in summative mocks, you do have some templates in there, and if they stick with some of those templates like that is a good start for them, but they have to change the colors to their brand so it doesn't look like a completely different business. And they have to add their own visuals, you know, so it lends itself to their audience. That would be another thing. Like, they really need to, like, think about their audience, and what their audience would be attracted to, not so much, just pretty things, or, you know, pretty graphics. Like, is this really going to like, you know, get to the heart of their audience to make them want to register and attend the summit?
Yeah. And you would, you you probably cry over how many people actually keep the colors we have in our template? And I purposely chose terrible colors, like, so it's like, they will have to change these. They can't just copy the template and have everyone have this literal same exact registration page. They have to change it. They don't, you know, they don't sometimes. So, like, I know people just need to understand this more, why it's important. And I do a lot of like, registration page critiques and stuff. And some things that stand out to me are exactly what you said with the imagery, and sometimes icons where I'm like, Oh honey, you took these really disjointed, cheesy looking photos from a stock photo site. And. It's just not working for you, like your audience is not going to be attracted to this, but oh my goodness, it took me so many years to get a handle on design where I can kind of get away with doing it myself. Now it takes me forever, and it's still significantly better when I have my actual designer do it. But it's not something that just comes natural to mostof us.
No, no, it's not. It takes practice.
So I want to hear from you, why you think these things matter. Why does it matter if we kind of look like amateurs with our design?
Well, you know, there is, there is a market for amateur look, you know, but it's very slim. I would say it's so, so slim that you can just forget about looking like an amateur. Just think you need to look super professional when you're creating a registration page, when you're creating your logo for your summit. Honestly, the bottom line is, it is costing registration clicks. You know, it's costing you people not registering. I've done it. I've I had a friend of mine who was participating in a summit. I went to the summit link that she gave me, and it looked terrible. It was like the speakers were all kind of Photoshop mish Mosh in this big conglomerate, like image. It just looked so bad I couldn't bring myself to register, because I'm just like, What on Earth, like, what kind of Summit is this, you know, and my time, and that's the thing, my time, your time, like, everybody's time, is super valuable. And you're thrown so many different things, so many, you know, opportunities to learn and better yourself, and summits are a great way to do that. But you don't want to waste your time on something that that looks like it might be or not a fit for you. So, yeah, seriously, it's money. You're leaving money on the table when it doesn't look professional.
Truly, I know it can be one of those things where it's kind of painful to part with with money for you, like, I can just do it myself. I can make it good enough, but it really like you will make back that investment, I promise you will make back an investment. I was just thinking back, as you were talking in, a designer was the second position I hired for. I was less, like, about six months into my business. I had just hired a VA for, like, was it like, two hours a week, so, like, barely anything. And I was like, I need a designer, because all of this is garbage. And I, oh my gosh, I've worked with the same designer since 2016 and it's just so freeing to be like this.
Look pretty. Yes, your brand looks like your brand. Like it. It looks seamless across all platforms. Like it is, you know, a good, cohesive brand. And that's what I think. That's just what people need to realize is that it has to reflect, like your business brilliance, you know, and not like looking like you're a little all over the place, so to speak.
Okay, so let's say we have some people listening. They're like, okay, I get it. I need everything to be cohesive. I'm gonna work on it, but I just straight up, cannot hire someone yet. Could you walk us through, maybe your approach when you're designing a summit from scratch? And maybe they could kind of glean some tips for themselves.
Sure. So first and foremost, keep it very simple, if you are doing it yourself, and design or creativeness is not one of your strong suits, especially, or you think it is, but, you know, maybe it just takes you really long time. Just keep it very simple. Use the fonts that you're using in your business branding. Use the color scheme, maybe one other additional color that could really make it pop, you know, so to speak, in a registration page, but keep it very simple. Don't use a complex icon. That's another downfall is like it just looks cluttered. Keep it simple. That is my number one tip. And there are so many graphics that come into play with the summit, so many from the logo to like all the graphics for the Facebook groups and things like that. Again. Just keep those simple. If you can keep them, if you can use one of the templates and Summit in a Box, if you have Summit in a Box, change them out with, you know, maybe a photo with an overlay and the text on top instead of the color blocks or something like that. Something to just keep it simple but cohesive throughout the whole summit.
Yeah. What do you think? Like, I feel like polished is kind of like a hot, hot word. With design, we want everything to look polished and cohesive. Like, do you? Can you point out any specifics of what makes something look polished first versus not?
Yeah? So non polished is very busy. Like, extra busy. One of the things that we see a lot with logo design is they'll put icons in there and try and represent, like, every part of their audience, you know, like crafters will put in scissors and this and that and whatever, and and you just can't do. It's just it. It's a. Visual like clutter, you know, and people just don't like that when they look at it. So that that's one thing that could make it look a little more polished, is just a nice font corresponding, you know, font that goes with it, or even the same font and a lighter weight, or something like that. Or heads, sub heads, just go with one font, bold, light, you know, things like that, and then, like I said, the the photos with like an overlay. I know Canva can do this where you have the photo and then a colored overlay, and then the copy in white, or if it's really light, the copy in black. And that will give, like, a little bit of a graphic element, but still have the copy be the priority. Whatever you're trying to say be the priority.
I love including photos of different kinds in some graphics on the registration page, because I have seen registration pages. Actually just critiqued one earlier this week where I was like, there are no humans on this page, except for your speakers, huge. Like we people are attracted to people, we need to add, like a human element to this. And images help so much, like they do throughout. So I love you pointing out that you can just, you can put it in the background and put an overlay over it in your brand colors and like that. Also, I feel like frees you up from having to find the perfect image with just the right colors and all that. The overlay can fix a lot of that.
Right, right. Because when we do a full brand like we will find images that have like those colors of your brand and the audience like in the image. But yes, it's a great hack to get away from having. You can find a great image and put the color on top of it, and then it's branded to match your brand.
I was also thinking back to like, the critiques you did at the summit, and some of the feedback you were giving over and over, some of the feedback I've given over and over. Something else that comes to mind when I'm thinking of polished graphics are a lot of people who aren't familiar with design will have, like, their text, and I don't know, everything in the image like, or on a website page, like going right up against the edges, like, we need a little breathing room, so that gives some space around, you know, the outside of things. But like, like you said, the simpler the better. A lot of times. And it keeps you from being able to mess things up the simpler you keep it.
Yeah, and too many font like styles, that is, I think we saw that a lot, too, on the feedbacks, like a variety of fonts like to and just pare it down to fonts if you want to go crazy one font, if you want to keep it simple, and then just vary the weight, you know, on those fonts. And yeah. And think of like, attention span of everyone is so short, like, and it's getting shorter as time goes on. So you need to make sure that your pages are readable, that the message is clear, and fonts that are going to the end and touching each other, and all this stuff is, yeah, it just, it doesn't keep people's attention. They'll just bounce right off of that.
Yep, yep. We need space to breathe and room to skim. I love it. I hope that that is, like, freeing for you to hear that, like, simpler is better, and that's just like, your best bet when you're doing it by yourself.
Yeah, yeah. And like, you know, when you want to get a little bit more, you know, involved in your logo or layouts, and that that's when you need a designer, because they'll know, we know, like, how much we can push the envelope on some of those things. And... yeah.
Okay, well, let's just take that in transition. I'm just so in love with your affordable packages. The way you support people. Can you tell us a little bit about I know you help people with logos that would be perfect for a summit logo, or any logo, and then I know you like will do summit graphics and everything for people.
Yes, we have done a lot of summit logos, and they are so much fun. I'm sure some people listening probably had a logo done by us, and it's a form that you fill out. Basically, we have streamlined our logo design. It is so funny to us because we've been doing this so long. And for the first I would say, 20 years of my business, I would meet with clients and go over their business and talk about their colors and talk about this, you know, like, really, in person do all of this, and now we have it so streamlined. These questions that we would ask in person are on an online form. You fill it all out, and we ask all the main questions that we need to know, you know, like your company, name, the tagline, if you have existing colors, if you hate certain colors, like we want to know that you know fonts, if you love certain fonts, if you hate certain fonts, icons, logos that you love or hate, telling us a little bit about your company or your summit and telling us about your ideal client. Those are. All things that we really need to know in designing a logo and getting them down on a form has streamlined the process so much that we have been able to price it out as a package with two options, and we rarely have had to go over the timeframe that we allow. So it is a lot of fun we've had. I mean, we've done hundreds of logos with this package so far, and it's really, we really enjoy it.
I can see why it's amazing. I have the page pulled up right now. If you could hear me clicking around, that's what I was doing. Y'all. If you are used to seeing $5000 $10,000 logo packages, please go into the show notes and click over to this link. There are not four digits in this price tag. It is ridiculous and wonderful at the same time. I love, I love how simple you were able to make this. Like I have gotten custom logos done by several companies back before I started Summit in a Box, and it was just this long, drawn out. And like some some pieces of the process were fun, right? But, like, sometimes we just need a logo, like logo on a budget, done well, with the right things in mind. And it doesn't need to be this big, long production for I don't want to say no reason, because I know these people like, they're really passionate about what they do, and they have a reason, but this is just wonderful. So...
Absolutely, and we have done all sorts of logos over the course of our, you know, 27 years here, like I have, you know, taken months developing a brand for clients and custom illustrations in their logos, you know, things like that. But this package is geared specifically to online business owners, and it is, yeah, like you said, Krista, it just streamlines it down where our expertise. I have been doing this for 30 something years, just in my coworker for 25 years. You know, we know what we're doing. You know, at this stage in our game. So we're, we feel confident that we can streamline it down like this and make, you know, a regular design agency create your logo for a very affordable price, so to speak. You know, yeah.
Oh, I love it so much. And I would also love to hear about your logo brainstorming guide, too. Again, for the people who want to do it themselves or do some brainstorming before they come to you, can you tell us a little bit about that?
Yeah, that is actually how I set up the lead magnet was just kind of a preliminary for clients to start getting their ideas and then handing it over to us. But what we have found was this was an actual great resource for them to create their own logos. If they needed to create their own logos, maybe they can't afford to hire us right now. Maybe they're in a time crunch. They just wanted to do something simple. So this is a good resource. If you need to create your logo yourself, download this guide. It's free. We have some font pairings in it as well, so that will get you started. And yeah, and it's, I think it's fun. We set it up in a fun way.
I love it. Thank you so much, Tracey, this is all so great. I'm just grateful you were able to be here and hopefully make design both, like, less scary again, keep it simple and for like, if you want to just get some of this off your plate, we have some really great options. So I really appreciate that. Thank you so much, and thank you so much for everyone tuning in for show notes, resources, links to all of Tracey's goodness. Go ahead to the link in the episode description, wherever you're listening. We'll have it all in there for now. Go out and take action to plan, strategize and launch your high converting virtual summit.
