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Chocolate Cactus Designs | The Chocolate Blog bio picture

well, hello there!

Welcome to the Chocolate Cactus blogsite.  A little of this and a little of that, all rolled into one big ball of goodness.  Here you will be able to read the latest, see recent works and read random babbles all in one place.  You're one lucky duck.

With nine years of design experience and an accomplished marketing background, owner and creative director Jodi Bell prefers a straightforward, personalized approach to her design work. "Everything I design is done with marketing in mind," states this former designer for a Houston-based magazine. It is her philosophy that "Standout designs equal effective marketing". The result is that the marketing and branding process is made infinitely easier for her clients. Jodi's portfolio reveals her love of typography and clean, no-frills designs. It is this that makes her designs standout creations that market themselves. 


Chocolate Cactus offers a variety of design work. Jodi's talents include creating complete identities to collateral materials and logo designs. Aside from logos, one of her specialties is custom one-of-a-kind announcements and wedding invitations. Because her clean, fresh designs appeal to a wide variety of industries, her client list includes not only photographers worldwide but also boutiques, auto manufacturers and just about everything in between.

Jodi has a special affinity for her photographer clients, most likely because she's a photographer herself, having won accolades and recognition for her photographic work. A self-professed font queen, Jodi lives in the Houston, Texas area with her husband and four sons. She continues the hunt for clean, fabulous typography...over 3,500 fonts and counting.

FAQ’s

What is the process of designing a logo?

I am asked this question often by my clients, so I thought I would include this on my site to keep from getting Carpal Tunnel from typing it so often.

Once you inquire and decide that you want to go with Chocolate Cactus for logo design, I will ask you to go to the SHOP to make your payment, which is processed via PayPal.  Once the payment is received, I will then send you the password to fill out the logo questionnaire that will help guide me in the process of knowing what it is that you’re looking for.  From there, I will begin working on the concepts – this could mean sketching them out, or just going directly into Illustrator and putting them together, depending on how directly inspired I am.  Once I get the concepts completed, I will send them to you (they will be numbered) and from there, you decide which one(s) you like, and if you want any changes (revisions) made.  I will revise based on your input, then once finalized, I will send you the files.  Please keep in mind that there is a turnaround on getting your concepts to you that can range anywhere between 2-4 weeks depending on my current schedule.  I do not like to rush my work, and would rather take my time getting to know you and your style versus slapping them together and giving you something sub par.

So, in short, here is the process I go through:

Brainstorm

Sketch

Conceptualize

Deliver

Revise

Rinse and repeat

Finalize

Deliver Finals

If you need someone to deliver your logo within 30 minutes in a non-vector, flattened file, then I highly recommend going to the We-Make-Logos-That-Will-Never-Brand-You-And-Only-Cost-$50 companies.  Please remember that rushing never creates a good identity or brand.

How much does a logo cost?

See my Pricetag page for prices of all services I offer.

How many concepts and revisions does this include?

This is also listed on the Pricetag page.  You get 3 concepts and 2 revisions in the logo design package.

What exactly is included in a revision?

A revision is a significant change to a concept.  Small things like scoots, nudges, color changes and font changes are not considered revisions.  Now if you wanted all of these things at once, together they would be considered a full revision.

What if I don’t like any of the concepts and want a whole new one?

I will happily redesign a new concept for you.  See my Pricetag page for a list of charges for additional concepts and revisions.

What file types will I receive?

You will receive an .ai (Adobe Illustrator) file which is the vector file.  All of my work is designed in Illustrator.  If you do not have Illustrator, no need to worry.  This is mostly to be kept on file so that in the event that your printer asks for your logo file, you would have this to give them.  You will also receive any other file types you may need – tiff, jpg, eps, pdf, etc.  My photographer clients will also receive a layered .psd (Adobe Photoshop) file.  All colors are completely editable in this file.   I keep all files on hand so that if you ever lose them, I will always have a copy. All of this is also covered in the Logo Questionnaire/Contract.

I’m worried that I won’t like any of my logo concepts – what if I don’t?  Do I get my money back?

My goal has always been (and always will be) to make you 110% thrilled with your new goods, so I work until you are happy.  I do not want you to learn to love the logo, but want you to love it without thought.  Because graphic design is a creative process and very time intrusive, there are no refunds once I have begun working on your goods as a lot of time is invested in each and every concept and project.  Remember that you are paying for high-quality, uncompromised work.   If, however, you’d like a refund on services that have not yet been started on, please allow 4-6 weeks for such.

I need a logo designed yesterday!  Can you help?

Sure, I offer a rush service which ensures the delivery of your concepts within 48 business hours from payment and receipt of the questionnaire.  To be fair to my other open clients, I charge a fee of $100 on top of the logo design fee for this service.

Do you design signage, banners, billboards, CD covers, etc.?

Yes!  And these are some of my favorite projects.  I charge my hourly rate for this, which can also be found on my Pricetag page.  Contact me for an exact quote.

I am getting married/having a baby soon and want invitations/announcements that are completely custom.  Do you design those?

Absolutely.  Besides logos, my biggest love is custom birth announcements and wedding invitations.  Again, contact me for a quote on this service.

What do you NOT offer?

Printing

Powerpoint presentations/slideshows

Website Design

Psychotherapy

Dog walking

I emailed you 4 milliseconds ago and haven’t heard back!

While I wish I were Wonderwoman (minus the oh-so-lovely primary colored leotard), I’m not quite that fast.  I ask everyone to allow up to 3 business days to hear back from me due to the high volume of emails I receive daily (which is around 100 or so).  Please remember that I am a “one man band”!