Monday Meeting

In this episode, host Lee Smalt welcomes Ashton Hauff, co-founder of Bismarck-based branding studio The Good Kids, for a conversation on brand strategy and its role in the creative process.
This episode covers:
Strategy as the foundation for creative work: Building a strategy phase into every project — before any visual work begins — gives both the creative team and the client a shared vocabulary and a clear framework for decision-making, reducing subjective disagreements and last-minute surprises.
The "Slingshot Method": The Good Kids structures their process in three phases — strategy, creative, and activation — with strategy serving as the launch point that makes everything downstream smoother and more intentional.
Four pillars of brand strategy: A thorough strategy examines the company, its customers, its competition, and the broader cultural context, ultimately distilling those findings into a singular brand idea and an emotionally compelling brand story.
Distinguishing brand strategy from marketing strategy: Brand strategy defines who you are, what you believe, and how you look and sound; marketing strategy builds on that foundation to determine where and how you show up to reach your audience.
Clients want to be passengers, not drivers: Most clients want confidence in the process more than control over it. A structured strategy phase helps clients trust the creative team to lead, while still feeling involved and heard throughout.
Handling pushback on strategy: Rather than selling strategy as a separate service, bundling it into core packages reduces friction. When clients push back, asking about their business goals and long-term investment in things like signage or websites often helps illustrate why upfront strategy saves money down the road.
Knowing when to walk away: Maintaining an internal red flag list helps identify difficult client relationships early. For borderline situations, adding a percentage to the project bid can offset the extra friction — but some clients simply aren't the right fit.
Applying your own process to yourself: Using the same strategy frameworks on your own business — even if it takes longer to prioritize — leads to clearer positioning and stronger client alignment over time.

Upcoming Events/Schedule:
Game night was postponed — a new date will be announced in the Monday Meeting Discord
Next week's guest: New York-based art director Mary Hawkins, continuing the conversation on strategy and visual branding
Visit MondayMeeting.org for this episode and other conversations from the motion design community!

SHOW NOTES:
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Ashton’s LinkedIn
The Good Kids

In this episode, host Lee Smalt leads an open conversation on branding and marketing strategy.
This episode covers:
Starting with strategy before branding: Before investing time in logos, fonts, or website platforms, freelancers benefit from answering foundational questions about who they serve, what problems they solve, and why they do what they do — a step many creatives skip when entering freelance work.
Defining your "why": Revisiting your core purpose regularly helps clarify which clients and projects to pursue. Completing a brand discovery questionnaire at least twice a year can surface insights that feel redundant but reveal deeper clarity with each pass.
Niching by client personality, not just industry: Your target market doesn't have to be defined by a vertical like fintech or healthcare — it can be defined by the type of people you want to work with, such as those who are collaborative, appreciative, and reliable.
Qualifying leads with intention: Rather than broadcasting availability on LinkedIn, focusing on building genuine relationships with people at target studios — starting with peers and working up — tends to yield stronger results than cold applications.
Authenticity over polish in self-promotion: Showing your face, sharing your process, and being genuinely enthusiastic about your work outperforms highly produced content. Audiences and clients can sense when enthusiasm is real versus performed.
Networking as a long-term practice: Consistent, low-pressure outreach — commenting on posts, sending connection requests with personal notes, attending speed networking events — builds visibility over time and is more effective than sporadic high-effort pushes.
Overcoming executive dysfunction and inertia: Breaking strategy tasks into smaller steps and using body-doubling or co-working sessions can help creatives who struggle to start, especially when facing something as broad and open-ended as defining a personal brand.
Upcoming Events/Schedule:
TONIGHT (march 4th) Community Game Night (Gartic Phone) at 6 PM Pacific / 7 PM Mountain / 9 PM Eastern — details in the Monday Meeting Discord
"March of Robots" drawing challenge running throughout March — jump in anytime, no daily commitment required
Next week's guest: Ashton Hauff, CEO of The Good Kids (Bismarck marketing company) — discussing her approach to strategy
Visit MondayMeeting.org for this episode and other conversations from the motion design community!
SHOW NOTES:
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Lee’s Brand Discovery Form
March of Robots Drawing Challenge
Austin Saylor’s 200K Program

In this themed discussion episode, host Jen Van Horn leads a wide-ranging conversation about defining "good taste" in the creative industry.

This episode covers:
"Good taste" as a buzzword: The phrase has become overused and under-defined, leaving emerging artists frustrated with no clear benchmark to work toward — especially as it increasingly comes up in conversations about standing out from AI.
Taste is subjective and cyclical: What's considered good taste today was often criticized or rejected in the past, from the Impressionists to flashy gradients finding their way into major brand campaigns. Taste shifts constantly and no single standard holds forever.
Taste vs. experience: Rather than an innate quality, taste is better understood as accumulated experience — the ability to discern, articulate, and connect creative decisions to context and audience over time.
Soul over technical perfection: Technical correctness gets work into consideration, but distinctiveness and personal voice are what make it stand out. Pursuing perfection at the expense of finishing and sharing work can actively hold artists back.
Don't chase trends: By the time you arrive at a trend, it's already moved on. Learning from trends is valuable, but building a point of view is more sustainable than following someone else's agenda.
Good taste in client work is a conversation: In freelance and client contexts, taste is less about personal aesthetic and more about listening carefully, mirroring client language, and aligning creative vision with their goals through the discovery process -but also recognizing when you’re not the right fit!
Artist vs. designer distinction: Personal artistic expression and client work operate by different rules. When working for a client, the job is to solve their problem — separating that from personal art practice is a healthy and necessary boundary.

Upcoming Events/Schedule:
Next week: Open discussion on branding and marketing strategies, hosted by Lee Smalt
Game night: March 4th (Gartic Phone)

Visit MondayMeeting.org for this episode and other conversations from the motion design community!

SHOW NOTES:
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“Good Taste” LinkedIn Discussion

In this open discussion episode, the Monday Meeting team discuss pricing negotiations, client communication, testimonials, and building a focused freelance business.
This episode covers:
Pricing confidence and boundaries: Never undercut yourself—costs you money to take less money, with emphasis on qualifying leads upfront and establishing clear rate anchors that filter inappropriate clients
Discovery call essentials: Always discuss budget during the first call to avoid sticker shock, using casual approaches like "let's talk about the budget” while building relationship rapport
Contract protection strategies: Beyond legal documents, relationships matter most—implement 50-25-25 payment structures, rush fees, scope change fees, and revision limits to protect your business
Testimonial best practices: Write testimonials for clients first to activate reciprocity bias, request specific feedback areas (technical skills, communication, project management) rather than generic praise, and follow up within days of project completion
Focus over breadth: Select maximum three specialized pillars (like character design, 2D animation, game development) rather than marketing yourself as a generalist—word of mouth within focused sectors compounds faster
Portfolio clarity: Avoid creative industry jargon like "keyframe ninja" or "rockstar"—clients need concrete understanding of what you deliver and how it solves their business problems

Upcoming Events:
Game Night scheduled for March 4th at 6PM Pacific
Next week's episode will feature a themed discussion (theme TBD)
Visit MondayMeeting.org for this episode and other conversations from the motion design community!

SHOW NOTES:
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Open Pixel Studios Price Calculator
Get Wright On It Price Guide
Tiny Testimonials
Jen’s Testimonial Page
Alignable

In this week's episode, host Jen Van Horn speaks with Will Colón and Kathryn Taccone of Open Pixel Studios about navigating the current industry landscape, content strategy for 2026, and staying grounded as creative business owners.
This episode covers:
Two years of nomadic living: Will and Kathryn spent two years traveling the U.S. after their lease ended, bookending the journey between two Camp MoGraph events, and using the remote nature of their work to make it possible.
Economic uncertainty and the pivot to climate work: The slow market of the past couple years prompted Open Pixel Studios to launch Evident Narrative Lab (ENL), a climate-focused branch of their company — but the loss of EPA funding forced a sharp pivot back to their core work. ENL continues to look internationally for opportunities, including an upcoming speaking engagement at the Okinawa Institute of Technology.
Cautious optimism for 2026: Kathryn noted that while there's no "new normal," client activity is picking up and she's excited about evolving into more of a strategy consulting role rather than purely execution-based work.
Managing the news cycle: Will and community members discussed the importance of intentionally limiting news consumption — not to disengage entirely, but to protect creative energy and focus efforts where they can actually make an impact.
Short-form vs. long-form content strategy: Open Pixel Studios shifted from a traditional podcast to short, standalone video answers optimized for social platforms, using Adobe Express to schedule and batch posts. The approach has strengthened their voice, re-engaged past clients, and reduced the friction of getting to a discovery call.
Tiered pricing and stylistic constraints on the website: Will shared how publishing a visual pricing page organized into 3 categories and 9 tiers has shifted early client conversations from "how do I do X?" to "I want to do X" — creating a better starting point for negotiation and reducing the sales lift.
AI as a liability without proper guidance: Community members shared real-world examples of AI-generated work creating costly production problems — from packaging that couldn't be manufactured as designed, to AI video shots requiring extensive VFX fixes. The consensus: studios that educate clients on where AI helps vs. hurts position themselves as strategic partners, not just vendors.
Finding community as a survival strategy: Kathryn emphasized the importance of building multiple community networks — professional, advocacy-based, and personal — as a way to stay grounded and resilient heading into an uncertain year.
Upcoming Events/Schedule:
Next week: Open discussion or themed discussion — details TBD
Game night date TBD — Gartic Phone session being planned once scheduling aligns
Visit MondayMeeting.org for this episode and other conversations from the motion design community!
SHOW NOTES:
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Open Pixel Studios
Evident Narrative Lab
Camp Mograph
Super Bowl Ads
Stand Lee Documentary: Excelsior! The Life and Legacy of Stan Lee