Point of departure (POD), graphic design is the professional design service, of Lisa Bowser, located in Kansas City, Missouri. As a perpetually curious, continually evolving, challenge loving professional, more than a decade later, it seems like the blink of an eye. Over that time I have been honored to work directly with business owners, marketing professionals and virtual teams hand picked for their ability to deliver top tier creative work. Whether it’s logos, branding, design strategy, WordPress development, UX design, CSS, package design, event materials, catalogs, billboards or signage, if it is a pixel, a dot or designed experience, point of departure has been there, and done that.
Personal connections
Flying solo or as a team member, POD provides a full spectrum of digital and and print design services to a wide variety of clients. From global corporations like Honeywell’s FMT plant in Kansas City, Astadia, (a marketing and tech consultancy) and EiKO Global, LLC, to locally based businesses such as: Andrews McMeel Universal; North Kansas City Hospital; Midland Electronics; TransforMed (an independent division of the AAFP); Mid Continent Chemical Co.; The City of Riverside, MO; Trapp Private Gardens; among others, POD has produced-award winning creative and strategic design solutions. From independently owned restaurants like Cafe Trio and D’Bronx Deli, or start-ups like Strategic Compliance and Beaver Creative Environments, non-profits like River of Refuge and the Kansas City Consular Corps, the roster of clients is broad and deep. And behind each of those names is a personal connection, someone who referred someone to POD, because they needed quality work they could depend on.
The work gets the work
I believe good business has always been about, the one-to-one relationship with our clients and solving their communications problems. As with any professional service, the work gets the work, and it keeps clients coming back. Some of my clients have been with me for over a decade. Over that time, though the work product is itself is ever evolving, the relationship remains rock steady – a testament to the fact that a core attribute of my service is to be always learning, growing and sharing. Whether it’s stepping into WordPress development in 2009, for commercial sites when it was still considered a blogging platform, transitioning a print newsletter to an interactive pdf, or helping a client with a 1,000+ catalog pages shave weeks off their schedule, through recommended work-flow changes and software implementation, POD has a knack for solving problems. And yes, that means there’s a left and a right brain that coexist at point of departure, that can get as much of a kick solving business problems as crafting evocative visual solutions.
Your design agent
In crafting the point of departure brand, it was obvious that one of the best descriptors for what POD does is to be our client’s “design agent.” A trusted advocate that can both do and advise. The media landscape can be as complex and as and daunting as a trip across the globe. Where do you want to go, how do you get there… what, who and why… all of those are the same questions your “design agent” should be asking about your media or project needs. Graphic design is a creative, problem solving, communication service, as Charles Eames put it: “the role of the designer is that of a very good, thoughtful host anticipating the needs of his guests.” I would echo that sentiment – and add that making a lasting personal connection between you, your message and audience is why you need a design agent like point of departure.
