"We solicited proposals for communications assistance on a new project we were launching. We thought we needed graphic designers to help us put together flyers and program materials. When we were interviewing folks who had submitted proposals, we were really impressed with Shala's insight — she immediately had our problem assessed and knew we needed much more than just graphic design. We needed a brand strategy. Shala and her team dissected our problem beautifully and led us through a series of brand strategy sessions to help us discern the right name, branding, and outreach message for our project. Here we thought we needed graphic design help, but learned that before you do design, you need to be able to communicate your brand, something we hadn't even thought of. She was excellent at working with our core audience, led us through strategy sessions like a pro, and handled all the back and forth communication with professionalism and timeliness. We couldn't be happier with the final outcome. Looking back, we didn't know what we needed, but Shala did. She gracefully steered us to a project work plan that would give us the outcomes we needed —that's true consulting! Her team was really helpful in helping us choose designs and textures to our materials, and we are extremely pleased with the final products. Immediately I was so pleased with the final polished product. We share the materials with all of our funders and target audiences. We're proud to share it — it represents our work well! After the branding was complete, our board loved the name of our program so much, they asked us to trademark the name. Shala had already done that with another client and suggested that we could probably do it on our own without hiring an attorney. And she was right! After reviewing the guidance the Trademark Office posts online, we submitted our application, and it was approved. Her seasoned and broad experience was extremely valuable."