Talk Visual

11/09/2025

You've probably heard the big news, but Talk Visual is officially part of the team at Elm Marketing

We’ve brought our creativity, projects, and awesome clients along for the ride, with Cat and Kameron joining the Elm crew to keep things running smoothly.

Haylee is off on an overseas adventure, and we can’t wait to see where it takes her!

A huge thank you to all of our incredible clients and friends for trusting us with your creative journeys. We’re excited to see your brands continue to grow and thrive with Elm Marketing.

08/08/2025

23/07/2025

When thinking about building a website, you might picture a developer hunched over a laptop, hammering out lines of code at lightning speed. And sure, developers are absolute legends. But there’s another crucial player behind every great website… the designer.

See our latest blog to find out more about the unsung hero of website development.

When thinking about building a website, you might picture a developer hunched over a laptop, hammering out lines of code at lightning speed. And sure, developers are absolute legends. But there’s another crucial player behind every great website… the designer. If your website were a house, your ...

20/07/2025

Canva is a powerful tool that has changed the game for many small businesses, but is it the best strategy for your business when it comes to serious branding?

For visual content creation and branded templates Canva excels, it’s also
- user friendly
- fast
- affordable, and
- versatile

But… when it comes to branding, strategy and originality there are limitations! Canva can’t:
- find your niche
- research your audience
- differentiate your brand
- refine your tone of voice, or
- build a strategy

Canva templates are quick and easy to use, but they’re also very popular, used often and will not reflect your brands personality like a custom layout from a designer.

Canva can quickly create content for multiple platforms - a designer will work with you to create a style guide that ensures consistency across all channels building recognition and trust.

Canva is not a substitute for a professional designer but they do make a great pair. Pairing the benefits of Canva with the knowledge and expertise of a designer could be your smartest strategy yet.

Want to know how exploring the best of worlds could benefit your business? Let’s talk!

14/07/2025

Regularly reviewing how your visual identity is performing is just good business practice. Improving your brand visuals doesn’t necessarily mean a full-scale redesign. Some of the most powerful improvements can come from a few simple design tweaks that won’t blow the budget!

Inconsistent or poorly chosen fonts can be hard to read and feel unprofessional. Keep your brand fonts to a minimum and establish a visual hierarchy to improve legibility and create a more polished look.

Review your palette as too many colours can feel chaotic and disjointed. Consistency strengthens brand recognition and creates visual harmony.

Strong visuals reinforce your brand personality and exude professionalism. Use high-res photography and avoid overused stock imagery.

Layout matters, misaligned elements and poor spacing makes content hard to follow. Information is easier to read when there is balance, structure and consistency.

Unclear or hidden call-to-actions can leave your customers confused and unmotivated. Clear, logical directives can lead to better conversions, more engagement and measurable business results.

Strategic design changes can dramatically enhance the way your brand looks, feels and performs.

If you want to make your design work harder for you, let’s talk!

09/07/2025

Not just another pretty (type)face!

Cat’s handwriting is so satisfying we had to take a video and share.

03/07/2025

A typical day in the studio, emoji style!

Between coffee and cookies, there’s some pixel-perfect tweaking going on, oh and just one more coffee!

How did today look for you? Drop your emoji summary below - no words allowed!

26/06/2025

Feeling underwhelmed with your annual report?

If your annual report didn’t turn out how you’d hoped last year, or if you barely survived the process, you’re not alone. Maybe the design felt rushed. Maybe it didn’t match your brand. Or maybe you just didn’t have time to give it the attention it deserved.

That’s where outsourcing comes in.

When you leave the design to a professional, you’re not just getting a pretty document, you’re getting clear communication, brand consistency, polished visuals, and way less stress. We take your content and turn it into something you're proud to share (and your stakeholders actually want to read).

Next time, let’s do it differently. Let us take the stress off your plate so you can focus on everything else.

22/06/2025

We get it. For most of us, being behind the camera is a far less daunting prospect than being in front of it. For many business owners and managers, the spotlight can feel intimidating and unnatural.

Take a look at our latest blog and see why it’s so crucial to show up for your brand.

We get it – for most of us, being behind the camera is a far less daunting prospect than being in front of it. For many business owners and managers, the spotlight can feel intimidating and unnatural. But the truth remains, becoming the face of your own brand can unlock…

19/06/2025

The studio will be closed tomorrow (Friday 20th June) to observe Matariki but we will be back refreshed and ready to go again on Monday (23rd June).

Let us know if you have plans to celebrate, or just enjoying a cosy staycation. Enjoy the long weekend!

17/06/2025

We are so proud to have been involved in a cultural and environmentally significant project right here in our own backyard.

The Whakamana te Waituna Charitable Trust approached us to help refine their strategic narrative, align their brand guidelines, and design a brochure that captures the importance and impact of their work.

This incredible group are leading efforts to restore the health of the Waituna Lagoon, a unique and fragile ecosystem of local, national, and international significance. Their approach is about more than conservation; it’s about connection to land, water, people, and future generations.

Our role was to help clarify and visually communicate the Trust’s vision, from a vectorised logo and refreshed colour palette, to tone of voice, key messaging, and a strategic story that threads through every part of the brochure. We wanted the end result to feel both grounded in community and focused on the future.

This was one of those projects that really reinforced ‘designing with purpose.’