MoJo Design

09/03/2026

Ever try a marketing strategy that worked for everyone else and just... didn't work for you?

It's not that you failed. The strategy was never yours to begin with.

In this week's episode of the Honest Brew Podcast, we're talking about what happens when you strip away the borrowed scripts, the templates, and the "just do this, and you'll convert" advice, and get honest about what actually differentiates you.

We cover:
🎙️ Why copied strategies feel like wearing someone else's clothes
🎙️ The real estate agent test for finding your differentiator
🎙️ Why naming your values isn't enough; it's what they mean in practice that counts
🎙️ How to spot fishy sales tactics (and what they taught us)

Authentic marketing isn't a tone you adopt. It's what's left standing when your brand, your systems, and your message finally agree.

Grab your favorite hot drink and tune in now ☕
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/honest-brew-unfiltered-conversations-on-business-growth/id1852948588?i=1000787415627

Podcast Episode · Honest Brew: Unfiltered Conversations on Business Growth · September 2 · 28m

08/21/2026

Blog Teaser - Storytelling: THE BEST BRAND STORY I'VE EXPERIENCED LATELY... AND IT'S NOT EVEN A BRAND I DESIGNED

We put down a deposit on a new car a few months back, a Scout (if you know, you know, it's a bit of a cult, in the best way).

What happened next completely caught me off guard. Weekly emails, all story-driven. Then a poster showed up in the mail. Then a little book with a table of contents, illustrations, and different locations to explore. No hard sell anywhere in sight, just story after story.

It made me think about how rare this is. Most brands rush straight to "buy now." This one made me feel like I was already part of something before I'd even seen the product.

I broke down exactly what makes this kind of storytelling work (and a few other brands doing it right) on the blog.

New post: "What Scout Gets Right About Brand Storytelling (And What Your Business Can Steal From It)."

Read the full breakdown at the link in comments!

What's a brand that's made you feel like part of the story, not just the sale?
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08/14/2026

Client Spotlight - studiovictorialouise "IT MADE ME THE REAL DEAL."

That's the quote that stopped me in my tracks from my client Victoria Louise.

Victoria has been an artist and stitcher for most of her life, and more recently found her way into surface pattern design. Like a lot of talented creatives, she started out DIY, designed her own logo, then had a friend take a crack at it. It just wasn't landing. It didn't look professional, and it didn't represent the vibe of work she was putting out into the world.

She tried to make it work anyway. But when it came time to build her website, the cracks really showed: too much going on, no clear next steps for visitors, no real direction.

So she came to me, and we got to work.

The best part of working with Victoria? She fully trusts the process and lets me do what I do best. We built her logo and color palette together, and she loved it immediately. Now we're deep into her website, starting with a focused one-page site we'll expand down the road, wireframes approved, and building underway.

Her words, not mine: it made her feel like the real deal.

That's the whole point. 💛
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08/13/2026

DoorDash tagged a Grammy-winning rapper as a soccer player. Repeatedly.

At first it looked like an intern mistake. Then the real story came out — it was a paid influencer deal, dressed up to look organic.

We're not telling you this to gossip. We're telling you because this is happening in marketing everywhere, and small businesses copy these tactics without realizing what they cost.

On this week's Honest Brew episode, we're breaking down:
🍵 Why "any publicity is good publicity" stopped being true
🍵 The difference between a genuine mistake and a scripted one (and why people can tell)
🍵 What inauthentic marketing actually costs your brand long-term
🍵 Why AI is making audiences more sensitive to anything that feels fake, not less

Speed without a sanity check isn't agility. It's just a risk with better branding.

🎧 New episode is live:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/honest-brew-unfiltered-conversations-on-business-growth/id1852948588?i=1000782992742

07/31/2026

UNPOPULAR OPINION: I DON'T SHOW LOGOS IN COLOR. (At first.) 🖤🤍

Here's a philosophy I've held since the beginning of my career, and I'm not budging on it:

Every logo I present starts in black and white.

No color. No gradients. Just the form.

Here's why: If a logo doesn't work in black and white, it will never truly work.

Color is powerful; it adds emotion, personality, and energy. But it can also hide a weak design. It distracts you from the structure underneath. And if the structure isn't solid, no color palette in the world will save it.

When I strip the color away, you see the logo for what it really is:

✔️ Is the shape strong?
✔️ Is it readable at any size?
✔️ Does it hold up on its own?
✔️ Does it still feel like you?

If the answer is yes to all of those, then we add color and watch it come alive.

But if something feels off in black and white, we fix it before we ever get to the palette conversation.

It's one of the most honest tests a logo can pass.

Does your current logo hold up in black and white? 🤔
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07/20/2026

Halfway through the year can bring a strange feeling.

You're no longer chasing the excitement of January, but you haven't reached December either.

It's where expectations meet reality.

In this episode of Honest Brew, we reflect on the plans we made and how our definition of success has shifted along the way. We talk about letting go of timelines and making room for new opportunities.

Sometimes the biggest progress is becoming someone who builds differently because of what you've learned.

New episode 👇

🎧Listen now → honestbrew.co or https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mid-year-check-in-every-business-owner-needs/id1852948588?i=1000777621558

Check out our YouTube channel for clips and highlights:
https://www.youtube.com/

07/17/2026

WHAT MAKES A BRAND TRULY UNFORGETTABLE?

I've been thinking about this a lot lately.

We all have brands we love. But have you ever stopped to ask why? What is it that makes some brands live in your head rent-free while others disappear the moment you close the tab?

Just dropped on the blog: "What Memorable Brands Have in Common (And How to Make Yours One of Them)."

Sneak peek: It's not the logo. It's not the color palette. It's something that happens before any of that, and most small business owners skip right over it.

Read more on the blog on the website!

What's a brand you'll never forget, and why do you think it stuck? 👇

https://www.designwithmojo.com/blog/what-memorable-brands-have-in-common
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07/15/2026

The Trust Problem Nobody Talks About - Having clarity is critical in building your business and brand.

Check out The Honest Brew podcast and know that you are not alone in your small business woes.

https://www.youtube.com/

07/10/2026

𝗠𝗬 𝗛𝗨𝗦𝗕𝗔𝗡𝗗 𝗧𝗥𝗜𝗘𝗗 𝗔𝗡 𝗔𝗜 𝗛𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗦𝗛𝗢𝗧 𝗚𝗘𝗡𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗧𝗢𝗥 𝗦𝗢 𝗜 𝗗𝗜𝗗𝗡'𝗧 𝗛𝗔𝗩𝗘 𝗧𝗢.

He didn't want to spend the money, time, or energy on a real shoot, so he uploaded a few photos of himself and let the AI do its thing. 150 photos came back.

I have to tell you — it was creepy.

I know his face better than anyone, and looking through those images was this weird experience of "here's the skinnier version" and "here's the one with a bigger forehead." Each photo was slightly off in a different way. We narrowed it down to 4-5 that were passable, but even those didn't quite look like him.

There's a name for that feeling: the uncanny valley. When something is close enough to human to register, but just off enough to unsettle you. Your brain knows something isn't right even if it can't immediately say what.

And here's why that matters for your brand: authenticity isn't just a nice-to-have. It's something people feel. A real photo — even an imperfect one — communicates something an AI-generated version simply can't.

Your face is part of your brand. Make sure it actually looks like you.

Have you tried one of these tools? I'd love to hear what you thought. 👇
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