The Partners
Elizabeth Crawford
Elizabeth is a Principal and Creative Director for Crawford/Mikus Design. Elizabeth’s expertise includes corporate brand identity development, employee communications and publication design. With more than 20 years’ experience, Elizabeth is the recipient of more than 225 national and international awards for excellence in communications. Her work has been featured in Graphis, Print, How, Graphic Design USA, Creativity, Show South, Apex Communications, Georgia Pacific Kudos, Neenah-Paper, American Corporate Identity, EBC Best of Show, Hot Graphics, Color Graphics, IABC Gold Quill and IABC International Silver Quill. Elizabeth was recognized as one of the top 50 “designers to watch” by Graphic Design USA. Elizabeth graduated from University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA with a BFA in Graphic Design.
Scott Mikus
Scott is a Principal and Client Services Director for Crawford/Mikus Design. Scott’s experience covers a variety of corporate communication assignments for a range of clients, from small companies to Fortune 50 firms. Scott has worked in educational instruction for more than 14 years, serving as an Instructor of Design at Georgia State University and the Portfolio Center. Scott has also lectured for Apple Computers, discussing the influence of technology on design trends. Scott’s views on design and color trends have been published in Graphic Design USA, Hot Graphics (Madison Square Press), and Color Graphics (Rockport Press). Scott has served on the Atlanta Board of Directors of the American Institute of the Graphic Arts (AIGA), and served as its Vice President. (AIGA has a national membership of 14,000 and a local membership of 750.) Scott graduated from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA with a BFA in Graphic Design.
Crawford/Mikus Design
Six Principles of Collaboration
Client relationships operate as creative partnerships at Crawford Mikus. We depend on client collaboration and
teamwork to improve our creative outputs. We are committed to six collaborative processes that assure client
participation and client satisfaction for each creative milestone.
Inclusion
Clients benefit from a higher level of engagement with the senior principals of the agency. Clients are free to bring a range of their own team members to the process. Additionally, Crawford Mikus is comfortable working with any functional group in the client organization, including marketing, finance, sales, operations, human resources and customer service.
Consideration
Crawford Mikus recognizes that it is important to consider all appropriate strategies and all appropriate stakeholder perspectives. Crawford Mikus is experienced and skilled at recognizing the perspectives of the functional groups cited as well as the external audiences that include customers, consumers, analysts, regulators and compliance agencies.
Exploration
In the early stages of the creative process Crawford/Mikus/Roehl works with client subject matter experts to explore creative options with the internal team of designers and copywriters. This type of exploration allows clients to give directional input and provide a check on logic—without the need to select or commit.
Selection
Collaboration allows clients to choose a creative direction and to select options for creative expression. Crawford Mikus recognizes that the previous steps for inclusion and consideration may come back into play during the selection process, because it is important to understand and confirm the perspectives of all appropriate client stakeholder groups, including internal functional groups and external target audiences.
Execution
Selected concepts are always developed in an open environment at Crawford Mikus. We report our progress regularly, so clients can easily track all implementation activities. Onsite visits are welcome, and clients are free to provide input and oversight at the level they find comfortable.
Validation
Collaboration is the foundation for continuous improvement, so each project is analyzed and discussed with client partners to assure that success is measured against original program objectives. We confirm that our near-term results are in line with overall client strategies, and we solicit feedback for the next round of work. Using project results and feedback to bring the creative process back to the starting point is part of the payoff for true collaboration—as well as the basis for our “circular branding solutions.”