ABOUT US

Our Philosophy

When it’s done well, design and marketing simply works. It has a long track record of helping businesses succeed. And as our lives speed up with calls for our attention coming from more and more different directions it’s even more important to deliver a business’s or product’s value proposition quickly and strongly to a target market. Making our clients stand out from the crowd is one goal, doing it in a way that is correct for their customers and for their company’s “personality” is another and equally important one.

Why select Axis Visual for your design and marketing needs? It’s simple, really. We’re good at what we do. But to drill a little deeper… we rely on our extensive and diverse experience to develop branding or communications that are specifically for you, and you alone. And with our approach of keeping all the management and creative decisions under our roof while reaching out to the right production sources (if they are needed), we bring everything you need to the table – and nothing you don’t.

Our resourceful and nimble approach helps keep overhead low and personal attention high, giving you more than you’d imagine for your marketing budget. From ink to the Internet to the media in between, we excel in combining the best creative with the best support to execute the best ideas for your brand. Carefully crafted to motivate, entertain, and inform, each Axis Visual solution is created to cut through the clutter and get our clients noticed, understood and remembered.

Who We Are

All creative decisions, planning and design are made under our roof. With our depth of experience (both with business needs and with the design and development processes) we are very good at creating company brands and communications that are both innovative and effective. But we also know that the additional specific resources may be valuable for the wide variety of client needs. In these cases we have the resources to draw on when they are required… and don’t ask our clients to pay for overhead when it isn’t needed.

William J. Milnazik

Founder, Owner, Problem Solver #1

As a designer of all types of marketing communications, Bill has worked with many different companies and products ranging from pharmaceutical and financial, to high tech and consumer markets. He has learned to distill an idea, product or theme to its simplest form, then build a concept and design using the visual language of color, images, and typography – drawing on feelings, emotions, or experiences of an audience. Effective design can neither deliver the “same old thing” nor push an audience so far that they lose attention. It resides purely on the fine line of distinction and recall that inspires people to think, feel, or act in a particular way. In a world cluttered with mixed media and mixed messages, delivering an appropriate and exciting message is more important than ever.

As a graduate of Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia, Bill was taught that a strong concept married with strong execution can be a motivational force. Before founding Axis Visual in 1997, Bill held the positions of designer, art director, and creative director for a Philadelphia-based design agency. While employed there, he designed and produced everything from annual reports, corporate identity, advertising, trade show exhibits, and direct mail. Bill has brought that experience forward with the creation of AXIS visual and has continued to grow, learn and deliver high-quality communications with every client engagement.

Our Process

We’re interested in how you do things. And if you’re reading this, you’re probably interested in how we do things, too. – AXIS clients are an integral part of both the creative and production process. We realize that each business has its own way of doing things. We are flexible in our approach but below is a general process that you can expect from AXIS.

1. Discussion of the project parameters. This is where we talk with you and determine details such as your audience, your company’s personality, your likes and dislikes, overall message, the budget, and rough time frame.

2. Submission of project estimate. With the project parameters in mind an estimate of cost is sent for your approval.

3. Concept investigation. Once cost is approved, the initial creative development gets underway. This phase results in the conceptual blueprints for designing the project. It’s where the thinking happens that will drive the look, feel, and content of the project. Submitted as rough sketches along with content headlines and text indications, these visuals indicate solution options before final finishing work is done. Keeping things rough at this point helps keep ideas flexible and the budget in check before a final approval is given.

4. Proofing. When the final concept has been selected, complete color proofs are submitted for your review at critical points in the design and production process. Depending on the project, supporting components such as illustrations and/or photography may be estimated and contracted at this time. If necessary, copywriting will be contracted and submitted along with the layout proofs for your review. It is typical that you receive at least 3 rounds of proofs indicating the current layouts and any revisions or corrections you may have submitted.

5. Final Proofing & Submission. Prior to releasing print files or uploading files for a website, you will receive a final approval proof. This phase is critical, as revisions after this point add expense. For print projects, once we receive your final okay we will upload files to the printing contractor, who will do their pre-press work and generate one last proof (commonly referred to as a blueline or digital proof) – one more chance to see exactly what you’ll get once the ink hits the paper. For electronic projects such as web sites, “proofing” is ongoing via logging-on to our development server to check on work in-progress. Even though a website doesn’t “go live” until you say so, adjustments and updates can be made even after launch.

6. Delivery. It’s a lot like opening presents on your birthday.