Checking in: fall 2020

It’s been a weird few months.

Like everyone else, we’ve been doing our best to work through the chaos from our home offices, kitchens, and living rooms. Since we went remote, we launched our brand redesign, a blog, and welcomed a new member to our team.

Trying to navigate 2020 doesn’t mean we’re keeping our heads down. We do our best as a team to pay attention to what’s going on in the world around us. Moreover, we do our best to see how we play a part.

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On diversity

In light of the national protests and response to the police killings of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, Mediocre—like so many other companies—spent some time examining strategies and the intentions behind them.

Recently, we made a statement about the lack of racial diversity at Mediocre, our hopes for the future, and what we’re doing as a team to improve our workplace culture. We want ours to be a welcoming and supporting atmosphere for all people from all stretches of life.  

With this in mind, our approach to this is long-term. We don’t think we’ll ever be “finished” learning or changing, and we know there will always be room to grow. In addition to attending a diversity training through Creative Action Lab, we encourage daily equity education habits. Furthermore, some readings or podcasts we discuss as a group. We intend to have no end-date for this initiative.

Check out the full statement for details, and how we will implement changes in our hiring practices.

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Blog + B-Corp

Besides our team’s ongoing anti-racist initiative, our team has seen many other changes in 2020. We recently earned our GreenCheck Certification (Silver Level), and we have more exciting sustainability changes in the works. On the same note, check out Teagan’s blog post on our Bike Friendly Business.

Our new blog site includes writing from several of our team members on a spread of topics—from SEO best practices to writing simple copy, to the story behind Mediocre’s brand redesign. We’ll post new content each month pertaining to our workplace culture, workflow, and branding. So, keep an eye out for the next one!

By the next time you talk to us, we intend to be a B-Corp. We’ve spent a lot of time revamping our employee handbook and examining our company practices to make sure we do the best by our employees, community, and clients as we can. Having a B-Corp certification is special for a lot of reasons, but it’s especially exciting because B-Corps value many of the same things we do: environmental sustainability, community investment, and positive workplace environment.

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New on social

As a company, we use part of our budget to donate to groups fighting for justice in our area. If you’re interested in some of the places we recommend donating, check out the series of posts we made on Instagram.

In July, we had the opportunity to take over Crafted Social for a day for their #CampCraftedSocial virtual Summer Camp. We did a few posts on why it’s important your brand stand out now more than ever. Additionally, we hosted a giveaway with some client merch.

Lastly, be sure to check out the potential directions we designed for Color Chaos, an exciting team-based gaming challenge here in Lexington.

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New work: 2020 and beyond

Our newest case study is for Virginia Spirits Trail. They’re a non-profit with the mission to provide economic growth and educational opportunities for the Virginia spirits industry. Check out how we expanded their brand assets, systemized their content, and made their promotional platform a breeze to use.

Stay safe out there, and stay tuned for more. Vote in November. We’ll see you on Instagram.