Dot Think Design

02/18/2025

Throughout history, art has been a powerful force for resistance, a way to confront injustice, and a tool for reclaiming narratives. At Dot Think Design, we believe in the transformative power of storytelling—through design, branding, and the written word.

As we celebrate Black History Month, we’re spotlighting Black artists whose work not only defied oppression but also reshaped culture, sparked movements, and inspired generations. Their creativity was a form of activism, proving that art is never just about aesthetics—it’s about impact.

Read the full article here:
https://dotthinkdesign.com/art-as-resistance-black-artists-black-history/

This month and every month, let’s honor and support Black artists—past and present—who continue to push boundaries, demand justice, and shape the future through their work. Who are the artists that have moved you?

Art has always been more than just decoration—it’s a powerful tool for resistance, education, and change. Black artists, in particular, have long used their creativity to challenge oppression, amplify their communities, and inspire movements for justice. From murals to quilts to revolutionary gr...

06/24/2024

JOIN ME IN SUPPORTING A STRATFORD BOOKSTORE! Fairfield County's Community Foundation has partnered with Honeycomb Credit for an innovative peer-funded loan platform designed to support small business growth of minority-owned businesses in low/middle-income neighborhoods.

Your contribution is returned with interest in a couple of years! Invest at any level you feel comfortable with - or just spread the word! Help Nikkya meet her goal by June 30th.

https://invest.honeycombcredit.com/campaigns/Obodo-Serendipity-Books?tab=Overview

Meet Nikkya Hargrove - a Stratford-based author, advocate, mother, wife, and small business owner seeking investment to grow her current pop-up bookstore Obodo Serendipity Books into a brick-and-mortar community bookstore dedicated to supporting diverse and inclusive voices and connections.

This Pride month, let's support Nikkya's dream by investing in this woman-owned, Black-owned, LGBTQ+-owned small business!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=PnQCUDl1qfZhMtpg&v=EJTxWQBrOOQ&feature=youtu.be

03/26/2024

In loving memory of our friend and Dot Think team member, Cathleen Meredith, who passed away in February.

We honor the incredible light and spirit that Cathleen brought into our lives during her time with us at Dot Think Design. Her boundless joy, unmatched talent, and infectious energy touched the hearts of everyone she encountered.

Cathleen’s spirit lives on in the memories we hold dear and the impact she made on the world. Let us honor her legacy by embracing joy, making brave choices, and living life to the fullest.

In honor of Cathleen's legacy, we invite you to pre-order her first published book, "Fat Girls Dance," a testament to her creativity and passion.

Rest in peace, dear Cathleen. Your happy vibes are still dancing around here, and you'll always be one of our favorites.💫

We mourn the loss and celebrate the bright light and life of Dot Think Design team member Cathleen Meredith, who unexpectedly passed away in February after a short illness. In the two years Cathleen collaborated with us, her joy, talent and energy made a lasting impression on our team and family of....

08/02/2023

LAUNCHED: New website for The Porches Inn at MASS MoCA: https://porches.com/

When our team visited this boutique hotel managed by Main Street Hospitality, we realized our time at Porches was more than just a stay – it was an experience. Located on the doorstep of one of the country’s largest centers for contemporary visual and performing arts, the Inn was developed from a row of beautifully detailed Victorian row houses that were lovingly restored and connected to form common areas.

With a fresh voice, compelling imagery, streamlined UX and thoughtful design details that capture the unique spirit of Porches, we crafted an online presence that tells the story of this one-of-a-kind property in the Northern Berkshires where art and history converge. Stop by and get a breath of fresh air…

07/15/2022

When building your brand, your personal online presence or your reputation, do you consider yourself a sculptor?

Wether you strategically build your brand presence or you wing it on the internet, you are sculpting a story about your business and who you are. And, your website is the foundation for that story.

It's the place your customers (hopefully) will come back to. If they are on Facebook, Twitter or TikTok, they'll just get distracted by the next post about someone's baby or a comment argument. But your website is the place where your customers can engage with your brand, learn the ins and outs and dig deep into your mission, your products and why they should be your brand ambassador.

So how do you make sure your website has everything it needs? By breaking up the planning into small pieces and tackling them one at a time:
- Site map: what is the desired customer journey?
- Content plan: what are your customers learning 1st?
- User experience: what are your customers engaging with 1st?

Want to talk about your brand? Grab a consultation and we'll chat about your Brand 2.0. https://calendly.com/dotthink/dot-think-consult?month=2022-07

07/13/2022

Dedication. Focus. Excellence. Teamwork. We are Dot Think.
Get to know us: https://dotthinkdesign.com/team

07/08/2022

Dot Think worked closely with Waylon to design pages that are snapshots of moments, strategies and experiences of every day life. Each page a vignette of it’s own is strung together in a series of 108, a significant number in Waylon’s tradition of Buddhism. The illustrations, hand drawn by Waylon himself, were converted to high res art and thoughtfully placed through the book and cover. Unlike most print projects, Waylon and Corti spent time on a screen share, moving images and type around as if playing in a zen garden. It was truly a magical process.

There is such an ethical premium on literature and books that few people know how toxic they are to the environment. Most works are printed with toxic inks and plastic covers at remote facilities then delivered by climate-heating container ships. For Lewis’ latest book, _It's Never too Late to Fall in Love with your Life,_ the cover, inks and print production were as sustainable, eco-friendly, and carbon neutral as possible.

Printed locally with carbon-sucking algae instead of ink and a cover that is literally the only cloth available that is plastic- and plastic-coating free in the whole world, this design took time, care, consideration and hard choices. We could not be more proud of the results.

This is Lewis’ second book and he describes it as: “Chock Full with Buddhist wisdom, environmental tips, activism, and life lessons learned the hard way (made accessible so you might learn ‘em the easy way)…this carbon-negative, plastic-free gift book opens up a life of meaning, caring, change, and joy for a world in need.” Read it and buy it at http://shop.elephantjournal.com

The official Elephant Journal shop, offering Waylon Lewis' book "Things I Would Like To Do With You" and a variety of eco and artisan goods and apparel.

06/30/2022

This Pride Month marks the 51st anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, a catalyst for the modern LGBTQIA rights movement – and the first anniversary of Juneteenth as a federal holiday, a milestone that brings America as a whole into the celebration of Black emancipation and freedom. There is so much pride and joy in both celebrations!

As an organization that writes for nonprofits in the social and racial justice space, we've been tasked with considering the intersection of Pride Month and Juneteenth. From Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera to James Baldwin and Bayard Rustin, we know that Black, q***r and transgender leaders have always been at the forefront of the struggle for both racial justice and LGBTQIA+ freedoms.

And we know that voices such as theirs, in all their power, are still being silenced in our society. Although that war is still being waged all the way up through the top levels of our government, there is much to celebrate.

And, year round, there is still so much to do. We definitely don't always get it right, but each day we wake up and make sure that we are not being silent.

***rart

06/29/2022

https://vimeo.com/showcase/9230414/video/658423919

In collaboration with Spaces Connecticut, a luxury Real Estate Brokerage, Dot Think had the pleasure of sculpting a brand for 11 Blue Water Hill, a 12 million dollar home. With an entire floor dedicated to wellness – a yoga room, fitness center, squash court and indoor/outdoor pool –11 Bluewater Hill lives up to the definition of her name: Xanadu…an idealized place of great or idyllic magnificence and beauty.

Our Dot Think team was chosen for the task of building an experience that matches Xanadu’s effortless grace, power and beauty while communicating her purpose as a haven, a breath, a respite, a home.

See how we did it, and read the rest of the blog at
https://dotthinkdesign.com/xanadu-branded-from-property-to-existential-visual-experience/

This is "11 Bluewater Hill | Westport, CT | Property Tour" by J A N O F F I L M S on Vimeo, the home for high quality videos and the people who love them.

06/20/2022

Today’s PRIDE SPOTLIGHT is a force. Annika Hansteen-Izora (.izora) (they/she/he) is a Black and q***r creative director, graphic and UI designer, poet based in Brooklyn. Annika’s portfolio spans design, poetry, music, digital mediums, food and making communal art spaces. She was featured in The Black Experience By Design Anthology which was released this spring. About her work, Annika says: “I use art and writing to explore praxis of love, Black tenderness, q***r friendship, communal dreaming, and digital gardens.”

We celebrate you, Annika, and are so grateful your creativity is in the world.















***rdesigners

06/17/2022

I'm GenX and all the things that come with it. Metaphorically speaking, we are the generational jaded older sister of millennials (eg: I loathe selfies). From Friendster to TikTok, at this point, I’ve lived through a LOT of marketing trends. Attempting to keep up with those trends has not been the secret to building a successful company. Seems counterproductive considering my stock and trade is branding and marketing, right?

But I decided long ago (cue the Whitney Houston) I wasn’t like everyone else. In fact, this is my greatest asset.

Fearlessly and unapologetically listening to myself is how I’ve created a business, run by women, that supports a life and a work-life that I love. I don’t intend to stop now.

And for whoever is reading this or needs to hear this, go ahead and be you; the nerd, the introvert, the loud one, the artsy one, the designer that only uses Helvetica, the evangelist for sustainable books (stay tuned for one designed by yours truly). I promise you can build and create anything you want right where you are. The right clients, customers, resources and opportunities will find you. Promise.

06/17/2022

For the past six years, Dot Think has had the distinct pleasure of supporting The Fund For Women & Girls Annual Luncheon, hosted by Fairfield County’s Community Foundation. This year it was a sold out event (virtually & in-person) featuring speaker, educator, and activist Professor Anita Faye Hill.

See how we did it, and read the rest of the blog at Dot Think Design :: A Day For Women and Girls - Dot Think Design

Thanks to the phenomenal photographer Olivier J-P Kpognon ( Olivier & Co. Media Group ) for capturing the event.