The season of warm coats and holiday sweaters is upon us. The lights are twinkling. The auto-responders are taking effect. And, we have few precious days before the calendar turns over and the new year is here. In between the school parties and the gift shopping and the holiday plans, I try really hard to make time to pause and savor the best parts of the year, both personally and professionally.

This week, I’ve found myself reflecting on the many parts of Doodling Pandas‘s year that made it so rewarding and a theme emerged that I really loved. VARIETY.

Instead of highlighting specific clients (because, seriously, how could I possibly choose? My clients are literally THE BEST.) I want to celebrate the kinds of work that made this year special. Here are some of the themes where strategy and creativity came together in the best ways in 2025.

Businesses trying to market themselves often think of AI as a tool to make writing and researching easier. It can help with idea generation and many of the more tedious tasks of mass communication. But many are not paying close enough attention to what AI means for exposure on a greater scale and how we need to change our tactics to make us visible in an AI-first environment. In this article we explore what’s changing, and what we can do about it.

Whether you’re ready to invest or just looking to make thoughtful improvements, here are five trends worth knowing. They’re current, practical, and flexible enough to meet you where you are.

If your website isn’t attracting, engaging, and converting visitors, it may be time for a performance review.  Here are 5 questions to ask yourself to ensure your lowest-maintenance employee is doing its job.

The new year is a great time to make sure your brand reflects where your business is today. Whether you’re a well-established company or just starting out, even small changes can make a big difference. Here are five practical branding resolutions for 2025, with easy-to-follow tips to help you get started.

Let me walk you through a not uncommon conversation with a potential web client.

Me: Tell me about your website.

Client: Honestly, I set it up some number of years ago. It doesn’t really reflect what I do and I know I need to level it up.

Me. That’s totally relatable. When was the last time you updated it?

Client: [insert grimance here]….the day I launched it.

This is one of the top 5 questions I get asked by clients who need a website and aren’t sure where to start. So, I decided to sit with that question and really think hard (and troubleshoot a lot) to give my clients the best answer I could come up with.