Graphic design firm helps clients develop identities

Today, Garrick Arnold, president, and his wife April Arnold, vice president, run their business at 320 W. Pershing with the help of Cody Meyer, public relations and marketing director, and Dynae Levingston, graphic designer.

Wildflower provides graphic design, image and logo development, brochures, catalogs and Web site design. Its list of clients averages about 20.

“It ranges from little jobs to some clients who use us pretty much every month for different things,” said April Arnold.

Those clients, a majority of which are local businesses, include Mudhouse, Gailey’s Breakfast Café, Agrario, Patton Alley Pub and Conco.

Wildflower’s biggest client, Andy’s Frozen Custard, already had a logo and character when it signed on with the firm in January 2003.

“They completely rearranged it and made it a whole lot more friendly and gave it a lot more pop,” said owner Andy Kuntz.

Wildflower’s contribution to Andy’s franchising efforts comprises the design and creation of the franchise brochures, the case for a video about the business, carry-out menus, fund-raising handouts, comment cards and the company’s Web site.

Those materials are used in Andy’s three Springfield stores and stores in Osage Beach, Columbia, Cape Girardeau and Rogers, Ark.

“We’ll open Tyler, Texas, Jonesboro, Ark., and Branson probably this spring, and probably Chicago this summer,” Kuntz said, adding that stores in Denver and Joplin will soon follow.

Wildflower has two big goals for 2006 – to obtain more retainer-based clients and to actively market its services to restaurants interested in franchising.

“On a national level we would like to carve out a niche for ourselves in the restaurant industry. The goal would be to be the specialist in that industry,” Garrick Arnold said.

To prepare for offering its services to more restaurants looking to expand, Wildflower is developing a new logo and updating its Web site.

“We hope to launch that the first of the year,” Garrick Arnold said. “After that, a lot of our efforts will be focused on trying to get more clients like Andy’s: smaller companies that are franchising and trying to expand.”

The Arnolds feel that their past experience in the restaurant industry is an asset at Wildflower.

April Arnold was the art director for the Papa Murphy’s Pizza franchise. Garrick Arnold was a franchisee and later worked for Panera Bread creating training materials and training videos.

“It definitely gives us a unique point of view. Most creatives haven’t worked in the industry they’re creating for. It gives us a leg up, and we definitely know what it’s like on both sides of the fence,” April Arnold said.

The Arnolds declined to share revenues for their company but said business is growing rapidly.

“At this point we’re up about 25 percent over last year,” Garrick Arnold said, adding that last year’s revenues were up 50 percent over the previous year.

In five years of business, Wildflower has seen subtle changes in the industry.

“I think style is becoming more important to a lot of businesses that didn’t care about it before. I think people’s expectations have gotten so high that it’s now the norm. How it looks and how it’s presented is more important than ever,” April Arnold said.

“People make snap decisions. They do judge by first impressions,” Garrick Arnold said. “We’re just trying to shape those impressions.”

Garrick Arnold stays current on business trends by reading.

“I’m a voracious reader. I read probably a couple of books a week and probably a half a dozen or so trade publications and business magazines,” he said. “That’s where a lot of the fuel for the fire comes from for us.”

That quest for knowledge has led Arnold to offer clients something he calls “menuology.”

“We’ve got a menu design program we’ve implemented that specifically talks about how to design your menu around the margins of profit, highlighting those items that have the highest profit margin,” Arnold said.

“It’s the same concept as retailers stocking their shelves. If a hamburger’s got more profit in it than a steak sandwich, we can highlight that burger more.”

Menuology is working at Eric Zackrison’s Patton Alley Pub.

“We increased our entrees and they changed how we have some things (on the menu),” Zackrison said.

“The sales on those increased, like with fish and chips, we saw at least a 15 (percent) to 20 percent jump in those after they redesigned. It’s been dramatic.”[[In-content Ad]]