Creative Audits
Aligning Impact with Identity
A high-level audit for the Do-Gooders and Joy-Makers who are ready to turn their vision into a legacy.
Why You're Here
Your mission is undeniable.
You have something that matters. But something feels off. Maybe you have an initiative for the planet or a community hub rooted in lore. You feel the magic in the work, but when you look at your website or your visuals, there is a friction.
Maybe your story feels 'information-heavy' instead of heart-driven. Maybe your visuals look 'fine,' but they don’t command the trust or intoxication your impact deserves. You know something needs to change but you’re just not sure what.
Who This Is For
This process is designed for those seeking an objective perspective on their brand’s impact—specifically focusing on audience alignment and a comprehensive review of your website, visuals, and brand language. This Audit was created for:
The Do-Gooders: Non-profits and activists needing to bridge the gap between complex data and human mobilization.
The Joy-Makers: For the Tourism DMO’s, community hubs, lore-based businesses and "feel-good" brands that need their brand to feel as rich as the real-world magic they have to offer.
The Visionaries: Leaders who have outgrown their current mold and are ready for a "blueprint" for their next endeavour.
Rachael Protas | VSORTHO
CLIENT TESTIMONIAL
“I have had the pleasure of working with Holly for over five years now. She is a delight to work with, takes the time to understand your project needs, and always delivers stellar, high-quality work on schedule. Most recently, Holly helped me rebrand my current company's website (Vail-Summit Orthopaedics & Neurosurgery - www.vsortho.com). The old website had several issues impacting customer acquisition and conversions. It needed a complete overhaul to better connect with consumers and funnel them through the user journey.
Holly began the project with a brand audit, evaluating how well the VSON brand understood the needs and motivations of our customers and incorporating that insight into our strategy. She helped me define our primary and secondary audiences and map their customer journey. The result was an information architecture that divided up website content in a way that connected the users with their needs and expectations, marrying user experience with usability.
After mapping the revamped architecture of VSON's website, Holly created a visual that reflected VSON's brand standards and drew the eye to relevant content, providing the user with a clear pathway towards achieving their goals. After about a month of user research, reviewing, and refining, the current VSON visual design was finalized. Holly and I worked together to continuously test the platform as each page was built out, inviting key stakeholders and real users to provide input. Once the testing period was complete, Holly transferred the domain and backend codes and the new site was published.
Within three months, we saw the following results:
• A 158% increase in page views and a 94% increase in organic traffic
• A 300% increase in online appointment conversions
• Tracked keywords moving from pages two and three to page one of search engine results
• A 4% decrease in our bounce rateNot only does Holly deliver real results, but she goes above and beyond to break down barriers and find solutions. I can also attest to her commitment to achieving goals, work ethic, and organizational skills while being approachable. Holly has excellent interpersonal and communication skills and easily develops working relationships. When she takes a campaign from idea to reality, she will own that project fully and deliver excellence every time. Most importantly, she's a truly great person.
I highly recommend Holly to any company or individual seeking an organized, hard-working, articulate, and creative professional.”
The Process and Deliverables
I don't just look at a logo or website. I look at how your entire ecosystem communicates:
Initial Call (30-90 minutes):
A deep-dive call where I listen for the "heart" and “emotional truth” of your business and why you do what you do. Generally a zoom call ranging from 30-90 minutes.
The Strategic Brief (Delivered as a .PDF):
The Creative Audit is a high-level assessment designed to identify where your brand stands and offer direction on how to bridge the gap between your current presence and your desired impact. Before I look at your website or your visuals, I first seek to understand the emotional truth of your mission—who you are truly talking to and why. I then audit your presence through that lens to find the friction points. This isn't about generic trends; it's about identifying where your language, visuals, and structure may be misaligned with your heart, and providing conceptual suggestions to bring them back into focus.
Instead of a literal "to-do list," you receive a Strategic Brief that functions as a compass for your brand's evolution. This includes concrete observations and suggestions on how to refine your story and visuals. For example, I may suggest that your current photography feels too "staged" for a mission-driven non-profit and would benefit from a raw, documentary-style approach to build trust. Or, I might observe that your website's navigation is creating a "wall" for visitors, suggesting a hierarchy that leads with your "Lore" rather than your "Services." The goal is to give you a clear sense of direction so you can lead your brand with renewed confidence.
What This Is Not:
This audit is a diagnostic and conceptual guide, not a production service. While I offer directional suggestions—such as exploring a warmer color palette to evoke community or restructuring a landing page to prioritize human connection—this process does not include the manual execution of those changes.
If our work reveals the need for a full brand identity overhaul, new website architecture, or a complete design and build, these services are offered as a separate, premium engagement tailored to the direction identified in your audit.
*Please Note:
For existing brands, the process above applies. For new brands seeking visionary direction, the same logic follows but without the focus on what “isn’t” working.
Geoff Grimmer | Net Zero Notions, The Adam Palmer Sustainability Fund,
Zealous Schools, and Grimmer for Commissioner
CLIENT TESTIMONIAL
“Bringing Holly Mandarich to our organization was a jolt of aesthetic excellence, proceeded by thoughtful and inspiring dialogue about our mission, vision and values. If you are launching a new idea, Holly is a dynamite partner to have by your side. Creative, collaborative, and reliable. Holly predicts needs, suggests solutions, and crushes projects. Level up!”
Why Work With Me?
I didn't start as a consultant; I started in production. I spent four years at a boutique creative agency in Vail, Colorado, architecting multi five-figure websites and brands for clients. This work taught me exactly how an idea comes into form—and how easily it unravels when the "mechanical" side of branding takes over and when emotional truth stops leading.
In 2018, I realized that settling for a "dream job" that lacked soul wasn't an option. I began documenting the moments that encompass true aliveness—the mishaps, the lore, and the human connection found on 14,000-foot peaks. Which led to a full blown adventure photography career. Here I learned that no matter the who, the challenge is the same: How do you translate a raw, intoxicating feeling, “your truth”—into an identity that commands trust?
My gift is seeing the wisdom in limitation. My intention is to direct you back to why you began, stripping away the "production noise" so you can get back to the work you were born for.
Investment: Starting at $2,500
The investment is based on the scale and complexity of the entity we are assessing. For organizations with larger footprints or expansive archives, a custom quote will be provided. Price listed in $USD.
Tania Lown-Hecht | Outdoor Alliance
CLIENT TESTIMONIAL
“Holly has a keen eye, incredible turnaround time, and the patience of a saint. She is adept at describing her design choices and sourcing incredible images that have brought our reports to life. Her design kicked our materials up about 100 notches, and she was so easy to work with.”
Izah O'Gorman | Always Inspired Salon
CLIENT TESTIMONIAL
“Working with Holly gave us everything we needed to launch our new brand. Her consultation was so thorough, she crafted a design and mission statement for us that we instantly loved! She understood what we wanted before we even knew what we wanted. Through the whole process I always felt like she really heard me and would adjust accordingly. We love our new salon brand and our clients are loving it too! Thank you, Holly!”