Yellow Dot Designs is a graphic design studio in Alexandria, Virginia that offers design and illustration for print, web and video. We have expertise in design, website development, and video production.
For the five years that Yellow Dot Designs has been in business, we have worked closely with trade associations, non-profit organizations and local businesses on outreach materials, logo design, websites and video. Ellen works directly with clients so she can have the best understanding of an organization’s goals, business identity and message.
Give us a call for:
Expertise: Our people have expertise in design, marketing, website development and video production. We work with experienced copywriters, photographers and printers.
Files: YDD considers logos or layout design we create for you to be your property. We want to be on your team, and expect you to own your final art.
Languages: Ellen is fluent in German, French and Spanish. We are happy to work with foreign clients and organizations with a global reach.
Yellow Dot Designs was honored by the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce with the Rising Star Award! Ellen was recognized for her involvement with the Chamber and the
local business community.
In 1993 Ellen opened Yellow Dot Studios. She thought long and hard
about the name, even seeking professional advice. She wanted a friendly, approachable and informal name. This time around in 2007, although it would be a studio with a slightly different focus, the old name got approval when people heard it. A website search refined it down to Yellow Dot Designs.
Full-color Brochure: "Get Out and Give Back" is a local business which creates events as a way for corporations to contribute. I worked with the founder, Jane Hess Collins to create a full-color brochure for a marketing event. We incorporated the organization's branding and I coordinated the printing, which was done by a local printer - the best kind!
Magazine Spread: Recently, Yellow Dot was asked by Gratitude Enterprises, LLC of Alexandria, to created a 2-page magazine spread. This is to advertise Gratitude's career coaching services. Yellow Dot Designs designed the logo as well for Gratitude Enterprises, several years ago.
Video Motion Graphics: Yellow Dot created an animated video for the Alexandria Film Festival. Ellen animated the illustration of a boat zipping across the screen, a strobe light scans the sky and the logo zooms out. Lively background music makes it all come together. Here is the Link.
Website Design: We have improved the Film Festival website, making it current and reducing the number of tabs. We put current events into the sidebar, with a photo that links to the Events Tab. The site will give people a reason to come back to see updates.
You can find Yellow Dot Designs on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.
The latest newsletter went out in mid April, 2013. It has photos Ellen took during a recent trip to Las Vegas, showing the "Neon Boneyard" and larger-than-life signage from Las Vegas Blvd. Also featured are descriptions of the latest projects, and a link to the new animation done for the Alexandria Film Festival.
If you would like to receive the newsletter, fill in the form, here. Thank you!
Ellen Hamilton, PresidentEllen began designing in the mid '90s. She opened a studio called Yellow Dot Studios. She worked with Alexandria businesses and restaurants painting murals, designing logos and doing pen and ink illustrations. Later she was the in-house designer at Thompson Publishing Group in Washington, DC for 8 years, designing book covers, marketing materials, direct mail and animated graphics and ads for the company website.
In 2005 she created the website ellensimages.com as a collection of photos and art for purchase. Ellen published commercial calendars for 2006 to 2008 which you can see here under "Calendars". In 2008 she opened Yellow Dot Designs.
Ellen earned degrees in Painting and Printmaking at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, and in Communication Design at Northern Virginia Community College in Alexandria. Samples of her paintings and early work can be seen at www.ellenhamilton.com.
Ellen grew up in Pittsburgh, PA but spent her teen years in Germany, where her father taught English at the University of Kassel. Along the way, she learned to speak German, French and Spanish.
Ellen is active in the Alexandria business and commercial arts communities, including AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts), The Ad Club and the Alexandria Chamber of Commerce. She is interested in history, and serves on the Alexandria Archaeology Commission.
Ellen's husband Andrew is a SAS programmer and provides IT support for YDD. Andrew comes from a town near Glasgow, Scotland.
Contractors Who Work with Yellow Dot Designs:
Mark does coding for our website projects. He is an expert in the CMS web platform that we use. He is an excellent problem solver who has never yet failed to figure out a challenge for Yellow Dot Designs. His children actually warn people not to mention "computer" or "web site" in his presence, unless they enjoy enthusiastic talk on the subject. He is a major contributor in the CMSMS community, and is a specialist in building templates for CMSMS. After programming with html for years, Mark discovered "content management systems". He checked out many, but none were as good as CMSMS, and he's been using it ever since.
Margaret has been a video journalist for Voice of America Television, and has worked in dozens of countries telling visual stories involving many languages and cultures. A former reporter, she is expert at conducting interviews, assembling a story and conveying that story through video. She is experienced in shooting and editing in all sorts of field circumstances. She helps Yellow Dot Designs create documentary, promotional, news and business profile videos with on-site shooting and script development.
Print & Web Design Clients:Alexandria Film Festival, Alexandria, VA Construction Specifications Institute, Alexandria, VA Washington Design Center, Washington, DC Transition Services, Alexandria, VA Old Town Productions, Alexandria, VA Del Ray Business Association, Alexandria, VA Barkley Square, Dog Bakery, Alexandria, VA Celebrate Productions, Lorton, VA Envelope Manufacturers Assn, Alexandria, VA Del Ray Music Festival, Alexandria, VA Alexandria Office Of The Arts, Alexandria, VA Our Town Topics, Fairfax, VA Bobi Bomar's Homes of Alexandria, Alexandria, VA Potomac West Antique Gallery, Alexandria, VA Curcio Communications, Fairfax, VA Archon Editorial, Alexandria, VA Ground Control Landscape Services, Alexandria, VA Benoit Marketing, Alexandria, VA Care For You, Inc, Silver Spring, MD Accoustic Axis, Alexandria, VA Alexandria Times Newspaper, Alexandria, VA Red Poppy Catering, Alexandria, VA Kura Design, Alexandria, VA Audio Book Club of America, Alexandria, VA Thompson Telemarketing, Washington, DC Travel & Tourism Gov. Affairs Cncl, Washington, DC Academy Computerized Dentistry, Washington, DC The Uncommon Market, Arlington, VA Joe Theisman's Restaurant, Alexandria, VA Crescent City Restaurant, Alexandria, VA Michael Patrick's Steak & Ale, Oakton, VA |
Logo Clients:Word Choreography, LLC Fredericksburg, VA Transition Services Alexandria, VA Gratitude Enterprises, LLC Alexandria, VA Property Stars, LLC Arlington, VA Seniors Living Well, LLC Alexandria, VA Contrary Investment Advisors, Fairfax, VA Figaro Consulting, Alexandria, VA Old Town Alexandria Connections, Alexandria, VA The Washington Network, Alexandria, VA Community Partners for Children, Alexandria, VA Capital City Entertainment, Alexandria, VA Alexandria Bridal Collection, Alexandria, VA Kate Moran Band, Alexandria, VA Energy Smart Real Estate Pro's, Alexandria, VA Gallery Indigo, Alexandria, VA Agoric Enterprises, Fairfax, VA Honest to Goodness Foods, Washington, DC River City Grill, Alexandria, VA Boga Mesa Communications, Alexandria, VA Vallen Realty, Inc, Alexandria, VA Soup to Nuptials, Wedding Plans, Alexandria, VA Video Clients:Our Town Topics, Fairfax, VA Care For You, Inc, Silver Spring, MD Old Town Productions, LLC, Alexandria, VA Curcio Communications, Alexandria, VA Illustration Clients:Charles Houston Center, Alexandria, VA The White House, US Government Legal Times Newspaper, Washington, DC Del Ray Music Festival, Alexandria, VA Ideas Unlimited Newsletter, Washington, DC Stouffer-Renaissance Hotel, Arlington, VA
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"Thank you for everything, Ellen. You've been absolutely fabulous to work with!" Jennifer Zimmermann |
| "We've had a lot of good response to the ad campaign, so we're really happy with it. Thank you."
Maria Wasowski, |
| "Our Business of Design mailer looks fabulous!"
Mitchell Ammons, |
| "Ellen—Thank you for your help with the invitation. We couldn't have finished it without you."
Cindy Gompert, |
| "Ellen designed my business cards from an older version, adding new color and fonts. Thanks, Ellen. I'd use her again."
Denise Benoit, |