I had very high hopes for PB+J. I spent a lot of time on their "Works" page admiring their finished…read moreprojects, and finally, when I had been very close to signing with a different design firm, I went with PB+J instead because their work looked more special to me. Sadly, it turned out to be total bait and switch. Learn from my hard-learned lesson and do not go with PB+J expecting anything near of the calibre of the finished projects advertised on their page. They'll lure you in with an impressive portfolio and then assign you a junior designer with little to no experience, WITHOUT INFORMING YOU. Things started promisingly but went south very quickly. In speaking with the was led to believe my project would be put in the hands of a designer behind some of the works on their site but was instead assigned a "designer" with so little experience, there was quite literally no portfolio to her name. I would later find she wasn't even listed (and STILL isn't listed) on the site as one of their designers. I asked for weeks to see something--ANYTHING!--she'd designed. These requests were dodged by everyone I spoke to, from the lead designer to the co-founder himself. When I asked to be referred to her own website, I was told she had taken it down "as she improved her Squarespace skills." This is an actual quote from an email I received from them. Not exactly comforting given she was also meant to design my own Squarespace website. When I expressed disappointment at feeling deceived and wanting a designer who had had a hand in the projects that had drawn me to PB+J in the first place, the people I had previously found so warm and kind became increasingly defensive, passive aggressive, and in the end, downright rude. I can't remember the last time I had such a terrible customer service experience, much less at this price point. Instead of standing behind their product, PB+J evidently prefers to stand by its "designers", even if you're the paying customer and aren't receiving what you paid for. Most importantly, they're not actually selling what they're advertising. After losing $$$ with PB+J and having no usable material, I've taken my business elsewhere and have learned you can have way more talent with way less ego and attitude. I'm sharing my story to prevent others from learning the hard way, as I did. Avoid at all costs.

Wow, I've had a totally different experience. I am on my…read morethird project with PB&J and have nothing but high praise for them. They are professional, talented, hard-working and dedicated to their craft. They were unbelievably attentive to our needs and quickly understood our requirements. We have referred them to other B2C business associates who have repeatedly told me about PB&J's work ethic and integrity. Your experience somehow just doesn't line up with what we've seen.

http://duo.ca/ If you're looking to amplify your brand personality look no farther than Duo…read moreStrategy and Design-- this small Toronto company has worked with some big clients like St. Michael's Hospital and the University of Toronto; Nora Camps and co. also work with smaller companies (like mine) offering a full range of marketing expertise for your branding, website, design and more. Duo is tapped in to the right wavelength, in my opinion, you need only look at the company's portfolio to know they're on trend with current marketing and design solutions. Two thumbs up!

I took a usability course as part of my graduate degree. It's one of those courses that has served…read moreme well as a technical communicator in the software industry, documenting how to use software for end users. CRC Toronto is a research company that runs a number of focus groups on various topics. They conduct sessions with core usability fundamentals. It was cool being a participant rather than someone who has conducted usability studies. My focus group session was at noon on a Monday. CRC Toronto is located on Bloor Street East. I went with parking at Victoria Park station and taking the line 2 train to Bloor station. I then walked over here. It's on the south side of Bloor. It was a windy day. Sadly, I was facing a headwind walking over. Burned more calories? Perhaps. I'd have rather been blown over there. I walked into the building and took the elevator up to the second floor. I got a cheerful woman at the reception. She asked if I had signed a confidentiality agreement. I hadn't. I looked at my inbox and couldn't find it. Luckily, she had a printed one. I signed it. Yay! I waited in the lounge. I like that this place had water and cups. I like hydration. I drank some as I waited. Our focus group consisted of six participants. We got Daniel leading our 1.5-hour discussion. We moved into a room that also had a jug of water. So nice! The setup looked like a usability study, but much nicer. We were recorded. It had a one-way mirror. The only other time that I have seen one is at Mercer University, the institution where I got my master's degree. It was cool. We may or may not have been observed during this session and it didn't matter. I did sign a confidentiality agreement. Daniel asked questions and made us all feel comfortable. I had a wonderful experience. The highlight for me was answering one specific question. We were all encouraged to speak freely. My answer was praised by the group because it was different. I was so proud of myself. It was nice that as participants, we were all encouraging and nice folks. We were paid for this study. We got a generous sum of money for our time and opinions. I had to use the washroom before I headed back on the train and then home. The men's washroom was steps away from reception. The women's required walking practically the entire second floor to get there. Plan ahead! The washroom had three stalls. The one that I used was clean. The best part was that the women's washroom was by the staircase. I walked down and headed out. I had a positive experience as a first-time participant of a focus group. It was an added bonus to get paid. I'm the type that does surveys because I like them. It's the statistical aspect that I like. It's the same thing as someone who has studied usability and conducted tests, but loved that I had the tables flipped and was an active participant. (35)