JJ Holmes

What a crowded flyer, some uncomfortable feedback, and a stubborn AI taught me about strategic communications. I'm not a graphic designer. I'm a communications strategist, writer, and systems thinker who happens to spend a considerable amount of time making things in Canva. Flyers. Social media graphics. Newsletters. Promotional materials. The things small organizations need when they don't have an entire communications department at their disposal. I know how to use the tools. I have...

There is usually one person. You know the one. They know where the files are. They remember which version is current. They know who needs to approve the newsletter, which volunteer still needs a reminder, what happened at last year’s event, why the website says something different from the brochure, and which donor gets annoyed if nobody calls them back. They write the social posts. They fix the flyer. They update the calendar. They answer the email nobody else knows how to answer. They...

“Can you just make a flyer?” Famous last words. You’re in the middle of a project when you hear this line, and a request that sounded like 20 minutes suddenly produces a whole bunch of questions. Who is this for? When is the event? What’s the call to action? Where will it be posted? Which logo? Who approves it? Where’s the link? Wait. When is the event again?! Now you’ve been pulled from your own work to make four phone calls, three text messages, two Canva revisions, and feed the dang...