About

Our history disguised as a big fat lie…

Charfish Graphics, LLC was formed in the crucible of imagination. We are a mixture of moon dust and wax from the wings of faeries.

No, that’s rubbish. Not a word of it is true, except one. The way we really came to be is so unbelievably boring it’s actually visible from outer space:

We went down to the courthouse, signed some papers, and here we are.

Who we really are…

Charfish Design is a firm that really has a simple singular purpose: increasing your business by improving your image.

Image and business go hand in hand. According to web usability studies, you’ve got a little less than two seconds to convince people to stay on your website. If your image isn’t professional, polished and trustworthy, these new visitors to your site (and their potential business) disappear.

The better you and your business look, the more trust you inspire in people who may do business with you.

We could say we design logos, ebooks, and websites, and while that would be true it’s also a bit of a shallow view. The ultimate purpose of what we do is to make you and your business look professional.

What’s with the fish hook all over the site?

The hook in our logo, right. Bit of a story behind that.

Well, we’re called Charfish, which is sort of an awesome mysterious play of fantasy and horror, mixed with trepidation and angst, laughter and spooky doom. I mean…what even is a Charfish, right?

Anyway, the “fish” part of Charfish seemed to inspire a fish hook, which we liked a lot as a graphic element. Plus we had a tagline at one time that was something like: Hook more visitors and business with awesome design. So the whole thing was sort of this spooky, maritime evil specter from the deep metaphor.

That about covers that.

About Charlie

Around the web I’m known as “Charfish Charlie,” which is just a cute way to carry on the brand, really. If we ever meet in person or on the phone, “Charlie” works just fine.

I come from an architectural background. Actually got all the way through school and several years of architecture practice before I realized that the sketching I did during meetings was way more interesting to me than anything else I did at work. I’d spend my lunch hours drawing logos for non-existent companies, creating website wireframes and reading books on web usability.

Life lesson: When your lunch break becomes the best part of your day, it’s time to move on.

Which I did.

I started Charfish Design out of sheer necessity. One, I needed a place to create. Two, I needed a public place to do so, as I think accountability and putting yourself out there has everything to do with being a real professional. Meaning, if you hide your skills behind closed doors, don’t expect to live up to your potential. And three, I wanted to do something that scared me to death. Namely, being responsible for my own paycheck and my own destiny. Eek.

When I started this site, I was invisible. I had no clients, no potential clients, no subscribers and not even a single visitor to the site. My portfolio was full of logos I’d make for fake clients and websites I’d designed for myself in my free time. Needless to say, my early clients put a lot of trust in me and I’m happy they did so. For in the first three months of business, I tripled my income and met some truly incredible people.

Thanks to you, this has been a dream come true, and CharfishDesign.com is as much my site as it yours. If you want to chat, want to see something specific in these pages or just want to say “hi”, don’t hesitate to get in touch. I don’t bite and only yell when provoked.

About Annora

Annora is relatively new to the field of design, though she claims to have taken it up three days after her first birthday. While I can’t attest to that story, I can say that she has created some of the most incredibly slick ebooks I have ever seen.

Honestly, she started at Charfish with a lot of experience in photography – and she transitioned quite quickly into design from there. When she isn’t turning out sexy ebooks, she still does spend time with her camera, making sweet photo awesomeness.

Feel like skipping the contact forms and just emailing her? Go for it!
annora (at) charfishdesign (dot) com.

Has anyone ever even heard of you guys?

Most definitely. We’ve worked with clients from all over the planet, and even a few who seemed to have been from the Horsehead Nebula. Here are a few areas where we’ve made happy clients: