Avid Core, LLC, has recently been added to the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Multiple Award Schedule (MAS) under NAICS code 541611 — Administrative Management and General Management Consulting Services! Now that we are on the GSA Schedule, it will be easier for federal agencies to procure our services.
The GSA Multiple Award Schedule program allows federal, state, local, tribal governments, and other eligible buyers to easily acquire commercial products and services.
As a women-owned, 8(a)-certified small business, our placement on the GSA Multiple Award Schedule will help Avid Core expand our team’s ability to serve federal, state, local, and tribal government clients through streamlined procurement processes, allowing for greater efficiency and transparency.
We are excited to continue developing meaningful initiatives and delivering measurable impact for all our clients. We look forward to building new, long-term partnerships with agencies and strengthening existing connections while reinforcing our commitment to delivering high-quality professional services in support of government missions.
This win fills us with immense pride and gratitude as we’re reminded of the trust our community places in us and inspired to keep striving for excellence. This award is especially meaningful to our Partner and Chief Operating Officer, Virginia Quiambao Arroyo, who has called Prince William County home for over 30 years and for whom, “it’s truly a tremendous honor to be recognized by the community we serve and love.”
We’d like to thank everyone who took the time to cast a vote for us, as well as our amazing staff, clients, partners, and loved ones for their unwavering trust and support. We couldn’t have done it without you!
As we continue our journey, we remain dedicated to serving our community’s needs and making an impact on Prince William County and beyond. Thank you once again for this incredible honor!
As part of Avid Core’s efforts to stay current with the latest digital accessibility best practices, I recently participated in a 2025 Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) webinar, hosted by Katy Jones of Granicus, a civic engagement platform provider for the public sector. Highlighting automated accessibility scanners, the presentation explored different types of tools, their pros and cons, and the importance of supplementing automated results with manual reviews.
As a communications professional whose job often involves implementing digital accessibility protocols and as someone who personally believes in the importance of accessible digital content, I consider it important to not only keep abreast of what’s new but to learn firsthand from other professionals in a variety of fields to enrich my day-to-day practices.
As such, it was very interesting to learn about automated scanners from a more technical point of view. While accessibility plays a big part in the content I create, as far as scanners are concerned, my only experience has been with Adobe Acrobat’s built-in accessibility checker. This tool reviews PDF documents and provides the user with a list of potential accessibility issues. I never knew there were different kinds of scanners; some more helpful and reliable than others…
The following highlights provide a useful overview of automated accessibility scanners, including the three main kinds: code scrubbers, widgets, and AI (artificial intelligence). While the focus may be on the tool itself, these points can help anyone improve the accessibility of their digital creations.
1. Automated scanners are not a “one-size-fits-all” solution
Automated accessibility scanners can be a useful tool for identifying gaps in compliance for a variety of content, including government websites and PDF documents. However, it is important to understand what automated scanners can and can’t detect. Scanners, for example, can check for missing accessibility tags, but they may miss other issues, such as alternate text (alt text) that may be present, but is too long or inaccurate. (More on this in the next section.)
Additionally, automated testing only accounts for approximately 40% of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG); about 60% of the WCAG guidelines need to be assessed manually. To ensure optimal compliance with WCAG guidelines, it is imperative to manually review the results provided by an automated tool.
2. There are different types of automated testing
Type 1: Code scrubbers
Testing tools like WAVE and Axe Devtools are code scrubbers; these browser extensions read the source code of a page. Their main objective is to identify structural issues, such as missing accessibility labels, alt text used for photos, charts, or other images and graphics that provide added context, color contrast issues, or broken segments of code.
It is important to remember that code scrubbers can provide a checklist of things that need to be reviewed manually; they can’t definitively detect all accessibility issues.
Type 2: Widgets
Widgets are tools that can offer users different ways of interacting with online content, often appearing as floating buttons near the bottom of a page. Widgets can help users change text or cursor size and magnify images, among other functions. However useful they may at first seem, widgets often make the user experience more cumbersome by interfering with accessibility technology, such as screen and braille readers.
Additionally, overlay options like widgets rarely work on mobile devices. Perhaps most importantly, widgets can’t make up for the inherent accessibility issues in a website’s code.
Type 3: Artificial intelligence (AI)
AI scanners can help users restructure some of their website’s coding, and chatbots can assist in identifying accessibility guidelines and clarifying complex information using plain language. However, questions submitted to an AI program must be specific; AI can only cover what automated resources can cover, so incorrect or misleading results can easily be supplied to the user.
How to curtail potential inaccuracies? Make your questions as specific as possible. This, of course, will involve some background research on the user’s part – but it will pay off with better information from the AI chatbot.
3. Choosing the right tool
Code scrubbers were identified as highly recommended tools. AI was also recommended, but as more of a supplemental option. In any case, both tools require manual review and a basic understanding of accessibility dos and don’ts. As you may have guessed, widgets and other overlay tools were not recommended.
When searching for an automated accessibility scanner, we were cautioned to avoid tools that advertise “guaranteed compliance.” A tool that makes lofty promises like that may soon become obsolete, anyway, since WCAG guidelines are updated regularly, and new tools are created to replace existing ones.
4. Remember!
More important than which code scrubbers or AI programs one decides to go with, the two biggest takeaways to remember are: 1) manual reviews must always accompany automated feedback, and 2) staying compliant is not an end goal, but a daily responsibility.
In honor of Women’s History Month, we recognize great women of impact in our network who lead three of our partner organizations. Join us as we uncover their experiences, challenges, and valuable advice. These powerful insights serve as a reminder that, as we grow, illuminating the path for others does not diminish our light but rather makes the world brighter for all.
With a career spanning over 18 years in National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) compliance, transportation planning, policy process development, and sustainability management, Kelly has earned multiple accolades such as the 2024 Women in Transportation Employer of the Year, the 2022 I-95 Woman of Influence award, the 2020 Women in Transportation Woman of the Year, and the 2019 Maryland Department of Transportation’s Environmental Excellence Award for outstanding leadership and innovation. Besides leading the KLT Group, she is a published author, a proud mother, and an active member of a variety of Boards and Committees.
Kelly Lyles, President and CEO at KLT Group
What has been the biggest challenge in your role as a business leader, and how have you overcome it?
While I’ve had many wonderful male mentors, it has been a challenge to establish myself as a leader in a male-dominated industry. Breaking through the stereotypes and bias frequently meant that I had to work smarter and harder. I had to focus on strategic thinking and innovation to make a name for myself and my company, alongside others who may not have felt that same pressure. Many women have to work harder to prove their expertise, secure funding, or gain project manager roles, and I was not an exception.
As a working mom, I felt that I needed to downplay the needs and demands of my family. One example is that there was no dedicated room for pumping at one of my client’s offices, so I walked to my car in the garage down the street twice a day to pump breast milk for twins. I felt pressure to conform to an office culture set by men rather than feeling confident that my expertise would be assumed even when I needed to leave to take my kids to the doctor.
Looking back, I see how I was doing more of the family labor and working harder at the office, and this has been an ongoing challenge. For example, despite my husband being listed as the primary emergency contact at the kids’ schools, they still call me first. I already see that some of these dynamics are changing for women of younger generations, and I am hopeful that as more women advance to leadership roles, organizational cultures will evolve.
What key advice would you give to other women aiming to achieve principal or leadership roles?
The most important advice I would give to women aiming for leadership roles is to own their expertise, advocate for themselves, and take up space in leadership discussions. Too often, women wait until they feel fully qualified before going after opportunities—when in reality, they are more than ready. Build strong networks, find mentors who will champion your growth, and never hesitate to ask for what you deserve. Leadership also requires taking risks—whether it is stepping into a challenging role, negotiating your worth, or driving change. And finally, invest in learning beyond your core skills; understanding business strategy and financials will set you apart as an executive. Women belong in leadership, and the more we rise, the more we create opportunities for other women.
With an insatiable curiosity about people and the world around her, the power of storytelling continues to be Ashley’s primary motivation. From small town newspaper journalist to social media manager to community engagement specialist to vice president at Avid Core, her experience over the past 15 years has been widely varied. She is a skilled project manager and a superb communicator, bringing strong leadership and efficient organization to every project she takes on while using her talents to make a difference in her community.
Ashley Dobson, Founder and Lead Storyteller at Through Narrative
What has been the biggest challenge in your role as a business leader, and how have you overcome it?
As an oldest daughter, elder millennial, and former “gifted” child, decoupling my value, both as a person and as a woman, from my output is one of the great struggles of my life. I graduated college during an economic depression. I was a journalist during the VC-backed era of clickbait and media decline. Hustle culture is all I know.
I am definitely not alone in this. Most women I know, particularly women who have fought to climb the corporate ladder, face this same challenge.
However, over the past few years, I had some health setbacks, and my doctors basically told me that I was running out of medical interventions if I could not get my stress under control. My body made the choice that my mind could not.
Work-life balance is a myth. If you work all the time, there is no life to balance it with. As I was thinking about all of this, I read The Good Enough Job by Simone Stolzoff, and there was one line that hit me like a punch to the gut: “What can you do to remind yourself that you exist on this earth to do more than produce economic value?”
It seems counterintuitive to start a business to get out of hustle culture, but a huge reason I founded Through Narrative and went out on my own was to give myself the freedom to answer this question.
I’m intentionally building a business where prioritizing health and wellbeing alongside passionate work is embedded in our DNA. This requires daily acts of resistance against our “rise and grind” culture—a continual process of unlearning that I don’t always get perfect, but that I’m committed to as both a personal necessity and a leadership philosophy.
I want to create space for a different kind of success metric, one that values sustainability and wholeness over the burnout culture that particularly impacts women in leadership positions.
What key advice would you give to other women aiming to achieve principal or leadership roles?
Reject the scarcity mentality that our world often imposes on us. Too frequently, workplace culture (and pop culture!) pits women against each other, creating a false narrative that there are limited seats at the table for us. We have to actively push back against this narrative.
Instead, I try to move with a spirit of abundance. When I encounter opportunities that aren’t the right fit for me but would be perfect for another woman in my network, I make those connections without hesitation. Whether through social media engagement, testimonials, or collaborative projects, I make supporting other women leaders a priority.
The belief that there’s more than enough success to go around has been revolutionary for how I operate with my business. There have been plenty of projects and Requests for Proposals (RFPs) that have resulted in a “no” but there are also so many projects that feel perfectly aligned for me that I wouldn’t have had space for if I had won those other ones. Every “no” has felt like it has turned into 2 or 3 “yes” responses. Recognizing what isn’t meant for you creates space for what is.
When we reject the competitive framework we’re often handed as women and instead operate from a place of abundance, generosity, and mutual support, we not only advance individually, but we can transform the leadership landscape for all the women following after us.
Anything else you’d like to share as it relates to women in business?
I want to encourage you to define what leadership means to you. Leadership doesn’t have to mean being in the C-Suite. Instead, it could be leading a community initiative, mentoring others, or bringing innovative thinking to any role you hold. There is space for all of us to be leaders in our own ways.
As women aspiring to leadership roles, we often wait for formal invitations to influential spaces. But I say invite yourself to the rooms you want to be in!
By identifying where you want to be and finding the specific ways you can contribute value in those spaces—whether through volunteering, presenting at events, or organizing community initiatives—you establish your presence and expertise on your own terms. This approach not only builds your network but also gives you the opportunity to showcase your leadership skills in the real world.
Trained in urban and regional planning, LaToya has more than 15 years of experience working with the built environment and the communities that inhabit it. With a focus in the areas of affordable housing, urban revitalization, and community development, she is committed to amplifying opportunities for marginalized populations through her firm, Brick & Story, and her involvement with The Aspen Institute’s Weave: The Social Fabric Project and the Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers. Her career has merged her policy and architectural knowledge with her talents as a strategic business developer, marketer, facilitator, and consensus-builder.
LaToya Thomas, Founder and Principal at Brick & Story
What has been the biggest challenge in your role as a business leader, and how have you overcome it?
Learning how to let go of some of the project day-to-day and let others (who are very talented and capable people) manage the work has been my biggest challenge as a business leader. Between years 2 and 3 of my company, that was a big shift I had to make in order to keep up with the growth. I would say that my role and success as a manager and effective delegator is still growing, but it’s 10x better now (8 years in) than it was in the early days. I think it is very natural for entrepreneurs who know every single detail of the business to also feel the need for control over everything, and that is an evolution that many small business owners need to make in order to continue to grow. The trick is to develop systems and strong communication practices within the team to make sure that the work is getting done to your preferred standards.
What key advice would you give to other women aiming to achieve principal or leadership roles?
I encourage everyone to look at ways they can be entrepreneurial in their own jobs to develop the leadership and management skills to move into principal-level roles (whether you are in a role within an existing company or are planning to start your own business). This can mean taking on a task in your company as a way of gaining a new skillset (hint: proposal or contract writing, while tedious and dry, is one of the most valuable skillsets you can get). I also encourage women, specifically, to not only identify the role that they want but also communicate that. If you are working in a company, communicate that to your management, and you’ll find out pretty quickly if the company you’re at is a place where you can grow further or if you need to think about making a pivot in order to achieve that next stage of professional growth.
Anything else you’d like to share as it relates to women in business?
It’s important for women in business to advocate for themselves and their work. It’s equally important for women to support each other in business and for men to advocate for women as well. Some of the traditional mindsets about women, our roles, and our work still permeate the business sector, so I encourage all women to be strong and persistent advocates for who they are and the value they bring to the work they do.
We are truly grateful to our incredible partners for sharing these insights. From setting new paradigms for leadership to catalyzing positive change with their passion and ingenuity, women inspire and empower us every day.
Celebrating Women’s History Month is an opportunity to recognize the courageous trailblazers who came before us and uphold the voices and perspectives of the women in our circles who are making a positive difference today.
By reaffirming the undeniable relevance of female leadership in business, underscored by innovative approaches, competitive results, and welcoming organizational cultures, we can set the stage for women to continue breaking barriers, speaking up, and creating opportunities for all.
Avid (adjective) – having or showing a keen interest in or enthusiasm for something. It’s more than just our company’s namesake. Passion for our work and for the things we love is part of our core values. In this recurring series, we’ll share some of the things we’re Avid Fans of with you.
How many times have you shared a silly video, tagged a friend in a meme, or snapped a screenshot of something that made you laugh? Humor builds connections, which is why so many successful marketing campaigns are built around being witty, clever and entertaining.
In this edition of Avid Fans of, we’ll share the ads and campaigns we can’t stop thinking about because they had us laughing out loud!
Victoria Macdonald – Surreal Cereal
I recently came across some ads for a UK cereal company called Surreal. They draw you in with exaggerated claims about their cereal, only to surprise you with a funny twist (check out the fine print!). While my first reaction was a bit of eye-rolling, it also made me want to share it with a friend to see their response. Their playful approach was impossible to ignore.
Plus, they’ve got a few other clever ads that poke fun at the concept of advertising itself. As someone in a creative field, it’s refreshing to see ads that acknowledge the challenges of creative work!
Sarah Cox – Little Caesar’s Horse Guys Run
It doesn’t take much to sell me on pizza, but it does take a lot for me to remember an ad.
I don’t know what happened to Little Caesar’s when they all but disappeared in my youth in the area I lived in, even after this impressive spot, which I remember from 1993 because I was just the right age to appreciate the humor. They’ve always used humor in their marketing…along yelling “pizza” twice.
I didn’t pay much attention to the chain after that, only occasionally eating it because my boyfriend liked it, until 2012, when the best commercial I’ve ever seen aired.
Having conducted intense internet research for the past 30 minutes, I realize this timing was not random! Little Caesar’s has a fascinating history, and in 2012, they launched a new campaign using a new ad firm. The millions they spent were all worth it, because I have never before or since viewed a commercial that made me laugh so hard, I cried.
Sidenote: Join me in falling down this rabbit hole of Little Caesar’s commercial history. You’ll learn about a time when TVs were square, Jimmie “J.J.” Walker made cameos, and only men delivered food
Rossana Gonzalez – Google’s Home Alone (Again)
You could not have prepared me to see Macaulay Culkin reprise his famous role of “Kevin” in the “Home Alone” movies. I recognized the house and music within a split second. The commercial was to promote Google Assistant. Google definitely played on millennial nostalgia.
The commercial was heartwarming to see for many reasons: seeing Macaulay, who had been through some rough times, look healthy was a major endorphin. The commercial also brought back the classic “Home Alone” symphony, and the famous (huge) home where he added traps for the burglars.
Home Alone grossed about $476.7 million in revenue and is noted as one of the most famous holiday movies of all time. This was a great choice for Google, and cleverly integrated both their Google Assistant product, with the fun and memorable experience of seeing Kevin again. I remember after the commercial came out, I even had conversations with friends and family members that saw it as well.
Carolee Doughty – Nip them in the Butt!
While traveling in South Africa in 2021, I noticed this poster on the wall in the Cape Town Airport, which is an advertisement for an herbal hemorrhoid cream. I laughed because I was shocked at how direct and blatant the advertisement was. In fact, without the surrounding text, one would be able to know the purpose of the product.
The ad is quite clever as the creator used the literal meaning with the play on words (butt instead of bud). Additionally, there’s no discretion with the photo of the person that is experiencing hemorrhoids, whereas, if I were to design an advertisement for any GI disorder that would be in a public space, I would automatically use caution with images and words since hemorrhoids are not only physically painful, but likely embarrassing to share this information with others.
Stephanie Mace – Coors Light “Hits the Spot”
I’ve judged a lot of ads – whether that was as a consumer, as a marketing student or best marketing campaigns judge for the Stevie Awards. I really loved stumbling across this marketing case study on my Instagram feed. It’s a great example of simple reactive marketing that could be one of the most profitable viral campaigns of 2024:
Melissa Gomez – Doritos Finger Cleaner
Doritos lives up to its tagline “For the bold” by producing some of the funniest and most controversial commercials I’ve ever seen. It is no surprise that during the Super Bowl, a time when brands splurge in making unforgettable commercials, Doritos aired the “Finger cleaner,” making me and thousands of other viewers laugh, wonder, and outright say “EW”!
The gross factor actually makes this piece stick in your mind, as research indicates that disgust is a highly memorable emotion.
Aside from the unexpected ending, this commercial is effective because it combines key elements of storytelling such as interesting characters, a mystery, and a comical resolution sprinkled with a note of reality. Don’t we all lick our fingers when eating Doritos?!
Susan Hernandez – “The Truth”
I remember being 14 years old when this Kia commercial came out. I loved the music choice, the flying cars and just thought having Laurence Fishburne as an opera singer was so funny.
More than three million brave members of the military are trained to work together as a part of a unit to accomplish daily tasks and support one another in combat. But what happens when you transition from being an active service member to a Veteran? Where do 200,000 transitioning service members get support to help adapt to civilian life every year?
The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)’s vision is “to provide veterans the world-class benefits and services they have earned — and to do so by adhering to the highest standards of compassion, commitment, excellence, professionalism, integrity, accountability, and stewardship.” One of the first lessons I learned when I supported the VA is that every single person working for the agency is dedicated to fulfilling President Lincoln’s promise.
Every year, VA staff and contractors work with Veterans around the country to identify new ways to support them and roll out innovative programs to cater to their unique needs. In a more personal connection, I learned about the recent launch of the Whole Health System in the North Florida/South Georgia region through one of our service-disabled, veteran-owned small business (SDVOSB) partners at Rigaud Global Company (RGC). Founders Raphael and Dawn leveraged their family’s military experience to further enhance the ongoing Whole Health initiative at VA North Florida.
Video from the Veterans Health Administration about the Whole Health approach.
Imagine becoming aware that you now have control over your own health plan. Your plan can be personalized and offer new options you may have never considered to help improve your quality of life. Those options may include yoga, acupuncture, meditation, or discussing goals with a coach. “Center of Your Own Care” is a new term to many of us, but it has the capability to provide our Veterans with the team they need and re-invent the way we approach healthcare.
To all of our Veterans, we recognize your bravery and thank you for your service! The Avid Core team supports you and we hope you’ll share your #LiveWholeHealth stories with us. We would especially like to thank Raphael and Dawn Rigaud for educating us about their meaningful work and allowing us to help amplify it!
A style guide is a quick reference tool that ensures your brand shines through every time you communicate. It keeps messaging and visuals aligned with your brand so audiences instantly recognize and, hopefully, trust your product or service.
So, when do you need it? Now! Your style guide is essential to your market position and, even if you’re your only staffer, it’ll be the guiding star as you begin to map your communications and marketing strategy.
Creating a brand and sticking to it is an essential part of establishing your value proposition (the specific benefit you’re offering) but it shouldn’t be intimidating.
Use the checklist below to start pulling together the top 10 things you need to establish your branding style guide.
1. Mission
What is it? Your mission is a clear, concise statement explaining why your company or organization exists—it should spark a fire in your heart but be understood by audiences who have no idea who you are.
How do you start? Write about your purpose, who you serve, what you want to accomplish, and how you’ll get it done. Describe what you are offering and connect it to your goals and values.
Expert Tip: Keep it short. If a phrase is less important than the other(s), cut it! Chop-chop.
2. Vision
What is it? Your vision is an aspirational statement that describes your company or organization’s desired impact in the future.
How do you start? Think about what you want to achieve in the long term—even if it’s decades away. What kind of impact are you trying to have on your audience and the world? Why?
Expert Tip: There’s no such thing as being too optimistic. How does your vision help build an ideal world? Embrace your brand’s unconventional side!
3. Values
What are they? Values are the core beliefs that guide your internal culture and influence how your work or your offerings are perceived by audiences.
How do you start? Reflect on what your company or organization stands for and what you want it to stand for. What environment do you want to create? How do these values impact your staff, audience, the community, and the marketplace?
Expert Tip: Personal and audience-driven values can play a big role in determining business or organizational values. Start there!
4. Personality Traits
What are they? Your brand’s “personality traits” are characteristics you want readily attributed to your company and its name.
How do you start? Imagine your company is a person. What’s their vibe and why would your audience be eager to meet them?
Expert Tip: Here’s a good place to check in to make sure you understand your audiences’ traits, as well. They can match, like assuring to assured, or they can fit together like two puzzle pieces, like assuring to distrusting.
5. Voice
What is it? The brand voice is a zoomed-out representation of your perspective and values—and needs to resonate with your target audience(s).
How do you start? Ask yourself how someone with your brand’s personality traits speaks. What words, phrases, and style would they use? How would these shift in different situations?
Expert Tip: To begin, make a short list of adjectives that describe your voice, like confident, dedicated, or playful. Create messaging that exudes these descriptions. We’re confident you can do it!
6. Tone
What is it? Tone drills down on voice, taking into account the specific audience and the platform.
How do you start? Think about how your brand voice would deliver a message to a particular friend. What tone would it strike to convince this friend to act?
Expert Tip: Check out your favorite brands on social media, but no doomscrolling! Pause to note how they stay on brand but alter tone and messaging to fit the platform—and the audience that uses that platform.
7. Logo
What is it? A logo is a symbol that represents your company and serves as the key visual for the entire brand.
How do you start? Logos should be simple and memorable—but can take time to develop. To begin, make a short list of adjectives describing your future logo, like sleek, luxurious, or laid-back. These words should connect to your company or organization’s mission, vision, and values.
Expert Tip: Have your logo options designed in black and white, so your decisions are influenced by shape, style, and font rather than color. Just because purple is your favorite, doesn’t mean it’s a good fit!
8. Color Palette
What is it? A set of colors that should be used on all brand collateral—from your logo to social media, to swag, and anything else visual your company or organization produces. Usually, brands include a main palette with 1–3 colors that are always used and a secondary palette that offers a few more colors for variety and additional visual coding.
How do you start? Much like logo development, a good place to start is with adjectives associated with your company or organization’s mission, vision, and values. Think about what colors represent those adjectives to your target audience.
Expert Tip: To ensure your brand colors are consistent, browse Pantone’s color systems and select Pantone Matching System (PMS) colors. Have your designer break these down into CMYK for print design and RGB and hex code for digital design.
9. Typography
What is it? The way letters are styled and arranged across written and visual materials. To define your brand’s typography set, choose 1–2 fonts and various weights and sizes that create a hierarchy of headings and body text.
How do you start? Like colors, fonts communicate feelings based on style and their cultural history. Explore fonts that build on your brand voice, using the same adjective trick you used for your logo design.
Expert Tip: Some fonts are better than others! Before making a font decision, check to make sure it offers a variety of weights and styles, glyphs, and symbols. It should be accessible—designed for easy reading for people with visual impairments.
10. Imagery/Iconography
What is it? This combination of coordinated photos, illustrations, icons, and other visuals works to express both subject matter and brand.
How do you start? Create a physical or digital mood board that includes your logo, colors, and fonts. Search and pull out images and other visual elements that support your brand voice.
Expert Tip: Generally, aim for a consistent look so that all your visuals appear as if they are coming from one unique voice. Save any unexpected visuals for very special occasions!
Did you write all that down? Great! Now you have your style guide. If you’re stuck or the process seems daunting, remember there’s always room for change. The most important part of your brand is that it resonates with audiences. It may take time, testing, and a few adjustments before you perfect it.
There’s lots of flexibility in this process and sometimes the best results come from instinct, experiments, and accidents. Be open, have fun, and when these 10 elements finally come together, your brand will easily impact the right people and get you results!
I’ve loved comics since second grade. I fell in love with some of comics’ greatest heroes— Spiderman, Batman, and Superman—through their movies and animated shows, and with time I grew to love other characters, like the working-class magus John Constantine from the Hellblazer series and Green Lantern villain Sinestro.
In comics, there are tons of characters to explore—a vast variety of powers, personalities, origins, and countless other traits that make them both awesome and relatable. But it’s taken some time for the world of mainstream superheroes to adequately reflect our changing times and the diversity inherent in our daily world.
One of Marvel Comics’ oldest superheroes, Black Panther, is now a household name thanks in part to the success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The industry standout Spiderman: Into the Spiderverse helped make Miles Morales just as popular—or maybe even more so—than Peter Parker, Marvel’s first Spiderman.
One of DC’s most popular occult characters—the abovementioned John Constantine—is canonically bisexual and, in his long-running horror series published by DC Comics’ offshoot Vertigo, helped explore serious contemporary political and cultural problems, like Margaret Thatcher’s far-right conservatism in the United Kingdom and anti-gay fearmongering during the AIDS crisis.
With new writers and creators, new characters—or new takes on existing ones—and with an eye on the importance of inclusion and diversity in comics, there is an ever-growing world to explore—a world made all the richer by its ability to echo real people of all backgrounds, cultures, and identities.
Despite the vast amount of time I spend with comic book characters, it recently dawned on me that I didn’t know of any who shared a particular trait with me—were there any heroes with dyslexia around, perhaps rubbing shoulders with the likes of Batman or Wolverine?
While the precise causes of dyslexia are still unknown, researchers have established that, in general, dyslexia is the “result of individual differences in areas of the brain that process language” (Mayo Clinic). According to the International Dyslexia Association, “anatomical and brain imagery studies show differences in the way the brain of a person with dyslexia develops and functions,” compared to the brain of someone without dyslexia.
As research into the human mind continues, we are likely to find out more about dyslexia, but, for now, it can best be summarized as a neurodivergent learning difference, primarily affecting a person’s ability to read and say words out loud.
Not everyone with dyslexia experiences it the same way, or to the same degree. Additionally, dyslexia is far more common than some might think: “perhaps as many as 15–20 percent of the [U.S.] population as a whole…have some of the symptoms of dyslexia” (Dyslexia Association).
Takeshi “Taki” Matsuya, a young Marvel Comics mutant who can control technology with his mind. (Image source: Marvel Comics.)
Cassandra Cain was the first Batgirl in DC continuity to have her own comic book series. (Image source: DC Comics.)
Recently, I started to look online for comic book characters that had similar symptoms and experiences. A little bit of research led me to Marvel’s Takeshi “Taki” Matsuya—a mutant hero with the ability to psionically control machines—and DC’s Cassandra Cain—the fourth character to adopt the mantle of Batgirl.
Taki and Cassandra are some of the few American comic book superheroes of East Asian descent, but they also seem to be the only two with dyslexia. The symptoms and types of their dyslexia are vague.
Taki has “trouble reading” but is a “boy genius,” while Cassandra has been diagnosed with the oddly labeled “extreme dyslexia.” This seems like a huge missed opportunity to both reflect dyslexia in a more realistic way and to some extent discuss the nuances of this learning difference.
Dyslexia can be layered and individual symptoms vary greatly, but there are five established, distinct processing differences that can help us understand what’s going on in a person’s mind:
Phonological Dyslexia: This kind of dyslexia is the most common, according to NeuroHealth Arlington Heights, and deals with “difficulties in matching sounds to symbols and breaking down the sounds of language.”
Symptoms of phonological dyslexia can include difficulty learning sounds made by letters and letter combinations, sounding out new words, recognizing familiar words in new contexts, and slow reading.
Rapid Naming Dyslexia: Individuals with rapid naming dyslexia have difficulty “quickly naming things such as numbers, letters, and colors on sight,” according to the Learning Lab. This condition is also known as rapid naming deficit and can be present in people who don’t have dyslexia.
People with rapid naming dyslexia may take longer to name numbers, letters, or colors in a row, “which could be related to processing speed” (the time it takes for a person to do a mental task).
Double Deficit Dyslexia: People with double deficit dyslexia have difficulty with both “naming speed and identifying the sounds in words” – a combination of both phonological and rapid naming dyslexia. This kind of dyslexia can materialize through a slower naming speed rate when asked to recall words, as well as weak phonological awareness.
Surface Dyslexia: Surface dyslexia is marked by the difficulty to say words that are not voiced out, or read, the way they are spelled. According to the American Psychological Association, surface dyslexia is also reflected by difficulty “in recognizing whole words and…an overreliance on sounding out words each time they are encountered.”
Symptoms of surface dyslexia include difficulty with spelling, reading words that don’t sound the way they are spelled, and difficulty reading new words by sight.
Visual Dyslexia: Affected by visual processing, this type of dyslexia makes it so that an individual’s brain doesn’t receive the complete picture of what the eyes see. According to NeuroHealth Arlington Heights, “visual dyslexia will affect the ability to learn how to spell or form letters because both require the brain to remember the correct letter sequence or shape.”
Symptoms of visual dyslexia include blurry text, text going in and out of focus, difficulty tracking across lines of text, and difficulty keeping one’s place on a page of text. People with visual dyslexia may also be affected by headaches or eyestrain.
I’m a person with dyslexia, and as a communications professional, my symptoms are top of mind. Growing up in Ukraine, I spoke Russian until about the age of 7, when I had to move to Virginia and, consequently, learn English.
I never had too much trouble with reading or writing—in fact, English and literature have always been some of my favorite subjects in school—but as I started to notice my dyslexia, I understood that some of my occasional problems with reading—such as keeping track of where I am on a line of text—were in fact related to this learning difference.
In time, it dawned on me, too, that my persistent difficulties in math classes from middle school to college were caused in part by my dyslexia—it has always been difficult for me to mentally keep track of numbers or to quickly grasp the relationships between sets of numbers.
Thinking back, the only math class I wasn’t terribly uncomfortable in was geometry, and that’s probably because—as a visual learner—the various numbers (that in my mind still feel arbitrary and nebulous) were more or less grounded with the help of shapes and pictures.
Frankly, it would have been helpful to see these issues back then with the knowledge and experience I have now, but it’s also true that “it’s better late than never.” At least now, I am better equipped to understand and respond to my own learning challenges and needs, which is really a lifelong skill to practice.
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It continues to be our job, as responsible content creators, to acknowledge dyslexia, among other challenges and needs, and ensure that our work responds to those with this learning difference.
Ensuring that one’s online content complies with digital accessibility best practices is more than just a legal requirement—it helps reach a wider audience and works to engage everyone in the conversation.
There are many small steps you can take to make a website more accessible, such as creating alternative (or alt) text, making sure that each page has strong color contrast for visually impaired users, and grouping information in a way that makes the overall presentation easier to follow.
Below are some ideas from the Bureau of Internet Accessibility to help you get started on making your content more accessible for users with dyslexia:
Font choice: Creators can make their text more legible by “choosing a common, basic font.” Sans serif fonts—like the clean, iconic font Helvetica—are “considered better for accessibility, since they can be displayed on smaller screens without crowding letters together.” Lucida Sans, Verdana, Arial, and Tahoma are good choices, too, and some fonts have been specifically created for people with dyslexia, like Read Regular, Lexie Readable, and Tiresias.
Break down paragraphs: In addition to the fonts you choose, it’s just as important—or even more so—to “break up paragraphs into smaller ‘chunks’ of content,” maintaining a consistent appearance throughout.
Be mindful of your images: It’s generally good to avoid images that have text in them. The Bureau of Internet Accessibility notes that “some users may zoom in on content to improve readability, and pictures of text may not scale appropriately.” However, this doesn’t mean you should be shy when it comes to using visuals—just mindful.
A multimedia presentation, using graphs, photos, and even videos, can “provide people with another way to understand your message without reading through every line of text.”
In this ever-changing digital landscape, these methods—and many others—are something all content creators should strive for.
People with dyslexia should feel invited to contribute their thoughts and skills to society. After all, our strengths, among many, are creativity, analysis, and problem-solving.
Through activism, instant communication, and the internet, the world keeps getting bigger—which is a good thing. Maybe with time, there will be more superheroes with dyslexia for people to connect with at their local comic book stores.
As I reflect on my internship at Avid Core, I can confidently say it was a journey filled with discovery and growth. From the very first interview, I knew there was something different about Avid Core. They weren’t just looking for standard answers; they valued creativity and adaptability. They asked insightful questions, made me feel heard, and showed a genuine interest in understanding how I could best contribute to their team.
I left the interview feeling incredibly excited, and this set the tone for what would become a truly enriching experience.
My internship was dynamic and engaging. I was able to contribute to a wide range of projects, from developing communication strategies to designing graphics and supporting public engagement events. One of the most rewarding aspects was seeing my work used in the real world. There’s nothing quite like seeing a design you helped create posted on social media or featured in an online magazine.
However, this excitement was accompanied by moments of self-doubt. I sometimes questioned whether I was good enough and struggled with the self-imposed pressure to deliver “perfect” work. As someone who has often struggled with anxiety, I worried about not being able to overcome the fears holding me back. I knew I had something to offer, I just needed a chance to prove it.
Avid Core gave me that chance. They believed in the value I could bring to the team and encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and tap into my potential. Several instances come to mind: delivering my first client-facing presentation, crafting media advisories and press emails, or assisting with a high-profile conference. These experiences pushed me to grow in ways I hadn’t anticipated.
I also learned to accept that mistakes are part of the process. Acknowledging them and learning from them helps us grow stronger and discover better ways forward.
My internship at Avid Core was incredibly transformative. It allowed me to dive into a diverse array of projects, overcome challenges, and grow professionally. A key part of this came from one-on-one meetings with different team members, where I was able to learn about their backgrounds and the projects they support. There’s so much to learn from others’ experiences, and these interactions greatly enriched my understanding of the communications field and my aspirations going forward.
As my days as an intern come to an end, I’m thrilled to continue with Avid Core as a Communications Specialist. I can’t wait to build on the experiences I’ve had, take on new responsibilities, and contribute to the team’s ongoing success.
Avid Core is delighted to accept the award for Best Government Contractor in Prince William County for the fourth consecutive year! It’s truly an extraordinary honor to have been recognized with this award in 2021, 2022, 2023 and now 2024. We couldn’t be more thrilled!
Prince William County holds a special place in our hearts, particularly for our Partner and Chief Operating Officer, Virginia Quiambao Arroyo, who has called it home for over 30 years. This makes this honor even more special to us, and we’re grateful for the opportunity to continue integrating the needs of our community into everything we do.
As we celebrate this achievement, we want to extend a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has been a part of our journey – our exceptional staff, loyal clients, supportive friends, loving family, and everyone who took the time to cast their vote. Your belief in us fuels our passion and inspires us to strive for excellence.
Looking ahead, we’re committed to keep making a positive impact in Prince William County and beyond. Thank you once again for this incredible honor, and we look forward to continuing this journey together.
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