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Sparking Design, Asheville logo design

Sparking Design

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  • What We Do
    • Web Design + Dev
    • Logo + Identity Design
    • Print & Graphic Design
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Giving Back

Team Cul de Sac Alice

Team Cul de Sac

Chris's fundraising effort for the Michael J. Fox Foundation in honor of Richard Thompson.

Take Me There
WordCamp 2017 Banner

Asheville WordCamp

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Take Me There

Team Cul de Sac

Team Cul de Sac has been the passion project for Chris since 2009. A long time fan of comics, he has been involved in the illustration industry for most of his adult life – even owning a comic book store at one time.

Richard Thompson and Chris Sparks

In 2008, he met Richard Thompson at Charlotte’s HerosCon. Richard was a long time revered illustrator for the Washington Post and the creator of the recently syndicated comic strip Cul de Sac. Chris created a website and brand identity for Richard to use with his burgeoning comic strip and they became close friends.

Not long after, in 2009, Richard was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease. Inspired to learn more and support his friend, Chris read a memoir of Michael J. Fox and started following the fundraising efforts of his Foundation to find a cure. Team Cul de Sac was born.

Team Cul de Sac book

Chris spearheaded a fundraising effort through TeamFox, landing a publishing deal from Andrews McMeel Publishing. Hundreds of artists donated artwork inspired by Cul de Sac’s characters, including Bill Watterson. Richard contributed artwork for the cover and Sparking Design designed the book layout.  Through book sales and an auction of the original works via Heritage Auction house, Team Cul de Sac raised more than $40,000 for the Michael J. Fox Foundation.

In 2013, Chris was awarded the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award from Comic-Con International for his work on Team Cul de Sac.

Sadly, Richard was unable to continue drawing his strip after a few years and, in 2016, passed away due to complications from Parkinson’s Disease. Chris continues his fundraising efforts in honor of his friend. To date, Team Cul de Sac has raised over $250,000 to help find a cure.

To find out more about Team Cul de Sac’s annual efforts visit the website or follow on Facebook.

Press

From FoxFeed (MJFF) Blog: A Comic Book for a Cure: How 100+ Famed Cartoonists Came Together to Honor One of Their Own

Washington Post: TEAM CUL DE SAC BOOK LANDS: ‘Cartoonists Draw the Line at Parkinson’s’ arrives Tuesday amid auction, Michael J. Fox feedback

Washington Post: TEAM ‘CUL DE SAC’ AUCTION: Rare Watterson painting sells for $13K

Asheville WordCamp

WordCamps, small locally-run conferences sponsored by WordPress, take place all over the world. The first Asheville WordCamp took place in 2014 and we’ve had the pleasure of attending and volunteering since the beginning.

In 2015, Jamie was part of the 4-person Design Team, responsible for the branding of the conference and all of the associated print and swag.

In 2017 & 2018, Jamie became the Design Team leader, taking the helm of each year’s design.

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What next?

We’re Ready! Let’s chat.

Some of our thoughts…

Website Celebration

When is it time for a website redesign?

Hopefully, you get this kind of reaction when someone visits your site. 75% of website visitors admit to making judgments about a company’s credibility based on that company’s website design. (Stanford University)Your website is the virtual face of your business.It works for you and represents you 24/7. It's often the first time someone will interact with your brand. Don't let a bad first impression ruin your chances for growth or a positive user interaction with your … Read More → about When is it time for a website redesign?

A word from our awesome clients…

Susan Murray

Food Blogger Susan Murray

I have worked with Jamie and Chris on three different websites over the past eight years as well as on a number of print and design projects. They have always been responsive to my needs, innovative in their ideas and design, and at the forefront of knowledge in their craft. This shows in the beauty of my current website which reflects my personality and style in the frontend while the backend of the site is incredibly easy for me (a reasonably smart person with limited computer training) to use. And when I run into trouble, one of the other of them is always there to help. (I don’t even need to bribe them with cookies!) I can’t recommend them highly enough.

Susan Murray
A Woman Cooks in Asheville

Melinda Knies

Owner of Mountain Made Gallery

Chris and Jamie have created a very effective website for Mountain Made and continue to keep us up on any needed changes or improvements. They also do graphic design work for us–our rack cards and special cards that we do for artists at Mountain Made.

Melinda Knies
Mountain Made Gallery

James Whitlock

asheville attorney james whitlock

I would highly recommend anyone in the need of professional website design services, and/or logo design, to talk to Chris and Jamie at Sparking Design before choosing anyone else in Asheville.  Chris and Jamie are extremely talented, professional, and easy to work with.  Moreover, they are affordable, especially considering the high quality product they produce and their willingness to work with you to ensure that your unique needs are met.  Jamie’s logo design transformed the ‘face’ of our business, and the website design, which incorporated the new logo, will bring us a modern online presence that we previously lacked.

James Whitlock
Davis & Whitlock

Kim Lloyd

Kim Lloyd

The remarkable team at Sparking design offer a personal approach to web development and brand building. Jamie worked tirelessly to interpret our vision and represent our company mission during the initial evolution of our new web site and logo design. They also took the time to explain each step of the process, and the final product was more than we expected! They have continued to meet every maintenance need and are always pleasant and responsive. I am so grateful to work with Chris and Jamie and highly recommend them for your branding, web development and graphic design needs.

Kim Lloyd
Celine & Company

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