Creative Alliances

Your outsourced creative department

Consider us an extension of your own team, providing ongoing visual design and website support to help you meet and exceed your business objectives. Got some great creative ideas? We’re more than happy to make them a reality.

Building Brands That Break Through.

We’re Pen & Mug, a caffeine-fueled creative studio that believes great service is just as important as great results.

We Serve:

Events & Experiences

Software & Tech

Community Good

Does this sound familiar?

Your organization has evolved, but your communications feel like they haven’t kept up. As a marketing leader, you’ve done a lot to build up your brand, but the tools that got you here feel like they won't get you where you need to go next.

You want to focus your energy on what you do best. You own the marketing strategy for your organization, and you need a reliable creative partner who can execute your vision and bring new ideas to the table.

You need more hands on your creative / marketing team, but aren't sure the next best role to add. Graphic designer? Front-end developer? Copywriter? Maybe you can find that one “unicorn” person who can do it all??

Partner with Pen & Mug to catalyze your marketing efforts!

Consider this comparison between hiring one full-time graphic designer vs. partnering with Pen & Mug as your new creative ally:

Culture / Dynamic	Full-Time Hire	Pen & Mug
Accessible support + regular communication
Flexible project planning
Creative design unique to your brand
Feels like part of the team

Skills / Services	Full-Time Hire	Pen & Mug
Graphic design
Website design + development	Maybe?
Motion graphics	Maybe?
Photography	Maybe?
Copywriting	Maybe?
SEO Specialist	Maybe?
Award-winning quality	Maybe?
All of the above	1 in a million	100%

Investment	Full-Time Hire	Pen & Mug
Average annual investment	$40k - $100k	$24k - $60k
Do you need to provide benefits?	Yes	Nope!
Do you need to provide software + equipment?	Yes	Nope!
Do you need to support professional development?	Yes	Nope!
Long-term contract?	Yes	Nope!

Let's Work Together

Featured Projects

Solutions By Text

Big Machine Music City Grand Prix

Live On The Green

Corner to Corner

True South Puzzle Company

Hootenanny Games

The NashVilla

LASSO

Gilda’s Club Middle Tennessee

Friends of Radnor Lake

Empower.

Ambition

Want to grab a coffee and learn more?

Let's Work Together

Happy Clients

We are beyond thrilled with our brand manager, Pen & Mug. We began this process with a home and a very blurry vision and these guys took it and hit it out of the ball park. We continue to be “WOWED” by the team's knowledge, expertise and creativity, along with their heart and passion for this project. We believe they are a large part of the team at The NashVilla.

Patricia Gross

Owner @ The NashVilla

We love working with Pen & Mug. They have seamlessly become an extension of our team. Wonderful work and great to work with.

Would recommend to anyone who needs design and brand support. Only reason I wouldn't recommend is selfish -- so I can have them to myself.

Hana Elliott

VP Marketing @ Solutions by Text

Since Pen & Mug redesigned our website a little over a year ago, we’ve seen a significant increase in the quality of new leads. These prospective clients fit the profile of our ideal clients and many of them have commented on how much our website appealed to them—both from a design and copy perspective! We told the Pen & Mug team that we wanted a beautiful, fun website that would speak to a specific clientele and they knocked it out of the park!

Hailey Keyees

Co-Founder / Lead Planner @ Simply Golden Events

What I’ve found most impressive about Pen & Mug is their ability to deliver what we ask for according to our specifications and requests, while also integrating their own creativity. In each of our calls, I not only share what we want, but always look forward to hearing their thoughts, insights, and creative expertise.

Matt Crook

Co-Founder & COO of Sylvan Health

I was particularly impressed by Pen & Mug's unique combination of design talent, flexibility, and fun. Austin and Morgan were truly a joy to work with, extremely client-focused, and collaborative. They sought feedback and input, were responsive and friendly, and made the entire project fun and interesting; all while delivering exceptional work product that met our design style and objectives.

Shelly Setzer

Co-Founder of Realize

Pen & Mug does not suck at graphic design.

Chris Paxton

Producer / Festival Director @ Live On The Green

Nashville’s tastiest creative studio: these guys are stand-up professionals that always deliver while making sure every step of the process feels more like fun than work. Read full article.

Lightning 100

Local Business Spotlight

Pen & Mug is the most intuitive and collaborative design partner I have ever worked with. They understand that project scopes can change. They welcome critique and always strive to find the best solution. If the work is not 100% on target, they'll figure out a way to get it there. You get what you pay for--and every dollar you spend with Pen & Mug you'll see incredible ROI.

Mari Klotzbach

Director of Content Marketing @ Ambition

Pen & Mug brings an excellent design eye AND a clear sense of understanding the intended purpose/goal of the work. A great combo. They professionally handled the timeline, budget, and communication.
We've had a great response from our community about the high quality of the work!

Will Acuff

Co-Founder @ Corner to Corner

Pen & Mug delivers. Period. On the creative side they're collaborative, imaginative, multi-talented, and unafraid to try new things. As a business they're prompt, organized, dependable, and super helpful. They're the kind of vendor you wish existed until you find out that they actually do!

CJ Casciotta

Author, Media Producer & Creator of Ringbeller

Pen & Mug is the greatest creative studio ever!!

Laura Schulenburg

Our Founder's Mom