Yes! – if you care how your company looks.
And yes again! – a good graphic designer will often save you money by coming up with cost-effective solutions.

(Excerpt from Wikopedia)

Graphic design is a creative process - most often involving a client and a designer and usually completed in conjunction with producers of form (i.e., printers, programmers, signmakers, etc.) - undertaken in order to convey a specific message (or messages) to a targeted audience. The term "graphic design" can also refer to a number of artistic and professional disciplines that focus on visual communication and presentation.

The field as a whole is also often referred to as Visual Communication or Communication Design. Various methods are used to create and combine words, symbols, and images to create a visual representation of ideas and messages. A graphic designer may use typography and page layout techniques to produce the final result. Graphic design often refers to both the process (designing) by which the communication is created and the and the products (designs) which are generated.

Common uses of graphic design include identity (logos and branding), web sites, publications (magazines, newspapers, and books), advertisements and product packaging. For example, a product package might include a logo or other artwork, organized text and pure design elements such as shapes and color which unify the piece. Composition is one of the most important features of graphic design, especially when using pre-existing materials or diverse elements.

It can, but it doesn’t need to. Some complex projects can get expensive... it depends on how much research is required to provide the best solution. Most projects, however, are straightforward and can be accomplished within a reasonable budget. G+A will happily provide options to accommodate your needs within your budget. I do know what I'm doing and I'm very fast, so my end price may well be less than that of a less-experienced designer.

Yes you do, and it should be mobile-friendly. Your company does need to have some sort of web presence. It can be a simple, inexpensive brochure site that is easy to maintain or it can be a complicated interactive application site with e-commerce, etc. I can make recommendations and lead you through the process.

I'm not a professional programmer - I'm a professional designer. I can code simple sites and I can customize a site template, but I leave the complicated coding to the pros. I will design your site then hand it off to a coder.
Note: This G+A site is not a WordPress site. I purchased a template ($40) to use as a starting point and modified it extensively to suit my taste using CSS and off-the-shelf JavaScript Code.

It depends on the project, I've been known to crank out a logo in a few hours that the client loved. That said, I like to have at least two weeks to develop a decent logo. There is a multiple-choice question that is appropriate here - FAST, CHEAP or GOOD... Choose two. In general, my average turnaround time for a simple project is two or three days.

(Spec work is design work that clients request, but will pay for only if they use it.)
Sorry, no! My association forbids it, and I totally agree.

Possibly, if I believe in the cause and it does not conflict with my schedule or another client. Pro bono work is attractive to designers because it allows them to produce work with client input but without client interference. The saying comes to mind..."A graphic designer will do the best work a client will allow."

My specialty - Corporate Communications - I can see the big picture and like to work in partnership with my clients to make their communications efficient, unified and appealing.
Easy to work with - If you like to get involved in the process, come and sit beside me at the studio, pat the dog, drink coffee, see the design process and give instant feedback - it can be fun.

I'm a designer. I can’t spell, and I certainly can’t type with more than two fingers at a time, but I do work with an excellent editor, a great writer and a really picky proofreader - so the answer is yes.

I charge by the hour, by the project or what the market will bear. I will always provide as much value as possible within your budget. If your budget is unrealistic - just too small to produce a worthwhile product - I’ll let you know.

Quotations
I will be happy to quote on your project, but please be advised that to cover the time involved in a lengthy quotation process I may add a quotation fee to the quote. Be also advised that, if I quote on a job and the scope of the project increases, I will inform you of this and advise you on additional fees. I also avoid RFP’s like the plague, but if you must you must. To request a quote, call me at 519 371 7237 or email a detailed design/project brief.

My clients – my friends, my associates, my livelihood. I’ve had a lot of great clients over the years. As a matter of fact, I still have my first client; the company name has changed, but the trust is still there. KitCare Corporation is still using the package-design system that I designed for them more than 25 years ago, and it still works.

Local work (past and present):
Mental Health Grey Bruce
Make Hay Communications & Design
Fawcett Funeral Home and Monument Works
Centre Grey General Hospital
Bernard’s Quality Cars & Service
Coburn Dental Systems
Huron Perth Hospital Partnership
Georgian Bay Sailing Association
Smith’s Tire Service
Meaford Chamber of Commerce
Flesherton Chamber of Commerce
Owen Sound Hospital Foundation
Grey Bruce Health Services
Grey Bruce Historical Society
Blue Mountain Chamber of Commerce
Bruce Telecom
100 Mile Market
Ferguson Funeral Homes
HomeButtons
Grey Bruce One World Festival
Meaford Township
Meaford Hospital Foundation
Tip to Tail Grooming
Pam Farrow (Architectural Technologist)
theFlesherton.ca
Walking Village
BaggageLocater.com
Alice Cowan (artist)
Ian Roberts (artist)
Elder CarePackage
maybe more...

National/Out-of-town work (past and present):
TD Bank
Bank of Montreal
Alfa Laval Canada
Big Bang Restaurant Concepts, Ginsberg+Wong
Seradex
WRED
Women and Economic Development Consortium
Project Canoe
Women’s Information Technology Initiative
Bagel Nosh
The Fish House
Malibu Jack’s
Thames Valley Hospital Planning Partnership
Cadcorp
Seal Paints
Lithocolor Services
Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute
Nexsys Software
Intelemedia Corporation
TC Media
Bacardi
Kodak
Dupont Canada
Mary Kay Cosmetics Canada
Weekenders
KitCare Corporation
Joriki
Silex Corporation
MHA Hospital Alliance
Agora Consulting Inc.
Hawktree Solutions
to name a few.