PDDG Design Notes – September 2025

ISSUE 068

SEPTEMBER 2025

Fall is officially here! The heat might fade, but our creative fires are blazing hotter than ever. Between web builds, branding refreshes, and campaign launches, we’ve been busy turning good ideas into great ones.

Speaking of blazing trails: did you know the very first clickable banner ad was sold in 1993 on the site Global Network Navigator? (Yep, that was the birth of the web ad you sometimes love to hate.) That little rectangle changed how brands reach people forever.

This month, we’re spotlighting a handful of projects that echo that same “small piece, mighty impact” vibe. From websites to collateral campaigns, we’re helping clients land the kind of punch that sticks.

Curious to see what we’ve been up to? Let's dig in.

Newest Santee Project Marks 9 Years

As we celebrate nine years of working with our friends at the City of Santee, our latest assignment included the design development of the Fall 2025 Flip Book and Activity Brochure, the city’s Parks and Recreation seasonal guide for upcoming community events and services.

These latest deliverables build upon the redesigned look and feel we developed for the Spring 2025 season, offering a fresh and vibrant color palette and updated graphical elements.

Over the past nine years, our creative team has successfully completed more than 130 design projects for the City of Santee, including numerous campaign logos, signs, collateral, and graphical/map representations.

EducationUSA to Host MENA Regional Forum

EducationUSA, the U.S. Department of State network of over 430 international student advising centers in more than 175 countries and territories, promotes U.S. higher education to students around the world by offering accurate, comprehensive, and current information about opportunities to study at accredited postsecondary institutions in the United States.

We have had the immense pleasure of partnering with the phenomenal EducationUSA team since 2019 on an array of marketing, communications, and outreach deliverables. Our most recent engagement supported the creative needs of the upcoming Middle East and North Africa Regional Forum 2025, to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on October 14-16.

Click here to learn more about the important work EducationUSA does on a daily basis around the globe.

Expanded Talent Up Program Launches

For more than 13 years, we have partnered with Virginia Career Works – Northern Region (VCWNR) on the development of 230+ unique projects, ranging from branding and collateral design to websites, ads, video, and more. VCWNR is a team of private and public sector partners who share a common goal to promote Northern Virginia economic prosperity and long-term growth.

Most recently, we developed refreshed outreach collateral and a new website landing page for Talent Up NoVA, which builds off the successful Talent Up Fairfax initiative from VCWNR that utilized paid work-based learning opportunities to supply qualified talent to local businesses to help them fill hard-to-recruit jobs and provided jobseekers with temp-to-permanent work experiences in high-demand occupations.

20 Years of Workforce Development Month

Established in 2005 by the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals (NAWDP), Workforce Development Month highlights the vital role the workforce industry plays in supporting a growing national economy. Initially observed in May, the celebration was moved to September by NAWDP in 2012.

Via our long-standing efforts in the workforce development space, we joined our client partners in celebrating all month long as we work to elevate the critical role the workforce development system plays in all our communities.

PDDG has proudly supported the outreach and communications needs of workforce development organizations across the country for more than 30 years. Click here to learn more about National Workforce Development Month.

Photo courtesy of NAWDP.

Top Relocation Zip Codes for 2025

In 2024, nearly 26 million Americans—about 8% of the U.S. population—relocated to a new home. Whether buying their first house, moving out on their own for the first time, or just looking for a change of scenery, millions embraced a fresh start. This analysis was conducted by MovingPlace.

Grabbing the #6 spot, congrats to our friends in the Town of Queen Creek, Arizona, with 3,059 moves in 2024. Close behind, in the #9 spot, our friends in the City of Roseville, California, saw 2,887 moves. Queen Creek has been a PDDG client partner since 2019 and Roseville lies just 30 minutes northeast of our global HQ in Sacramento.

Within the State of Arizona, we were thrilled to see many of our friends and client partners rank highly, including Goodyear, Surprise, Mesa, Maricopa, and Scottsdale, among others.

Photo courtesy of Unsplash.

Happy World Tourism Day 2025

World Tourism Day, created in 1980 by UN Tourism, celebrates the power of tourism to drive positive change. Beyond its economic impact, tourism serves as a force for social progress—promoting education, generating employment, and opening up new opportunities for people everywhere.

In celebration of World Tourism Day, we are thrilled to share our agency has expanded its international tourism reach with new assignments in Greece, Spain, England, and the Middle East. Additionally, our President & CEO has completed his personal goal of exploring the people and culture of 50 countries by 2025!

Photo courtesy of UNWTO.

PDDG Team to Attend AAED 2025 Fall Forum

PDDG is a proud member of the Arizona Association for Economic Development (AAED) and is thrilled to continue our support of the organization.

We are serving as a Gold Sponsor and will be attending and exhibiting at the 2025 Fall Forum in Prescott, Arizona, from October 22-24. If you plan to attend, don’t forget to drop by our booth and pick up one of our world-famous light-up pens!

Photo courtesy of AAED.

Celebrating 12 Years as CMAS-Approved Contractor

This month marks 12 years since PDDG was first approved for the California Multiple Award Schedules (CMAS), resulting in numerous contracts with such state agencies as the California Commission on the Status of Women and Girls (CCSWG), California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), among others.

Our current CMAS contract is valid through September 30, 2026, and we look forward to renewing again. Click here to learn more about CMAS.

Photo courtesy of the State of California.

PDDG Supports NAWDP 2025 Youth Symposium

PDDG is pleased to continue our support of the National Association of Workforce Development Professionals by attending and exhibiting at the 2025 Youth Symposium in New Orleans from November 17-19.

You can find members of our team in the exhibit hall. Drop us a line to let us know if you’ll be attending. And, as always, be sure to snag one of our world-famous light-up pens!

Photo courtesy of NAWDP.