Visit website
Updated: 2026-09-23 10:58
Language: English (default)
Access: Normal
Profile views 7 
Outbound visits 1 Website Review
What is Six Ink?
Six Ink is a boutique graphic and web design studio based in Baltimore, Maryland, working directly with clients on brand identity, websites, and print materials. Its page positions it as a one-person-led firm: you work directly with Ellen rather than being passed through an account team, which matters if you want continuity and fast decisions on a small project.
What it actually offers
- Logos and brand development
- Websites and user experience
- Business cards and letterhead
- Corporate brochures, booklets, and reports
- Conference and trade show materials
- Infographics
- Interactive training microsites and e-courses
Who it seems built for
The client list in the page evidence is telling: Johns Hopkins University, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Maryland State Department of Education, the Kennedy Center, Starbucks, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and several nonprofits. That points to organizations that need credible, audience-appropriate design across both print and digital — especially institutions, nonprofits, and mission-driven groups that have to present complex information clearly. A small business or startup is also explicitly welcomed in the copy, so the studio is not limited to large institutions.
A practical way to judge fit
The strongest signal here is the combination of branding plus interactive training work. If your project is a single logo or a simple brochure, a boutique studio can be a good match because you deal with the designer directly. If your project is a multi-part training program or an institutional report with a website component, the same setup helps because one person holds the visual thread across formats.
Next step: look at the portfolio and the award-linked samples — particularly the Johns Hopkins training microsites — and compare them against the format you need. If your project resembles those, that is a more useful signal than the general service list.
For broader context on how design studios present services, you can also compare with AIGA or The One Club for Creativity.
How do I start a design project with Six Ink?
Contact Six Ink directly through the inquiry link or contact form on Six Ink and describe your project in plain terms. The firm is a boutique, woman-owned studio, and the page states that you always work directly with Ellen, so your first conversation is likely to be with the person who does the design work rather than a sales or account layer.
What to have ready before you reach out
- What you need made: a logo or brand identity, a website and user experience, business cards and letterhead, brochures or reports, conference and trade show materials, infographics, or an interactive training microsite or e-course.
- Who the audience is. The studio frames its work around materials that "speak to your target audiences," so naming your audience shapes the conversation.
- Your rough scope and timing, plus any existing brand assets, content or print specifications you already have.
- Whether your organization is large, small, or just starting out. The page explicitly says it works with all three.
A realistic first step
Write a short brief — one page is enough — covering the deliverable, the audience, the deadline and who will approve the work. Send it with your inquiry and ask what Ellen needs from you to scope and quote the project. If you are unsure which service fits, ask for a recommendation rather than picking a category yourself; the service list overlaps, and a website project often pulls in identity and print work.
One thing to weigh
A single-designer boutique means continuity and direct communication, which suits organizations that want one consistent point of contact. It also means capacity is finite, so if your project has a hard, near-term deadline, raise that in your first message rather than later.
What types of organizations does Six Ink typically work with?
Six Ink's client list leans toward mission-driven institutions, universities, nonprofits, foundations, and cultural organizations, alongside some corporate and small-business work.
Organizations in its stated client roster
- Universities and education bodies: Johns Hopkins University, Maryland State Department of Education, Maryland EXCELS
- Foundations and nonprofits: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The ALS Association, Asperger/Autism Network, National Trust for Historic Preservation
- Arts and culture: Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
- Faith communities: Beth Israel Congregation
- Corporate and retail: Starbucks Coffee
- Small and independent businesses: Kleinrock Studio Architecture
What this pattern suggests
The common thread is organizations with complex audiences — students, parents, donors, members, patients, or the public — that need clear communication across many formats. Six Ink's service list matches that: brand identity, websites and user experience, print materials, infographics, and interactive training microsites and e-courses. A university department needing a training microsite, or a nonprofit needing a brand refresh plus annual-report design, fits the described profile better than a company seeking a large-scale e-commerce build.
The site also states that you work directly with Ellen, the owner, rather than through account layers. That matters most if you want a single point of contact and are comfortable with a boutique scale.
Next step
Skim the portfolio and filter by the client type closest to yours — university, nonprofit, or small business — and check whether the award-winning examples shown (such as the Johns Hopkins training microsites) resemble the kind of project you have in mind. If your project is a large multi-vendor engagement or a high-volume e-commerce site, ask early whether that scope fits their model.
How much does Six Ink charge for logo or brand identity design?
Six Ink does not publish logo or brand identity pricing on its site. The page presents services and credentials—logos and brand development, websites and UX, print collateral, infographics, and interactive training microsites—without listing packages, rates, or a pricing page. That usually signals project-based, custom quoting rather than fixed-price tiers.
What that means in practice
A boutique studio that quotes per project typically prices on scope: number of logo concepts, revision rounds, whether you need a full identity system (typography, color, templates, brand guidelines), and how many applications it must cover. Because Six Ink's listed work spans brand identity alongside print and web, a logo-only request and a full identity-plus-website engagement would land in very different ranges. You always work directly with the principal, Ellen, per the site, which often means fewer handoffs but also less capacity for very large or rush jobs.
How to get a real number
Ask for a written scope and estimate covering deliverables, revision rounds, file formats, and timeline. Useful questions:
- Is the quote for a logo mark only, or a system with brand guidelines?
- How many concept directions and revision rounds are included?
- What happens if we add print or web work later—is it bundled or separate?
- Who owns the final files, and what formats are delivered?
Decision criterion
Choose Six Ink if you want a single designer handling identity, print, and web with a consistent look, and you value direct communication over agency layers. Look elsewhere if you need published, self-serve pricing or a very fast, low-cost logo.
For comparison on typical market ranges, see AIGA design business resources and HOW Design. To judge fit, review Six Ink's portfolio first: Six Ink.
What is the process for designing a website with Six Ink?
Six Ink doesn't publish a numbered process on its site. What the site does show is a working style: you deal directly with Ellen, the firm's principal, rather than an account team or a rotating cast of designers. The stated approach is to listen closely, understand your project parameters, and then deliver a tailored design solution.
What that means in practice
For a website project, that direct-access model usually looks like this: an initial conversation about your goals and audience, a definition of scope (how many pages, whether you need a content management system, what existing brand assets you have), design concepts for key page types, revision rounds, and then build-out. Six Ink lists "websites and user experience" alongside logos, brand identity, print collateral, infographics and interactive training microsites, so a web project can be paired with identity or print work if your brand needs it.
Evidence from the site
The site includes a client testimonial describing the experience as "seamless," crediting both design sense and responsiveness, and noting the client would work with Ellen again. That's the client's observation, not a published methodology — but it points to responsiveness and a single point of contact as the things clients notice. Six Ink also lists interactive training microsites and e-courses as a service, and its award listings include training microsites and a learning site built for Johns Hopkins University's Center for Technology in Education. If your project involves e-learning or an interactive component, that's the closest thing to a demonstrated specialty.
Who this fits, and who it may not
| Your situation | Likely fit |
|---|---|
| Small business or startup needing a site plus a logo | Good — the firm explicitly says it works with companies large or small, or just starting out |
| Organization needing print and web handled together | Good — both are core services |
| Institution needing an interactive training site or microsite | Plausible — this is a documented project type |
| You want a large agency with a formal discovery phase and multiple teams | Probably not the match — this is described as a boutique firm with one principal |
Next step
Before your first conversation, write a one-page brief: your audience, the three things a visitor must be able to do on the site, any brand assets you already have, and your deadline. Then ask directly how many revision rounds are included, who writes the copy, who handles hosting and ongoing updates, and what the timeline looks like from kickoff to launch. Those four questions will tell you more about the process than any general description.
You can see the portfolio and client list at Six Ink. For comparison on the Baltimore-area end of things, AIGA maintains a designer directory that is useful for checking a firm's peers and typical project scope.
Can Six Ink create interactive training microsites or e-courses?
Yes. Six Ink lists interactive training microsites and e-courses among its core services, alongside websites, user experience, logos and brand identity, and print materials. The portfolio evidence points to exactly that kind of work: award recognition for a Johns Hopkins University Center for Technology in Education "Boundless Learning" site, a Kindergarten Readiness training microsite, and a 2017 award for "TeamQuest" — described as a series of four microsites for middle-school math activities built around a team-based instructional cycle. That is a learning-design project, not just a marketing website.
What fits Six Ink's model
- Training microsites — a self-contained site for one course, program or curriculum unit.
- E-courses — interactive instructional content, presumably with the same UX and visual identity work applied throughout.
- Brand-consistent learning materials — logos, brochures, reports and conference materials can be produced in the same engagement, so a course doesn't look like a separate vendor made it.
- Institutional and nonprofit clients — the listed clients include Johns Hopkins University, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Maryland State Department of Education, the Kennedy Center and the ALS Association.
The trade-off to weigh
Six Ink is described as a boutique, woman-owned firm where you work directly with Ellen. That suits organizations that want one accountable designer who listens closely and tailors a solution, and it tends to work well for a defined microsite or course module. If you need a large team running dozens of courses simultaneously, or heavy learning-management-system engineering, a bigger studio or an e-learning specialist may be a better fit. The practical question is whether your project is primarily a design and user-experience problem or primarily a platform-integration problem.
Next step
Bring a short brief to the first conversation: the learning objective, the audience, roughly how many modules or screens, whether it must live inside an existing LMS, and any accessibility requirements. Ask to see the Boundless Learning and TeamQuest work in detail, and ask who handles development versus design on a project of your size. If your needs lean toward a full e-learning production shop rather than a boutique design studio, it is worth comparing a specialist such as Allen Interactions before deciding.
Hosting and Email
GoDaddy
Hosting
Fastly
Location
Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Pages, Search and Sharing
All bots
Registration details 
Identified technologies
User reviews (0)