As a graphic designer I’ve had the ample opportunity to help clients find their visual identity. Sometimes it’s just a logo or business card, but occasionally it’s a full out identity or brand. What is a brand? Well, lots of important people have spent lots of money on that question and how to obtain a good one. One that is memorable and relevant like McDonald’s or Starbucks. Many a book has been written on the subject and truth be told – I’ve not read a one. What I have done is get a degree in visual communications and then worked with a brilliant little design and branding studio for a little over five wonderful years. I learned so much and how branding is much more than just a symbol – it’s the root core of your business identity, and it’s so much more than just a logo. It’s your core personality, visual identity, mission and goals – even the way you talk and dress relates to your overall brand. It was a great five years and I couldn’t have asked for a better job experience right out of college. Then unfortunately the recession hit and not many people in our area found branding as important anymore. I was laid off like so many people and had to reinvent myself. That’s when I took up photography as more than just a hobby.
In the next few years I spent a lot of time thinking about my own identity as a photographer. I came up with a basic graphic identity, but never really had the time to sit down and think out my actual brand. Who I am not only as an artist, but what I want to see this business of mine become. Because branding IS important. You have to know who you are in order to better serve others. This new website is my re-brand – an organic living thing that changes as I learn and evolve myself as an artist. It too will continue to grow and evolve, but I now have a good sense of the kind of art I want to produce and the quality products and images I want to provide my clients.
To get to this point took a lot of time. Being a full time mom and a part-time designer to not only my husband’s show, but also another local business left me little time to work on my own business. Then a few weeks ago, my husband Matt and I came to the conclusion that it was time for me to quit my other job, and focus on our own businesses. It was a liberating feeling and I feel so lucky and blessed to now be able to be a stay at home mom for my two girls AND have the freedom to do photography & freelance design for our own businesses full time from home as well.
So, a lot goes into designing a website – and it all had to start with what I decided my brand identity needed to be. My art represents me, and I had to make sure my personality and style came through. So the design process began updating the logo and a simple color palette to set the tone. The rest seemed to fall into place graphically. I’ve always liked clean designs, but with a little flair in the color palette and spot textures got me the look I was wanting. Then onto building the site – I luckily had a great start because I use ProPhoto and WordPress. It has made my life so much easier! I can code, but it’s a mess and takes forever to get things just right. At least for me – I’m way too right brained to be really good at coding. But I know enough to get the look I want out of a template 😉 And here is the end result! Keep posted for more updates…
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