BRANDING FOR PHOTOGRAPHERS
Whether you’ve just launched your photography business or are a seasoned veteran looking for a brand refresh, there are four main ideas to help you find your focus.
1. Be distinctive
The kind of photography you focus on is the most important item to consider before you begin a logo or branding project. Are you a food and styling photographer, wedding and family photographer, or an urban street photographer? These are all such vastly different styles of capturing a moment that they will require completely different branding approaches. Now we can narrow it down from here.
2. Brand it, #boss
How do you take your unique photography niche and turn it into a beautiful brand?
Answer: Style. Find that emotional connection your style has with your customers. A bride-to-be has seen your most recent engagement shoot and just adores the way you captured the couples love. She wants that romantic feeling for her engagement shoot, too. Allow your branding to reflect that romance you bring to your photography. Show this bride-to-be and any other that when they hire you, your photography style will make her swoon. Maybe that means using calligraphy in your logo or creating a soft and feminine color palette. Keep asking yourself throughout the process, "Is this in line with my style?" This emotional tie into your branding elements will give clients a sense of your approach before they even chat with you.
3. Work your website
As a photographer, your website is so important. This is the best place to showcase your photos. Organizing them into galleries and recent shoots will help your future client visualize their own photos. Continue the emotional experience of your brand by telling a fluid story to your customer. A good example may look like this:
Click … HomepageIntroduction to Drizzle Food Photography and Styling, where I am inspired by ingredients and abundance in the kitchen.
Click … Gallery A collection of gorgy examples of past photo shoots for dreamy clients and delish dishes.
Click … Contact How to get in touch to book my unique and valuable photography services.
Let the photos do the talking. On your website, the branding should act and an important accent that underscores your photography style.
4. One step further
As the savvy photography business owner you are, you know there’s more to branding than just the logo and website. Social media (styled photos anyone?), photo flyers and media kits are all places to expose your branding and your business. Think about each client’s experience from beginning to end. From finding you on Instagram to thank you stationary, gather all your pieces and review what you have. Make sure it conveys the emotion and style of the photos you take.
In the end, it should all be in line with your vision, mission and fabulous photography.
BRANDING FOR FLORISTS
I'm starting a new blog series called "Branding for...". In these posts, I will highlight a creative industry and zero in on some key how-to's for:
• Communicating your mission
• Translating your passion into a unique brand identity
• Inspiring your dream clients to work with you
• Creating a winning website
• Finding the "joy" job (you know, the client and project that ignites your passion!)
Let's dive in, shall we?!
I'm starting a new blog series called "Branding for...". In these posts, I will highlight a creative industry and zero in on some key how-to's for:
Communicating your mission
Translating your passion into a unique brand identity
Inspiring your dream clients to work with you
Creating a winning website
Finding the "joy" job (you know, the client and project that ignites your passion!)
Let's dive in, shall we?!
Branding for Florists
Whether you've just launched your business or are a seasoned veteran looking for a brand refresh, there are four main ideas to help you find your focus.
1. Be distinctive
What makes you unique? What is the thing that makes your floral business stand out from all the rest. Is that you grew up in Hawaii and have a deep-rooted love for all things bright and tropical? Is it that you are a hopeless romantic at heart and derive deep joy from bringing a wedding to life through floristry? What makes your clients love you and your work?
2. Brand it, #bossbabe
How do you take your unique-ness ( see above! ), and turn it into the most fantastic florist branding ever?
Answer: Emotion. Find that emotional connection your style has with your customers. A bride-to-be has seen your whimsical hanging eucalyptus installation on Pinterest and has fallen in love. She wants that romantic feeling for her big day, too. Allow your branding to reflect that romance you bring to your floral design. Show this bride-to-be and any other that when they hire you, your floral arrangements will make her swoon.
You create an emotional connection through your branding based on the patterns, colors and fonts you choose to marry into a uniquely perfect fit for your business. Done right, clients will have a sense of your style before they even chat with you.
3. Work your website
Branding doesn't stop with your business cards. Your brand needs to carry through to your website, too. Now is the time to consider your dream client's journey through your site. Yes, I said journey. Think about where they will start (homepage, blog?) and where you want them to end up (contact page, portfolio?). Continue the emotional experience by telling a fluid story to your customer. A good example may look like this:
Click ... Homepage Introduction to Sweet Pea Floral Design, where my mission is to create seasonal arrangements that are whimsical and romantic.
Click ... Portfolio A collection of gorgy examples of past work for dreamy clients.
Click ... Contact How to get in touch to book my unique and valuable services.
Thinking about how a potential customer will wander through your website will allow you to create the right structure, content and navigation.
4. One step further
As the savvy floral business owner you are, you know there's more to consider. Social media ( header images, profile pictures, behind the scenes Instagram shoots ), advertisements and media kits are all places to carry over your branding. Think about each client's experience from beginning to end. From ribbons to store front signs to thank you stationary, pull everything together and review what you have. Make sure to ask yourself if it sends the signals to the right kind of clients. In the end, it should all be in line with your vision, mission and style.
Looking for examples of a florist's branding in action?
Head on over this-a-way.
#MOBILEGEDDON
#mobilegeddon is here. Are you ready?!
Ok, fine. That's a little over-dramatic. But for many websites, today marks a day a lot like a mobile Armageddon for their search rankings on our good friend Google. Why? Google will start a new overhaul of it's famous algorithm to determine if a website is mobile-friendly. And if yours is not... well, you might want to rethink your web design.
Is your website mobile friendly enough for google? Here's the break down of the good, the bad and what it means for your website.
THE GOOD
For you, the mobile-friendly consumer, this is great! Online retailers and larger companies with complex websites will be easy to navigate on a smartphone or tablet. Same goes for online magazine websites like Refinery29 and EOnline. This will ensure that all your have to do is click, click and read everything you ever wanted to know about Kim Kardashian's bleach blonde hair and pregnancy woes.
THE BAD
If you are a small business with a site made even one or two years ago, you may not be ready for #mobilegeddon. According to the Economist, 40% of the leading sites failed Google's "mobile-friendly" test. Ouch. And the result is that those site's search rankings will be dropped. So if your website was on page one of Google when a user searched for "DC area photographer", you may have just been bumped to page two or three. Now you're less likely to get clicked on by your dream client.
NOW WHAT?
So now that you're officially freaking out and creating a algorithm-safe bunker with canned foods and a pile of US Weekly, what can you do? First, determine if you're website is in the clear or not with this test. It will determine if your text is too small or your links and contact information aren't easy to use. If you find your site doesn't pass the Google test, it might be time to rethink your web design. This may mean something as simple are creating a mobile-friendly version of what you already have. It doesn't have to be a full overhaul.
Overall, it's better to know about these Google changes and take it in stride, than to wonder why in the world you suddenly have less page visitors than last week. But if you find your website isn't ready for #mobilegeddon and you just need to be cheered up, you can always turn to these mobile-friendly Kim Kardashian selfies.
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CALENDARS FOR IPHONE + IPAD
These babes were made for the 2015 calendar year as background for a phone or tablet. I didn't want them to get lost, so they can live for ever in design-land here on the blog!
Click through to see each month and feel free to reach out if you like this idea and would like to see more for 2018!
These babes were made as background for my phone and tablet many years ago. I didn't want them to get lost, so they can live for ever in design-land here on the blog.
Click through to see each month and feel free to reach out if you like this idea and would like to see more like this!
FINDING DREAM CLIENTS
Finding your dream clients starts with knowing yourself. You have be 100% behind their business to be able to create exactly what will fit their brand best. If you feel lukewarm about their passion, it will likely show in your work. But if you wake up wide-eyed and excited to crank out your best work, then you know you've likely found your dream client.
I work with all sorts of people who do amazing, creative things. Bakery owners, skin care product developers and fashion bloggers to name a few. There are a lot of reasons I choose to do design for people like this. One of the biggest reasons I love to work with these groups of creatives is their passion.
You can learn a recipe for a perfect cake or what's hot for Spring, but passion is something you just have. It bubbles up inside you the minute you wake up and doesn't settle until your head hits the pillow at night. You can't teach that. Adeo Ressi, a serial entrepreneur, says, "...real passion and conviction, there's no test to measure that, except the test of hard knocks. When you get punched in the face ten times and get up and keep going."
That's your passion.
I feel so lucky to get to narrow in on that passion, and translate it into design. That's kind of a good one-sentence summation of what I strive to do through branding and web design: bring your passion and drive for your business to life through design. ( To see the fashion blogger + skincare brands, click here )
My client's passions are also usually ones I can get behind. They're doing things I also really enjoy and spark my interest, and that ignites my creativity. While some may be really passionate about the newest i-gadget, that's not really my thang. But the newest craft brew on the market? I'm down!
Finding your dream clients starts with knowing yourself. Click to Tweet!
You have be 100% behind their business to be able to create exactly what will fit their brand best. If you feel lukewarm about their passion, it will likely show in your work. But if you wake up wide-eyed and excited to crank out your best work, then you know you've likely found your dream client.
Thank you may be my dream client? Holla at me!
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NEW YEARS CHECKLIST - 15 QUESTIONS FOR YOUR BEST YEAR YET
It's easier for me to think about what I've already done or accomplished, and then build goals from there. So I thought I'd share a little list of questions that you can use to do the same. At the end, review your answers and you may find that the goal or resolution that would be the most beneficial for the new year is not so hard to conjure after all.
I find it can be hard to create goals and resolutions when the new year comes lurking around the corner. How am I supposed to alter my life for the better when I'm still recovering from my holiday food-coma? It's slightly unfair, if you ask me. What I've done instead, is think about what happened in the past year. It's easier for me to think about what I've already done or accomplished, and then build goals from there. So I thought I'd share a little list of questions that you can use to do the same. At the end, review your answers and you may find that the goal or resolution that would be the most beneficial for the new year is not so hard to conjure after all. Enjoy!
1. ARE THERE ANY SIGNIFICANT PLACES I TRAVELED?
2. WHAT DID I SEE, DISCOVER OR EXPLORE?
3. WHAT DID I SPEND THE MOST TIME WORKING ON THIS YEAR?
4. WHAT SKILLS DID I LEARN, IMPROVE OR MASTER?
5. WHICH PERSONAL QUALITY DID I DEVELOP OR STRENGTHEN?
6. I FELT MOST ALIVE WHEN __________ ?
7. WHICH HABITS DID I CHANGE, CULTIVATE OR GET RID OF?
8. WHAT DID I ACHIEVE CAREER-WISE?
9. WHAT BROUGHT ME HAPPINESS IN THIS PAST YEAR?
10. WHAT AM I MOST PROUD OF THIS YEAR?
11. WHAT DO I WANT MY EVERYDAY LIFE TO BE LIKE IN THIS NEW YEAR?
12. HOW WOULD I LIKE THIS NEW YEAR TO BE DIFFERENT FROM THIS PAST YEAR?
13. WHAT DO I WANT MY OVERARCHING THEME TO BE THIS NEW YEAR?
14. HOW DO I WANT TO REMEMBER THIS NEW YEAR WHEN I LOOK BACK ON IT NEXT YEAR?
15. WHAT IS MY NUMBER ONE GOAL FOR THE NEW YEAR?