Wow... I can't believe I now have my website and shop up and running!! It has been a dream for so long and I absolutly LOVE how my website looks! The branding has been in works for years now - evolving ever so slightly at each rendition.
Some of you may recognize the strawberry hat icon! I used this for the back of my very first art prints in 2021. While I love strawberries, I knew it didn't feel 100% me, so I played around with ideas until...
The Birth of an Acorn
It all started with my profile pic!
As a little hooman, I loved to collect little things I found outside - rocks, leaves, pinecones, and of course, acorns. I still have a little acorn from when I was 10 years old with me that sits among my trinkets on my desk. There's something about the shape and colour that makes them so fun and cute to collect. I also have a big connection with nature - with a degree in Environment and all, and thought an acorn was the perfect fit to my past, personality and brand.
I always loved adding different types of signartures to my artwork. When I was in my bullet journaling phase, I used a "washi tape" look to my signatures. Sometimes I just spelled my name out if it fit.
Then, came my love for blockprint. I wanted to create a little stamp with my name on it that I could use for markets.
I then decided to scan that stamp and vectorize it.
Then... in March 2023, I decided to play around with variations on my iPad and ended up with a more colourful version. It was okay... but something still didn't feel right. Was it too colourful? Maybe it was the outline...
It wasn't until Nov 2023 that I updated it to what it currently is - I added a more brown-green, a beige backround and stuck with a minty-sage green... and turns out it was perfect for me!
Who knows, my logo may change and evolve over time - but it feels amazing to think that not too long ago, I had a totally different conception of my branding personality. As my artwork has evolved, so has my branding. I can't wait to see what it evolves into in the future!
Tips on How to Design your Art Business Logo and Branding
As with my story, it can sometimes take years for you to get to the point of knowing your branding personality, but it will come naturally as you develop your style, colours, shapes etc. Here are some questions you can ask yourself when developing your brand:
- What colours do you often use in your artwork?
- This might be hard to answer if you're just starting out, but over time, you will be drawn to certain colours in your colour palette more than others. Eg. Do you use a lot of pastels, or muted, dark colours? Maybe you use a lot of salmon pink, or love to use a bright ultramarine as colour accents? Take note of those preferences and play around with different colour combinations!
- What colours bring you joy?
- For me, it's olive green and sage. I can't get enough of them and use them very often in my artwork!
- Is there a mascot you identify with?
- Eg. a character you draw a lot, a bear, cinnamon stick, sprout, rat, fish, eyeball, rock etc... there are SO many to choose from - Not at all a requirement but can be helpful to play with!
- What do you want people to feel when they look at your branding?
- My work is often fun, whimsical, nature-filled and and children's-books oriented. Because of this, I decided to incorperate nature elements (green's, browns & the acorn), as well as pops of fun colour to give it a playful feel.
- Do you want to establish yourself as your name, or use a catchy name for your business?
- I find many artists start with a catchy name but end up changing it to their personal name once they become more established in the art world. There are many successfull business with either types of names!
- DON'T copy the branding and work of an artist you admire!
- Often their branding is developed over a LONG preiod of time and is very personal to themselves, their style and brand. Personal reflection and journaling can help you define what makes your brand stand out from others, and lets be honest.... you want to stand out!!
- Lastly... have fun, and trust the process!