Or work is an extension of ourselves, our ideas in tangible form.

We are SO good at what we create that people offer to purchase those goods and services from us.

This is such an enormous gift to take part in this process. The details in branding (presentation, packaging and environment) make the experience of a purchase that much more meaningful and memorable for each customer/client.

Although we may not like to admit it, we all start out as amateurs. We get so overwhelmed with the I D E A S of trying new colors, fonts and displays in our branding that sometimes the essence of our brand gets lost in a creative chaos. This chaos not only creates a disjointed reflection of our company but of the pièce de résistance – the product or service itself.

On the opposite end of this chaos, we can also under-whelm our work through rushed decisions on logos or unappealing website design. All of these aspects of branding should be pulled together cohesively and work in a harmonious balance to reflect what we create and offer as a professional service. Herein lies our quest to create the perfect blend of visual elements that sew together the brand of our creative empires.

Designs That Rock

…with personality & professionalism.

Jonathan Adler
Here is an established artist & designer who started out throwing on his wheel and now he has an empire.
Not only does his work knock your socks off in terms of design and quality, but the packaging, the website and his musings pull together his brand so brilliantly. It seems so seamless, effortless. This is the ultimate state of branding perfection.

TLC magazine
A local indie magazine that features editorial styled spreads and all locally designed fashion, accessories and home decor.
The magazine is printed on a heavy stock that brings a beautiful tactile nature to its pages. It’s a simple and minimal layout but pristinely thought out.
The approach of featuring up-and-coming local designers in a editorial presentation marries vision and execution harmoniously.

Droog
Another well established design based concept store that appeals to a niche market and aesthetic. The environment created in its stores with exclusive designer products and unique reading material bring the client into the head space of RR Droog, the founder of the Droog headquarters in Amsterdam. This is definitely not everyone’s cup of tea, but it is the essence of Dutch design that sustains a cohesive and solid presence in its simplicity.

What stage is your business at in terms of your branding?

It is all accessible.

We can create our own brand and identity according to our own vision. The resources to carry out this vision of our brand is alive and bustling in the online community. Seek out those who can see your brand as a whole and more importantly, work in the details that give the product that touch of professionalism.

but lately, i’ve come across a bunch of lovely, minimalist (my favorite!) designs with small, lightly illustrated banners or logos. love this trend for several reasons:

• any emphasis on content over fancy layout is good.
• small banners load very quickly.
• it’s a great exercise in editing.

here are a few that have caught my eye!

adele at modernemotive has an eye for photography & eco-friendly paper goods. her minimalist layout & banner logo let her content take center stage.

i discovered the secret pocket this week during the blog it forward event. “se” comes after “sc” for scoutie girl! anyhow, she runs a fabulous blog and happens to live a couple hours northwest of me. love the simple, hand done graphic nature of her blog banner.

when i posted to twitter that i had noticed this tiny banner trend among bloggers, julie from up up creative let me know she had just redesigned to blog to simplify simplify simplify. and her banner was tiny too! i adore julie because she’s self-trained (woot!) and so so so good at what she does.

hey zee is a new one today i found in my comments at scoutie girl! so much personality in such a dainty little banner! and, as it happens, zee is a fabulous photographer!

here’s the last one! the sass blog banner is just perfect.

so – needless to say, i’m inspired! i set out to create this site using as much text as possible. but now i’m feeling like i want to create a beautiful little banner like these.

what do you think? the large text banner or a small image banner?