Personal Brandmark
Earlier in the school year, I had the opportunity to design my brand. It started out with a lot of brainstorming for a brand/logomark, and I wound up applying that to my portfolio website, and a stack of business cards. We didn’t have much time (a week or so) to work on it in school, so I chose to finesse it during our independent study period, right before graduation.
I knew my brand had to reflect my design aesthetic… Which, beyond being “simple” “clean” and “modern” (seriously, those are some of the vaguest descriptors out there! Try getting a little more specific!), belies a love of the late 20th century (something that needs to be done with tact and careful consideration, so your aesthetic doesn’t wind up being too “theme-y” or dated), teeters on the edge between “subtle” and “bold”, suggests a fond-nness for organic materials, hints at my playful and feminine side in a really restrained way, and showcases my love affair with typography. Tough nut to crack, if you ask me!
Somehow, like just about everything else I’ve designed, it came about almost by accident while I was playing around in adobe illustrator.
This project was also my first foray into WordPress. With my minimal (albeit long-held) abilities with HTML & CSS, I was able to venture into the back-end and heavily edit and customize a theme that I had purchased. Throughout the web component of our course, I was fascinated the most by responsive design. I’m always way more impressed with a website that is fully responsive than one with a separate stylesheet for each different platform. I admire the consistency and simplicity of this method. I am often incredibly underwhelmed and dissatisfied by the mobile versions of major websites, so I feel like if it’s possible, this is a good route to go.
So I was able to not only pull that off, but work with a grid format, which I also love. I’m incredibly happy with the end result, and feel like it’s a good representation of ~my brand~ (I still have to get used to talking about it, it still feels a little weird, to be honest!).
As for the business cards, despite an initial hiccup with the printers bungling my order (which they’ve since more than made up for… So I can recommend Jukebox Printers with a caveat of “be sure to go in to meet with them and talk about things in great detail in person, if possible”), they turned out great! They are offset printed on 18pt recycled card stock, which is an elegant, “green” option that serves as a nice subtle contrast to the stark, linear design of the cards.
As time lurches onward, and I continue to develop my brand, I can’t wait to apply this aesthetic to a larger stationary system and other promotional items!
lau
307 days ago
I *love* those cards, Leah. Great job!
Leah Nilson
307 days ago
Thanks Lau! I love your taste & work, so that’s a huge compliment!
Erin Thomas
307 days ago
I know I already told you this, but I love these cards! I just ordered a hundred crappy minicards from moo cards, hopefully by the time I’m through them I will have developed my “personal brand” enough to feel safe getting some professionally designed. I wish I would’ve gone to school for something more useful like graphic design/web design/etc. You made a smart move, I’m loving what work I’ve seen of yours so far!
kickpleat
305 days ago
Love your cards Leah!!! Great job. And good to know that JB printers had fixed up their mess. I had used them prior and had a great experience so I was bummed when I heard that your experience wasn’t great.
Kristine Tsui
151 days ago
Leah! These are gorgeous and inspired me to make my own! I didn’t get them professional printed and don’t look nearly as good as yours but I’m glad I printed on recycled paper, really gives them a nice personality.
Check them out if you like:)
http://kristinetsui.wordpress.com/2013/01/17/diy-business-cards/