Spink Studio · The Blog

A couple weeks ago, I started a new series, “Tuesday Tips” and started talking about how to start a freelance business. If you missed the last couple posts, click on the titles below or just scroll down.

Disclaimer: I am NOT an expert on everything and every person is different. These are just my thoughts and opinions, which don’t always work for everyone. Here are the topics I plan on discussing over the next several weeks.

1. Know Your Market
2. Know Your Competition
3. Know Your Stuff
4. Build a Brand
5. Develop Correct Pricing
6. Target Your Market
7. Smart Advertising
8. Create a Unique Experience
9. Keep Improving
10. Develop Balance

So this week, we are doing to discuss…

Build a Brand

Okay, so this is probably my FAVORITE topic! I am hoping I can narrow this all down into one post and not go on a rant! Hehe.

Having a graphic design degree, branding yourself and your business is to me, one of the MOST important things you can do. You aren’t just promoting your great service, but you as a person and as a business.

During week one, we talked about knowing your market and I made a list of several adjectives that describe my target client. Use your list and create one that describes, you, your business and your style. Now ask yourself, does your branding match? It is SO important that your branding matches what you are portraying. If it’s off, your business just seems disjointed and confusing to clients. Your branding is the first impression you make to your clients and it should SCREAM what you are about. If your branding is busy or confusing, people will think you are unprofessional.

Here are some steps I would recommend you take to develop the best branding possible:

1. FIGURE OUT YOUR STYLE
The first thing I do when I design a logo for a client, is I write down several adjectives that describe them and their target market? What is your style? Classy or modern? Bright or dark? Black or brown? Clean or frilly? Cute or sophisticated? What describes your style and your clients you want to have? How can you make it different? DON’T do something you have already seen! I can’t even list all the logos I have seen that have damask patterns, script fonts, bad typography and are just BORING! Set yourself apart! You want your branding to have something unique and interesting that makes people stop and notice it.

2. HIRE A DESIGNER
Unless you can show me your graphic design degree, YOU ARE NOT A DESIGNER! So do yourself a favor and don’t design your own logo! Please! It’s just tacky. Find a graphic designer who’s work you really like and pay them whatever it costs for a new logo! THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT EXPENSE for your business! I can’t say it strong enough! Don’t spend money on more camera equipment! Invest the money into a great brand that will make you look like a true professional. Yes, it may be a couple hundred dollars to develop a great brand, but I’m telling you, it will pay for itself. Having a professional logo, website, blog and marketing material will be the best thing you can do for your business!

3. KEEP IT CONSISTENT
The one thing I see so many new companies doing is bouncing around trying out a different logo or blog watermark every week. STOP! You are confusing potential clients. Get a good brand and STICK with it! The average lifespan for a good logo to become well known is five years. FIVE YEARS! If you are changing up your colors, logo, fonts all the time, no one will recognize your company. Get your branding set and then put in on everything! Get your logo out there. People will remember your logo, not your company name. Get everything from your business card, to your blog, to your website, to your facebook fan page, to your CD packaging to your email signature to match. Use the same fonts, colors and design on everything. Get it out there and then don’t even think about changing it for quite some time.

Put This To Use: Evaluate your branding. Is it you? Does it all match? Could it be better? Figure out these things and then hire a designer to work with you to create a new strong branding for your business. Get everything to match and keep it consistent.

I would love to work with some of you in developing a new brand and identity. I am offering discounts on the following:

25% OFF IDENTITY DESIGN AND CONSULTING

IDENTITY CONSULTING | ONLY $75
Need a designer’s eye to look over your branding? Send me all the material you’ve got and I will give you some feedback about how you can improve your identity and help market your business better. I will send you a detailed list of things that can improve your overall look and help you improve your company’s presence.

LOGO DESIGN PACKAGE ONE | Only $360
Logo Package One includes:
3 Logo Concepts
Custom Color Palette
3 Revisions
All Final Logo Files

LOGO DESIGN PACKAGE TWO | Only $440
Logo Package Two includes:
3 Logo Concepts
Custom Color Palette
3 Revisions
All Final Logo Files
Business Card Design
*printing prices not included

LOGO DESIGN PACKAGE THREE | Only $680
Logo Package Three includes:
3 Logo Concepts
Custom Color Palette
3 Revisions
All Final Logo Files
Business Card Design
Letterhead & Envelope Design
Notecard & Envelope Design
*printing prices not included

You must pay A 50% deposit before Wednesday, March 31 to receive the discounted price! Contact me if you are interested!

I hope this post was helpful and gave you some things to think about! If you liked this and want others to learn, please share this link on your blog or Facebook!

Part two of our New York trip! When Clint and I travel, we are pretty picky about what hotel we stay at! I love staying at unique, modern boutique hotels. After some searching, we found the Paramount Hotel just by Times Square. We loved it and it was in the most perfect location for our first trip to NYC!

The lobby was super chic and had this huge staircase that changed colors and had all kinds of cool chairs.

This huge mirror outside the elevator would light up the weather to let us know before we headed outside.

We loved our hotel room and bathroom, but we were shocked at how small it was! Teeny, but totally New York! We loved it! We loved the decor with the pops of red.

Unfortunately, we were in New York the two days that they were having a “winter storm,” aka BLIZZARD! But we didn’t let it stop us from heading out. On day two, we took the subway downtown to see the 9/11 ground zero. We were a little disappointed that there wasn’t anything more to see, but we went!

We tromped around in the super wet snow and I shopped at a couple discount design stores and we went to our favorite home interior store, CB2! So fun. We grabbed lunch at Chipotle and while we were sitting there, I saw a Pinkberry across the street! I was so excited because I had heard great things about Pinkberry and couldn’t wait to try it! And it didn’t disappoint! I really liked Clint’s chocolate one!

After our shoes were totally drenched, we headed back to the hotel for some room service to warm up. On day three, we headed uptown towards Central Park and we had lunch at the famous Serendipity! It was so cute and quaint and the frozen hot chocolate was SO yummy!

We walked around Madison Avenue and did some shopping which was SO fun! I loved that area. We visited the all glass Apple store and then walked around Central Park in the snow. It was SO pretty and romantic. I was so glad we got to see Central Park covered in snow.

So, on the last day, we woke up super early for our flight, only to see that it had been canceled! Clint spend over an hour on the phone and because all the flights for the last two days had been canceled, we weren’t going to be able to get out until the next day! Crazy! So we got to spend an extra day in New York. We went to Rockefeller Center and shopped, hung out and went to see a movie. It was so fun.

It was so much fun! We loved getting to see New York in the winter and we can’t wait to go back this summer!

Okay, I know ya’ll have been waiting to see photos from Clint and I’s New York trip! It was SO much fun. The best thing was that this trip was totally work free! Usually we have somewhere we need to be or someone to photograph, but not this trip! I had been wanting to go to New York for forever and when we earned a free plane ticket on Southwest, we knew we wanted to go as far away as possible! Now, I would not recommend flying Southwest to New York…took forever! Five cities, four states, three planes and twelve hours later, we finally arrived in New York! We left Midland covered in snow and landed in New York in the rain, but no snow yet!

The first night we walked around Times Square and found a local Italian pizzeria to eat at that was so yummy! And of course, I averaged about two Starbucks per day!

In the morning, we woke up early and walked around Times Square and saw all the famous sites. It was SO very cool and crowded with people from everywhere.

We ate breakfast at this crowded cafe and enjoyed our first New York bagels!

We were so glad to have our iPhones! We were able to easily map out everywhere we wanted to go and find our way, although we went in the wrong direction more than a new times!

I am a big Project Runway fan, so seeing Parsons and hanging out in the garment district was really cool!

We went to see Wicked on Broadway and it was so well done! The whole performance was spectacular and the sets and costumes were amazing. We were in the second row, so we had a great view!

We had lunch at Bond 45 in Times Square and they have the biggest and most amazing tiramisu!

My first subway ride! We took the subways around the city and it was so quick! We quickly learned which trains were better and which express trains to get on. We took our first ride down to 34th Street to see the Empire State Building.

The Empire State Building was probably one of my favorite places! It was so cool to go to the top and look around! It felt like being in a movie.

Lots more photos coming from our trip!

Kneely and Aaron’s rustic engagement session is featured today on the Lucky Me! blog! Go check it out if you get a chance!

Here it is! Spink Studio’s first wedding of 2010! I couldn’t have asked for a sweeter couple. I first talked to David on the phone last year and he was so complimentary of my work and said they loved my style. We chatted for quite awhile and I was so excited that they valued their wedding photos! These two are both super sweet and so kind. I loved working with them and all their friends! Their wedding was so beautiful and most importantly, totally Christ-centered! So wonderful! Oh, and they did have the BEST wedding cake I have ever had…and I’ve tasted quite a few! So, here it is…Michelle and David’s wedding!

***Friends and Family: CLICK HERE to view and order photos from David and Michelle’s wedding.***

***Friends and Family: CLICK HERE to view and order photos from David and Michelle’s wedding.***

WANNA SEE MORE? Click below to watch their slideshow, or send your friends and family here.

Yay! Michelle and David got married this Saturday, so I can share some of Michelle’s bridal photos with you! We did these about a week and a half before the wedding and I wanted to do something that was classy and elegant like Michelle. I love the ones in the pink room because Michelle’s wedding color was soft pink. It was perfect! We had a ton of fun! Here are some of my favorites! Stay tuned for their wedding sneak peek!

***Friends and Family: CLICK HERE to sign David and Michelle’s guest book to view the photos when they go online.***

Last weekend, we had the opportunity to shoot Kristen and Matt’s engagement photos along with Kristen’s super cute daughter! They drove down from Lubbock, and the whole week has been gorgeous, but Saturday turned cloudy, cold and windy! We didn’t let it ruin our shoot though! Kristen and Matt braved the cold wind and we were able to get some awesome and moody photos! Kristen has awesome style and I can not wait for her wedding! Any bride that tells me she is using peonies for her wedding bouquet can be my best friend! Love it! I just hope their June wedding is a little warmer than their engagement session. I can’t wait! Here are my favorites!

***Friends and Family: CLICK HERE to sign Kristen and Matt’s guest book to view the photos when they go online.***

***Friends and Family: CLICK HERE to sign Kristen and Matt’s guest book to view the photos when they go online.***

OH MY GOSH! This might just be my favorite session ever! I don’t know though, because all my clients are awesome. But Nichole and Jeff worked it! I was originally going to photograph Nichole and Jeff’s wedding in April, but when I met with her, she told me that they didn’t want to have the huge stressful wedding and they opted to get married on their ski trip in January instead. So instead of shooting their wedding, we got to shoot their trash the dress session and it was awesome! Clint and I found some sweet new locations, and besides the crazy West Texas wind, the weather was perfect. Here are some of my many favorites from their session!

***Friends and Family: CLICK HERE to sign Nichole and Jeff’s guest book to view the photos when they go online.***

See the bouquet below? I made it special for Nichole! The cashier at the grocery store asked what I was going to do with the bok choy, and when I told her it was to go with the flowers, she just looked at me strangely and said, “Okkkaayyy…” Hehe! I am thinking HUGE canvas for this one below!Hello!!! This one below is my FAVORITE!!!
Congratulations, Nichole and Jeff! We are so happy for you!

***Friends and Family: CLICK HERE to sign Nichole and Jeff’s guest book to view the photos when they go online.***