I’m in Phoenix at the moment, shooting in the desert and then meeting up with Brand Camp peeps to talk all things biz! So, while I’m rocking the sunglasses and short skirts, a few thoughts on logos and branding as they relate to simplicity.
Lots of people talk about their branding and dog on how ‘simple’ or ‘boring’ or ‘low-key’ it is. They complain about how much their logo doesn’t reflect ‘who they are’ or ‘what they feel’ or ‘how they shoot.’
Okay. Let’s take a look at Apple. Most popular products on the planet, at the moment. Go to their website and look at their logo. Simpler than simple. The logo in no way captures all the incredible and fabulous things the company produces, but it gives us a peek at their sleek style.
Try to imagine a logo that screamed ‘cutting-edge inventive geeky hipster wearing retro, tight-tight eighties throwback jeans and an Ed Hardy t-shirt’ is our target market. It would be…a hot mess.
Again, think of all the things for sale at Target. Everything from clothing to dental floss to vitamin water. Imagine a logo that said all those things. Hot mess city. Same goes for Wal-Mart. Adobe. Any grocery store on the planet. And your business, too. No symbol on the planet can capture everything you do!
A strong logo rarely includes doodads or thingamabobs. The earth’s best logos are fairly simple. (Golden arches, anyone?) So think simple. And simpler, still.
Stop trying to commission a logo that screams YOU AND EVERYTHING YOU DO. It’ll be out of date in no time. Find one that whispers of your essence but allows room for growth across the years.
Oh, and the business therapy winner? Xander of Photographing Sound. E-mail me to claim your prize, love! Thanks to all of you who signed up for the Merit Badge mail, left comments, and tweeted about the giveaway!
So, your biz is having a bit of trouble. It might be your logo, it might be your marketing materials. Your web presence, your lack of focus, your inability to find time in the day to get anything done. Your Twitter addiction. Whatever it is, we’ll talk it out through equal parts e-mail and phone conversation.
One lucky winner will receive a business therapy session with me. You’ll fill out a branding questionnaire, I’ll come up with a list of improvements that could help your biz, and we’ll chat for thirty(ish) minutes.
Win a $149 business therapy session by signing up for the Brand Camp Merit Badge mail list below.
That’s it! If you’ve already signed up, you’re already eligible! The winner will be picked next Tuesday, the 30th. For brownie points, tell me WHY you should win in the comments below.
I have every problem you mentioned in the beginning of your post (maybe not a twitter *addiction* persay, but definitely an unhealthy relationship – ha!).
I’m sitting on the edge of a major change in my life – I’m going to be a mommy for the first time in August, and I want to get a great head start on making my business all I dream it can be before my baby girl gets here! Getting my business in order will not only help me stay sane once I’m dealing with 3 AM feedings, but it will also get me one step closer to the ultimate goal – building my business enough to leave my “day” job and be a work-at-home-mommy to Miss Arabella and any siblings she may one day have!
I have dedicated this year to building my brand name and marketing myself. It’s funny to me that my full time job has many elements of marketing but I somehow can’t market my own business. When you are the CEO then it makes your job a little harder. So I would love to gain some knowledge where photography is concerned. This would give me the opportunity to get more in the business mind.
I deserve to win because I have the drive, motivation, and smarts to put the knowledge I would gain into use. GOOD use. I’m just starting out and would love some more knowledge like this to aid me…. I would purchase, but, like I said, I am just starting out and therefore have invested quite a bit already. I really need this. Plus, I would write you a rave review. (as I’m sure that it will be AWESOME!) I think that this could be the info I need to really start off right… I’m putting it out there in the universe- c’mon email me with my info!
I think I should win because I LOVE your posts, your style of writing, your wit and feel that anyone with that much good stuff to give out can surely help me! I feel motivated and have MANY ahhh-haaa moments when I read your posts. Like everyone, I could use some focus and help and I would be SUPER excited if it could be from you!
Like so many posting above, I need the push to stop marketing to my acquaintances s who can’t afford what I want to charge and step it up to the next level.
I’m a Navy wife with two beautiful children that moves around every 4 years! It is so hard to try and establish a business that often! I’ve been to workshops and looked at other photographers website to see their layout and mine just eventually turned into this giant ball of…I have no idea what it is! I have a logo, but grew tired of it quickly. I recently bought Easy As Pie, which is AMAZING and Alicia referred me over to try and get some website help. I need a website that will move with me where ever I go and something that I am confident in and proud to show off. Hopefully we will stay here in Florida and I can finally get my name out there, but I need the right foundation and marketing tools to do so. I wish I was English lit major at times like this, but I’m not, Spell Check is always close by. So please consider me.
Thanks,
Lauren Everly
I need this because I at least 90% suck. You know, that 90% of everything that has nothing to do with actually using a camera. Then there’s the other 10%… but I guess that would be another give away from another site, huh? And thanks for all your awesomely free tips and advice. mucho thanks
I have every problem you mentioned in the beginning of your post (maybe not a twitter *addiction* persay, but definitely an unhealthy relationship – ha!).
I’m sitting on the edge of a major change in my life – I’m going to be a mommy for the first time in August, and I want to get a great head start on making my business all I dream it can be before my baby girl gets here! Getting my business in order will not only help me stay sane once I’m dealing with 3 AM feedings, but it will also get me one step closer to the ultimate goal – building my business enough to leave my “day” job and be a work-at-home-mommy to Miss Arabella and any siblings she may one day have!
I could use some encouragement. This photo biz is so very important to me but I’m having a hard time putting that all into words so that others can understand my passion. I could also use a confidence boost. I’m self taught and I want to be seen as so much more than just a “mom with a camera.” I could use a plan to make sure that I’m headed in the right direction and that I’m recognized as a professional and an artist, even though I’ve had to figure all this out on my own. Thanks so much! I’ve learned so much from your blog. And thanks to for the recommendations for Ittybiz and Easy As Pie, they’ve been hugely helpful.
I understand the concept and that brand is important…well it’s everything. I’ve invested in a logo and I’ve invested in Easy as Pie to perfect my business plan/pricing strategy. I am still struggling completing the brand development and marketing pieces. You have so many good entries but I would of course enjoy a chance at this. Just need a little bit of help to complete my vision…thanks for the chance.
I’ve got a brand. What I don’t have are excellent business habits. I could use some help and whip-cracking in that area. I think you’d be good at that.
Brand? I’ve had about 14 diff logos, but I’m still just a FONT…I need substance, I need clean lines…I need HELP. No one would get past my puny spash page to see that I’m serious, not just another MWAC….please help.
This would be great–we just moved, and I am having the biggest struggle restarting my business in our new city, especially because I never really got it where I wanted it in my old one.
Because I have appreciated how much insight and knowledge you have shared since I’ve started reading your blog just a few months ago. And, as a working pro (with 4 kids!) I would definitely appreciate and greatly benefit from a focused business therapy session!
I’m an 18 year old portrait & wedding photographer. And full-time college student. I’ve technically been in business for about a year, but I know it’s not working for me. I’ve put so much into this business, I just need to find that one thing that will get the ball really rolling.
I know that a business therapy session would give me a better place to start out at and hopefully help get things moving.
Plus I think that Kristen is pretty darn cool and I’d love the chance to chat with her! : )
I just started my photo business and am doing well, but I want to take it to the next level. I need to get my name out there more and any help would be greatly appreciated. Really hoping I win this! I’d be stoked!
I want to win, well b/c even though we just did a new logo and are getting ready to implement it…I’m ready to know how to bring rest of our brand together. I’m getting ready to have my position end at the full-time “day-job” and will be coming home full time…It’s kind of scary as a dad/husband….but I know it’s the place I want to be and my wife wants me to be and plus I want to be around our lil 1 yr old girl so much more than what I can now being strung between to different paths!
I feel that this would be a great asset to help set things in motion!
So, I feel like I’ve done the behind-the-scenes work (business plan, operations manual, defined target market, EAP pricing, etc.) and now I REALLY need some help with my image. There are things you can do yourself and this just ain’t one of them! It’s the last piece of the puzzle to get me well on my way. Thanks so much for the chance!
i signed up! i would like to win because i need my business to succeed. i started about a year ago and since hubby’s job is no longer, it looks like i will be the bread winner for this family of 6 for a while. and the business stuff…well sometimes i feel like i’m making progress but most days i feel a bit like old sisyphus and can’t figure out why i can’t get the darn rock up the hill.
i signed up! i would like to win because i need my business to succeed. i started about a year ago and since hubby’s job is no longer, it looks like i will be the bread winner for this family of 6 for a while. and the business stuff…well sometimes i feel like i’m making progress but most days i feel a bit like old sisyphus and can’t figure out why i can’t get the darn rock up the hill.
Already was signed up on twitter, so I twitted it, and signed up for the email! Can’t wait to receive updates!
Ivy -March 25, 2010 - 11:18 am
I need this because I need a good kick in the arse to move my business to the next level. I think I have just the basics, but some of the branding “stuff” is “Greek” to me. A bit too honest probably but what the heck. Thanks!
*I* like my branding, but I know sometimes that isn’t enough! I want to make sure I’m giving off the right vibes to the right customers. Right now I haven’t done too much marketing off this branding so I feel like it would be the best time to change it if need be, and run with it if it’s Kristen-approved!
I have been in full blown mode for about a year now and am still in desperate need of doing it all correctly with ease, class, personality, and and individuality. So far everything I have done is from ‘me’ and I need some professionalism involved. I may be a good photographer, but that doesn’t mean I am the best at doing all of the business and branding without assistance.
I tried signing up, and it said it needed to verify my email, but I never got the verification email. So hopefully this can count! I also tweeted it! To be honest, I need help. I need it fast. I’m not sleeping well. I’m waking up with headaches. I just am paralyzed by too many things going on in my head and no way of actually getting a pen to paper. Meaning, I have ideas, I need a new brand, but I don’t know how to relay what I want to a designer (and don’t know what designer to choose!) I can’t do marketing material without a new brand. I can’t do a website without a new brand. Shoot, I don’t even want to do sample albums without a new brand. I know my brand doesn’t fit me now. I look at it and get frustrated. Of course, I made it myself just to get something on the internet. But, it just doesn’t work. I need someone to talk to me, to give me some tangible things I can do to move out of this RUT! And Lord knows I’m tired of waking up with headaches. HELP!
I need some outside perspective … I have done all the self-analysis I can do. I am trying to establish in a new city and I feel like I’m stuck. People say they love my work, but I want them to book. I desperately need to move to the next step!
I feel like I am in Limbo. My husband and I are stationed overseas and we are preparing to move back to Southern California. In all honesty, I feel the need to… be able to run with the big dogs back in SoCal, and I am working my way up there. I’d love the extra help and expertise to really set a…tone for ourselves and make our names known for when we get back to California.
hmmm, how to prove that I need this more than anyone else? Well, I’m young still (25) and have a big plan for my future….this plan includes a large family (I’m expecting my third!) AND a successful business. When I was younger, I always imagined myself as a Stay At Home Mom….after having children and learning photography, I discovered a passion I could not ignore. But trying to build a strong, successful business while raising children and living on a small budget is not that easy! Really, any help I can get, I would take. I love to learn, I spend every free moment of every day learning code to build my website/blog, learning about lighting, posing, talking with other photographers, following blogs like this one….and I can see my photography growing! But I would love to see myself actually doing all this work and turning a profit too
Crossing my fingers, and praying I win!
I would LOVE some help! I have been doing this for about a year and have a lot of fun weddings coming up this season, but I’d really like to know how I can step it up a notch. I consistently get itchy with my branding and style, and never feel like it’s good enough.
Oh–let me count the MANY ways this would be helpful!! I really just have no idea where to start with MARKETING and BRANDING. I routinely think about it and ponder, but just never know where to start. From logos to marketing materials to pricing–it is all just so overwhelming to me. HELP! THERAPY, HERE I AM!!
I have had 4 logos in the past 1 1/2 years…probably because I don’t know how to translate what I want my business to be into something visual. This is my 2nd year in wedding photography and I desperately want all of my business to be cohesive, from my website and blog to my marketing and pricing materials. I want to have a high booking rate from the potential clients that I meet or send info to. I want to be a successful business. I love what I do and I don’t want to “fail” at it simply because I don’t have the right business tools!
About to put up a new website and make this year my year. Finding the time is the biggest snag and when I do, I want to do it right – be most effective at getting my web presence and general name and work recognition solid.
Oh I’m soooo focus-less! And change my mind ALL the time. And also very, very shy when it comes to promoting myself. And I starting to hate my logo. And people enquire, say they love my work, but don’t book. And, and, and… I just need some therapy, please!
A photographer told me my new website is boring. I said “Thank you” and sincerely meant it.
You see, my old website was built entirely on trying to one-up other photographers in the U.S. (Not my region or the state, mind you, but THE COUNTRY.) And to one-up the whole country, to ‘do what’s never been done,’ well…
You have to pull out all the stops. You have to have bells and whistles. Flying chandeliers, tweeting birds, blinking text, the works.
Photographers went NUTS over my old website. Seriously. Batshit insane. Just today, someone told me it was their favorite photography website of all time.
But clients? You know, those people who hire me and pay the bills?
They weren’t big fans. Inquiries dropped. Web traffic dropped.
To potential clients, I was the kid at the holiday concert who plays air guitar and stagedives during the class rendition of ‘Silent Night.’
The kid who’s oblivious to awkward silence. The one wearing Grandma’s reindeer sweater while rocking the imaginary mosh pit. That kid.
(Or I was Smelly Cat. The jury is out.)
I was too busy looking sideways to see my clients. I was so worried about other photographers that I forgot to be worried about my clients’ needs. The current Essential Imagery website is a result of sincere reflection on my part. It educates them about my brand, outlines the needs I can fill, and provides only a dab of personality aside from the portrait images. In other words, it’s exactly what they’re looking for.
How have you been held back by looking sideways? Who do you compare yourself to, and how can you stop the comparisons? How can you fulfill the needs of your clients today? How can you get yourself on the road to looking forward — right into the eyes of new clients?
So, if I like your new site (and I'm a photographer) is that a bad thing?? The previous site was so different and had some very creative ideas in it, but I do love your new. You're right about it focusing much more on your images and not just you (with bells and whistles). I love your honesty and you have really opened my eyes to what's important when selling yourself to your CLIENTS! Since my mini-Brand Camp consult till now. Thanks Kristen.
I love the new look. You are right in that the temptation is to make something artistic- but that doesn't necessarily always translate to the target audience as well it does to other artists.
Jocelyn -November 12, 2009 - 7:15 pm
I actually saw your new site last week and wanted to tell you that I like it even more than your old site! I love the new blog too… everything's just so clean and straight forward now. Thanks for the post… great points to think about.
Love this post! Just last night I was up until the wee hours creating a static home page for my blog. I've been adamant about not wanting the separate website & blog combo, but I realized I still need a one-stop shop page that points visitors to the site's hot spots. I've found (so far anyway) that the blog is more exciting to my peers & potential clients want examples and info. *I* want it all to be in one place.
There are so many things to write about that I’ve had trouble coming up with something to write about. (That ever happened to you?)
And then, my Hip Slip arrived. Doug and Chenin know I’ve been lusting after one, and it arrived without warning today. Squeal! Double squeal! The product itself is fabulous, but the branding is just as remarkable.
First, the box. Even the UPS man commented on the loveliness of the box.
Then, the paperwork. Yes, it’s that good. A postcard with tips for taking better photographs, as the Shootsac line caters to professional photographers:
A little information about the Hip Slip…
And consistent use of the logo:
Oh, and the bag itself. Chosen to match my studio colors, of course!
In the space of a box shipped from across the country, Shootsac delivers an experience. A little information, a lot of pretty, and a heap of usefulness.
What about your brand? How can you create an experience with your product’s delivery, whether it’s being picked up or shipped thousands of miles?
I enjoyed when my Shootsac arrived too! It really makes you stop, take notice, and enjoy unwrapping each piece. The photo tips with the photo was such a nice touch. Feels like it should be some sort of "collect 'em all!" type deal!
We are glad you like it so much. It has been fun to design with them… they are willing to take risks! It's funny we actually wrote a post about them last night too (posted today) … what a coincidence. Poked around your blog, keep up the great work and advice!
Debbie Schwab -November 5, 2009 - 4:24 pm
I loved mine when it arrived. Totally agree about the packaging. I was trying to figure out how to repurpose the box 'cause is was so coo. Fun to get in the mail. Who'd a thought. Other products that were impressive when delivered: my Drobo hard drive and PhotoJojo (which adds just a bit of humor to the everyday).
I remember the day my Shootsac arrived. I had all the same thoughts and feelings! It made me want to order one a week just to have such a beautiful delivery in my life on a regular basis!
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