Saying goodbye to an old friend

Welcome to my brand new website, showcasing my brand refresh and lots of new work. I felt it was apt that my first blog post on my new website would honour my old brand identity. It really did feel like saying goodbye to an old friend. Part of me didn’t want to say farewell but I knew in my heart that it was time to let go.

I have created visual brands for hundreds of businesses and there definitely is that discomfort that goes along with the figuring out stage. But I experienced this intensely with my own brand refresh. I felt stuck! I didn’t know where to start. Other paying jobs kept coming in and with that my own brand development work was pushed to the side. I had to be strict with myself and use my own creative process that I go through with each of my clients.

I felt an emotional connection to this cute tree that I had identified with for the last seven years. This tree had represented my business and we had gone through a lot together. When I think back to the beginning and all that energy and excitement I experienced at the thought of creating my own work, putting my stamp on it and actually having conversations with clients face to face, it makes me feel very nostalgic. Lots of past, rose tinted conversations from clients, friends and colleagues clouded my logical thinking around my old logo. Even my husband recently asked me not to change it! But I knew that it was time for a refresh, I felt that this cloud like tree didn’t represent me and my business anymore. It felt like the right time.

See this Instagram video by @aisgriff:

But that didn’t make things any easier. I was putting this pressure on myself, that I had to get it just right. Then I just relaxed and settled into it and things began to flow. I recorded early sketches on my Instagram feed and felt very exposed doing so. But I wanted to show people the amount of work and consideration that actually goes into creating a visual brand, so I showed them warts and all! It was fascinating and flattering because lots of people responded to my posts and were really excited by this process. It was like they were going through it with me. I always assumed that you couldn’t show the work in progress, but this is what actually really resonates with people. It’s not the polished, perfect image that they want to see, it’s the in between stage and how you get to this point. Why you decide that this image fits.

I knew that I wanted to keep a tree symbol but didn’t know what that tree would look like. As you can see from the above image, I went through a lot of trees! I know it sounds cliché, but you know when something feels right, that’s when you know you are on the right track.

I feel like this brand refresh and new website aligns with where I am at this stage in my life. Going through my own process, really made me take stock of where I am with my business and my life and how far I have come. So thank you old friend, because if it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be where I am today.