Bringing your Story to Life

Your Story

In January we spent the month working on Defining our Brand Strategies.  It's a soft, squishy kind of topic, because there are so many fuzzy edges and no right answers.  Pretty tough to nail it down and even tougher to commit to paper and share it.  

See more on what we did here:  

• Workshop Your Brand Strategy
• Don't Be that Dead Brand Walking.

So now that you've got your mission and vision worked out, and even defined one or more of your target persona's for you fabulous artwork, you are starting to feel like you've got a better idea of your focus and your direction.  And you've even given that persona a great name. 

It feels good to have that clarity.  And it's energizing.  And love to check that one off the list!

Now what?

It's vital to think about how you will bring that story and strategy to life.  How will your target personas connect with you and be drawn to your brand?  
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Making it Real

We want your potential customers out there to really "know" your brand - not just what you craft.  By this I mean that we essentially want to bring your story to life - by giving your story a visual image, a voice, and a personality.

We are talking about things like:

• Logos
• Tag lines
• Colors & Fonts
• Style guides
• Branding checklists

Sounds fun, actually.  We are all creatives.  

But the honest truth is that there is a lot to getting it right and doing it well.  

While you, as the artisan, most definitely own creating that vision and mission statement for your brand.  And, of course, you are the artist who crafts your product - like no-one else can.  It can be tough to know how to go about getting that logo nailed along with everything else that relates to it.  

For most of us, we might be highly skilled at say, wood turning, or metal smithing.  But we just aren't graphic designers or marketing guru's.   Or own a vector design software program.  Big bucks.  And that learning curve - ya.  But hiring a branding expert is - even more dollars.  

So, it often doesn't really come together for solo-preneurs operating on limited budgets and trying to do it all.  And, I mean it's your art that you are really selling, right?  Does it really matter that much what exactly your logo is, or the colors you use?  

Well, yes.  It does.  

Let's be honest, there are a kazillion other folks out there competing in whichever market you are playing in.  Making similar products.  Competing for the attention and loyalty of those elusive "target personas".    That's just the truth.  You need to differentiate yourself and speak clearly and directly to those customers you are competing for.  You want to foster a real relationship with them and connect on many levels.  It's vital to pull it all together.

So better face the fact that investing in getting that Brand Image nailed is totally worth it!!

And, we want to help you get it done.  And done well.  Without breaking the bank.

Logo Tips & Challenges

I want to set a little bit of a framework to kick-off our series this month.  Food for thought.

​Then I invite you to join us at our events to really get into the nits and nats, and get support from your peers and some industry experts.

What is a Logo?
According to Jacob Cass @ Smashing Magazine:  Logos are used to identify.  The goal is to create a VISUAL that is immediately recognizable.  The shapes, colors, fonts, and images should illicit feelings of trust, admiration, loyalty, and implied superiority.  

What Makes a Good Logo?
Jacob says that there are 5 Key Principles of an Effective Logo:

1. Simple
2. Memorable
3. Timeless
4. Versatile
5. Appropriate

You can learn more here:  read the article.

Some Common Mistakes

1. Your logo design looks "homemade" - get help, get feedback
2. Your logo is too trendy - be original
3. Your image quality is poor - you need vector based art
4. Your image(s) are not original - never use stock art
5. Your logo doesn't sound like your voice - it needs to be aligned with your vision/mission
6. Your logo is too complex - keep it simple
7. Your logo looks not-so-good in gray scale, or b&w - consider all formats
8. Your font is the wrong personality - choose your font wisely
9. You used too many fonts - again, keep it simple
10. Your logo is not original - never, ever copy or borrow ideas

Gareth Hardy wrote more on these issues here.
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February Events

It's a lot to think about.  Good News:  we are here to help you out!  

We are offering 3 events this month to tackle the topics around Developing your Brand Image.  We will be talking about logos, tag lines, colors and fonts, and style guides.

Please join us - you will get the most out of it by coming to all three.  Each event delves a little deeper into the topic, and has a different format.  But if you just can't make that happen, come when you can and we will work with you.

As part of our series, we will be highlighting some of our stellar Collective Members and we will be bringing in some professionals to share their insights.  More news on that soon.

1. Study-It:  Thursday February 9th.  2:00 - 4:00pm  
2. Sketch-It:  Thursday February 16th.  10:00 - 11:30am
3. Craft-It:  Sunday February 19th.  10:00am - 2:00pm

For location and event details, go to our website here:  www.az-artisanscollective.com/meet-up-schedule

February Event Details