As creatives, it can be more difficult to design your own brand versus a brand for someone else. I decided to rebrand for this exact reason. I made the number one mistake that I advise others and clients against and I’m very aware and intentional about avoiding inserting personal taste when it comes to designing a brand… when it comes to other people’s brands.
The mistake I made was designing for myself based on my own preferences, which you can see when you compare my old brand identity to my new one. I’m a pretty big fan of the color pink, however, that doesn’t mean my target audience feels the same way.
Old Brand Guide
Current Brand Guide
When working on a brand design it’s important to remember that the design that you are creating is NOT for you, its purpose is to attract your ideal client. Still, when you’re close to your business, it’s hard to not get attached to your current design or get carried away in your personal preference. However, there is a problem with getting to attached to your brand design if it isn’t functioning that way it’s supposed to, which is what I was experiencing.
It wasn’t until after taking the Profitable Designer Program and getting feedback from Kady Sandel (the founder of Aventive Academy where the program is offered) that I realized I had gotten it all wrong. I realized that I didn’t need to work MORE, I needed to focus strategically on the things that WILL work.
I followed Kady's steps on how to develop my ideal client, what changes to make on my website, raise my rates, and set up everything so that clients can find me. I had taken a course with Aventive Academy and found every single piece of information valuable. From someone who’s taken many classes (in school and external resources), believe me when I say that’s rare. I’ve learned valuable information from other sources, yet never used 100% of the material. What’s even better is that even after you finish the course, you always have access to the materials at anytime to refer back to.
To access the exact course I took, I highly recommend checking out the Profitable Designer Program here: https://courses.aventiveacademy.com/a/aff_yzfqptwk/external?affcode=937274_dqnvnx08
Some other notable resources from Aventive Academy are:
The Freelance Starter Kit:
https://courses.aventiveacademy.com/a/aff_swqt9fj3/external?affcode=937274_dqnvnx08
Pricing Your Design Services Course:
https://courses.aventiveacademy.com/a/aff_gtvt5fpv/external?affcode=937274_dqnvnx08
Client Workflow for Designers Course:
https://courses.aventiveacademy.com/a/aff_64w3wgxs/external?affcode=937274_dqnvnx08
Client Proposal Template:
https://courses.aventiveacademy.com/a/aff_qtxmrznd/external?affcode=937274_dqnvnx08
