Hikers And Thinkers Logo

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I've been pin-diddling around and was asked to help out with a logo design for a budding outdoors company.

Of course I said yes.

I worked for peanuts too.

Just because it was for a *dear* friend. (Simple friends and acquaintances do not qualify for below-the-belt-sucker-punch-fees).

Hikers And Thinkers is a unique service offering guides, tips, and helpful hints for camping and hiking the mountains of Western North Carolina. They have a neato idea for handmade hammocks and I hope they can get them implemented soon.

Follow their blog: Hikers And Thinkers

And for the logo:


This is what I was sent as far as the direction they wanted to take.

The concept

This is my final vision of where I felt it needed to go:

Final Version - Client Approved
©HikersAndThinkers

What do you think?

I've always been told by mentors and instructors to include a design of my own free will when doing anything freelance related so potential employers could see "me". Well. This is me. I always include "me" in my designs. How can I not include "me"?

Thoughts?

Always Work At Creating

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This post is neither here nor there... call it a few pointers for young'uns who want to travel the extremely wide path of the Designer.

I was browsing Craigslist (who doesn't love that site?) and came across an ad that made me giggle and then slap my head.

I use Craigslist to either post stuff for sale or buy stuff. I don't find it very reliable for finding JOBS (you know, work that actually pays you and/or is not a cover up for a drug cartel) but I can't resist looking to see what people are posting.

And I came across this gem:

I apologize for the size, so here's a close up and you will get the picture:

*sigh*

Either this poor child will never receive any REAL offers or he/she will be spammed to death. Worse Case Scenario: this child will respond to a reply and end up dead in the woods somewhere in the Mid-West.

Here Begins A Rant:

I understand everyone has to start somewhere, and you are only as successful as you want to be (i.e. put the work in your success) HOWEVER it is impossible for any 16 year old to have "plenty of experience". A college art class. How quaint.

My Advice and Opinion:

Are you a high schooler wanting to break into the biz? Well quit begging on Craigslist and start working for free for real companies in your city. It's called an Internship. College students have to do it, so do you if you want to be successful in any industry. Let's just say internship = apprenticeship.

I love this: "I don't need insane amounts of money". Yeah. Good luck with that!


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Let's Change Gears A Bit:

I worked as a Graphic Designer for a company way back when and I loved it. I loved the company, I loved the people I worked with, and I loved the work. Unfortunately the company closed down. I'm not sure if it went bankrupt or what- all I know is that we had two offices and we downsized. My office was the target of the downsizing.

So I was laid off.

I received a pretty cool severance package for only being there just shy of three years but it still sucked losing my job. If the company was able to keep afloat I would still be there.

Alright. So my office received news of the lay-offs and I immediately started looking for a job. I responded to an ad locally looking for a designer and I was stoked. It was a fairly new design company in the town I lived in- which was amazing because I live out in the middle of nowhere.

I scored an interview.

Awesome.

I arrived at the interview looking smart and packing my portfolio, and who should my eyes gaze upon? A young kid with a 'fro in a tee shirt and jeans.

Hmmm.

Who is this?

Oh, he's my interviewer.

And a co-owner of the company.

Whoops. I'm definitely in the wrong place.

The interview was totally awkward. The kid was 16 years old (oh wait, he was turning 17 soon...) I had ten years on him. Ok so I wasn't some 50 year old with 30 years experience, but this was unbelievable.

His partner was my age and apparently came into some money and bought an old Heidelberg printing press. They wanted to start this design company but needed help. Well color me over-qualified for their position.

I didn't get a call back.

Nor was I expecting one.

I knew more about what they were doing than they did and couldn't afford me.

Moral of the story?

It's cool if you want to start your own "thing", but for the love of my sanity please don't dive blindly into something you can't handle. At that time I had three years of graphic design under my belt and was still more competent and knowledgeable about running their company than they were.

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So what to do if you want in the biz but don't have enough pieces in your portfolio and can't get anyone to "hire" you?

Just create anyways.

Browse industries that you may want to create for: health care, education, banking, etc. Look at different companies in that industry- find a few that you see potential in by sprucing up their image and just CREATE. Create a whole new logo and business standards. Create some brochures, posters, banners, websites (fake ones of course). Show their marketing and art department what you did and ask them how they like it. Ask for opinions (also called Critiques), get used to critiques because in the art industry you will get a lot of them. And receive them constructively- don't get offended or you won't make it.

And please if you show potential employers these things you need to explain that these are your creations and were not hired by the companies to do work for them. It would also help to read a book or two about Copyright Law.

Go ahead and take those College Art Courses. It's fine. I wasn't downplaying it, merely jesting, you need more than college courses to get you established. It's a lot of footwork and what you put in is what you will get.

So let's get serious and get off of Craigslist.

Ground Control To Major Tom

Launching A Start-Up. Ignition Fail!



I am only steps closer to being able to stay at home again... it will be so much easier to focus on my own endeavors when I don't have to worry about stress in retail employment.

I was on the phone with my best friend (whom I've had the pleasure in knowing and keeping up with for over 25 years! Dang that's a long time.) and she asked how my freelancing was going.

I laughed.

It is so difficult to do a start-up of any business if you truly cannot devote ALL of your time to launching it and maintaining it. I've been totally neglecting my OHTY re-brand (we are now Yankee Burrow Creations). Been working on a logo and I was so desperate to fix what my *ahem* partner did as far as banners and avatars so I threw something together to get our "look" going:

Deciding color can be a real pain in the ass when you are designing a new brand/company. Orange is used by a lot of big name companies, and quite frankly it would be hard to use a color that NO ONE ELSE is using. Impossible. The color spectrum itself may span as wide as the universe, but I mean when comparing Pantone 3262 and 3272- it's stinking TEAL for pete's sake. Thalo blue and Cerulean blue are both B L U E. So to sit and think of a color that is unique to the corporate world is a complete waste of time. Use a color that fits your brand and expresses it's nature and emotion.

I'm using orange. Preferably a burnt, rust orange that holds sentimental value to myself and my partner since it reminds me of my Nana (my mother's mother. My mother is my business partner if you don't remember). She is the source of our crafty and artsy nature, herself being an artist and her favorite color being orange I thought the color befitting our crafty and artsy handmade shop.

This is just the beginning, I still need to work on a type style that is as close to unique as possible. Just not satisfied with anything I've encountered yet. Time to break out my graph paper...

Been scouring the web for inspiration and I've been sucked into Pinterest.

Oh yes Pinterest you have lassoed me and made me your slave. Not really though. I like getting on board and window shop. I re-pin items that have already been pinned, I very rarely (ok well never) pin original items because of their Terms of Service. But you know. Whatever.

What frustrates me the most about Pinterest is not being able to find the original link of an item pinned. I was on a search to find this because I thought it was awesome and sums up a designer's dilemma when dealing with logo design and clients who just don't understand. When viewing stuff on Pinterest it's super hard reading the small print and since the poster was pinned from this site which is just a scrapbook of cool sh!t, I couldn't find the original link.

After pulling out a magnifying glass I was able to see the url on the poster and I found this guy. He's been at this for a long time and I appreciate his style and keeping his designs classic yet updated. Will definitely be following him for inspired pick-me-ups.

Drop me a line or two if you've found something cool and snazzy that pertains to logos!

I've also been stalking Logo Design Love for inspirations and articles, they rock. If you are having trouble designing a logo that *doesn't* look like someone else's- this is a good article and also encouraging, because everything HAS already been done. We just need to try to do it differently.

Mission Statements and Such

Our Home To Yours Re-brand Series

Mission Statements

When starting a business it is best to get the core beliefs down on paper before any naming and design takes place. I think if you start with a name and/or design and go from there you have to grow the company around that design so the message is clear and consistent. So what happens when you are stuck on a design or name but the core beliefs don’t measure up? Scrap the name or design and work it the right way.

Ok, so its not the end of the world if you’ve registered your name and logo but haven’t written your mission or values statement yet. Sheesh. Just be sure to hire someone clever enough to intertwine it all together in one cohesive brand.

If you need a refresher of where I started with this go read these first:

Pressing The Re-Start Button With A Re-Brand

First Things First

What's In A Name

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Keep in mind that research is so important during this whole process.

The lack of research is what brought my partner and I to this re-brand experience in the first place. It was our eagerness to start selling stuff that got us off on the wrong foot. Etsy is a great place to start but it’s not the only source to sell your handmade wares, nor should it be your “one stop online shop” for your budding business.

Looking through Etsy shops I see lots of names that are neither here nor there- just the person’s name hyphenised or some sort of hybrid username, which doesn’t make too much sense in my opinion.

We are looking to be successful on Etsy, sure, but we are looking to be successful *businesswomen*, and to be that we need to build our business from the get-go the right way.

What the heck is a mission statement anyway? Why do we need it? According to Dictionary.com a mission statement is, “an official statement of the aims and objectives of a business or other organization” and individuals too. If you don’t have any goals or objectives set how do you know which vehicle to transport you? You wouldn’t drive a car out to sea now would you? Unless you have a crap-ton of money to waste, then hold on a second while I go gouge my eyes out with a spoon.

But for those of us who have a broader worldview and are sensitive to the economic well being of ourselves and our community, lets try to save what time and money we can by planning accordingly. And I did plan and write our core beliefs with my partner before I started thinking of names…

After much consideration, drafts, and research we have come up with this mission statement:

            “To provide quality handmade products which embellishes both the home and heart. Using the gifts given to us by our Father God we aspire to adorn our customers with charm and comfort.”

Yes we are Christians. Lets leave it at that. And yes it is perfectly all right to intertwine your beliefs with your business because after all it’s your business. You would only be crossing the line when you discriminate. And we (meaning my business and my partner etc.) do not discriminate. I am not here to preach scripture to you, I am here to sell you a friggin’ crocheted scarf.

On that note how about a values statement? A values statement is just what is says- a statement of your values, morals, ethics, principles, standards, etc. Our statement:

“We strive to provide superior products that are earth friendly and made in the USA while also being affordable. Our morals and values stem from Christianity, we are not discriminatory and endeavor to be examples of Christ’s love. Hate is unwelcome.”

This could be almost anything. You can be as hardcore as you want; this statement serves as motivation for your employees to remember who you are as a business and how to conduct yourselves.

And what about vision? Where do you see your business? That should be a central element throughout this whole process:

            “To procure a successful online presence while growing in our craft which will eventually stem out to a physical store/studio where customers can interact with the process and purchase merchandise. To support local small businesses in any way by either purchasing services or providing services to them at a discount cost.”

Do you remember the three questions I mentioned at the beginning of this journey? Let’s revisit them:

Who are You?
- An online handcraft shop

What do you do?
- Create unique items for the home and heart.

Why does it matter?
- Because our items are timeless and no two items are exactly alike.

These questions need to be answered with thought and cleverness; your business needs to be set apart from the rest. I mentioned my current employment in my last post and most of you can guess where I work (if you’re super smart you visited my LinkedIn profile), it is true that after morning meetings there is the “cheer” and if you do not participate in the cheer you have to lead it at the next meeting. In this cheer (which is meant to be a team motivational thing) this question is asked, “who’s number one?”

With the reply, “the customer! Always!”

Ok yes the customer is number one, but! Who in this industry is number one?

You are!

No. I am!

Go find your own category to be number one in.

What's in a Name

Our Home To Yours Re-brand Series

What’s in a Name…

Well I chose Tuesdays to write posts on branding, but today is Wednesday. What’s up with that? My apologies folks! The customers at Wallyworld wait for no one. Ugh.

Let me tell you, I sure am getting tired of teaching people to use a scanner. Or their smartphone. If you have hundreds of dollars to spend on a piece of technology you better learn how to use it! Life is so unfair.

I could go on about retail life, however that whole debacle is for another blog entirely!

Back to the task at hand…

I’m still brainstorming names for the Our Home To Yours re-brand. And I tell ya it ain’t easy. Every handcraft shop out there has some cutesy-fartsy name that ties in some element of the crafting process. And every website is filled with pastel colors and elements that imply sewed characteristics.

Now hold on there. I’m not necessarily dissing this stuff. I have good friends who have utilized these very traits and have successful brands. But I’m not here to be a copycat. That stuff has been done. It’s almost expected for a handcraft shop to look all frilly and pastely with vintagy labels and other adjectives that end in “y” (which may or may not be real words).

And printables!

Everyone gives out free printables.

I hate that word.

Printable.

It just sounds odd.

Moving forward!

Names!

What’s in a name? Yes we all know a rose called by any other name would smell just as sweet.

But not in the business world.

A name tells customers exactly who you are without even looking at the logo yet or taking a gander inside the store.

It needs to be different yet tell us “who” the business is.

Our names given to us at birth tell a story of whom we are. I’m a total believer that a person’s name is important to their character. It should be well thought out and on-purpose. For instance the name Addison (the proper spelling thankyouverymuch) means “son of Adam” but is more popularly being given to girls. Why? Did you know “Shannon” is traditionally a boy’s name? It’s a name free for all these days. And don’t bother getting all defensive, for if you are offended by these simple musings then surely you are simple minded.

So in light of all that I’m taking thoughtful care into brainstorming names. And I’m not satisfied with the list I came up with. We (my mother and I) are proud to hail from Western New York and would like to blend our Northern roots with our Southern habitation. I thought of the name Southern Yankee, but its already taken. Drats.

Sure it’s stereotypical to include “Yankee” in our name (especially considering the whole world considers every American to be a “Yankee”, not just pigeon holed to the Northern states), but I can’t seem to escape it. I also want to include something to imply “home”, as in a cozy home or nest. “Burrow” came up in the thesaurus and I enjoy the definition, “2. (n.) a place of retreat; shelter or refuge.” I want this business to be someplace where you can find your “happy place”. So the name Yankee Burrow went on my list. What do you think of it?

Yankee Burrow.

The Yankee Burrow.

Hmmm.

The jury is still out on that one. I’m still brainstorming.

One month left to save up some $$ for the early bird registration to the HOW Design Conference!!

Who’s going with me??

First Things First...

Our Home To Yours Re-brand Series

First Things First…

Planning is a must when starting a business and in every step of the way after launching. From Mission statements, Values statements, Visions, Briefs, etc. etc. it is important from the get go to KNOW who you are and WHY you are doing it.

I’m trying to kill two birds with one stone, not only with revamping Our Home To Yours but also with my own freelance business. It’s a lot for one person to undertake so the next Very Important Thing to know is Collaboration. Even if you don’t have a team per se (I’m flying solo with my freelance for now) you still need outside feedback and HELP. Enlist the feedback from friends and family or get on some forums online, no matter how you get it- get some feedback on your ideas. No good author is complete without his or her editor; this is true for just about EVERYTHING in life.

During this process I’m following two books (amongst others, but these I’ve read in its entirety)

The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier

Designing Brand Identity by Alina Wheeler

Both are very informative and a quick read, I highly recommend them.

I’ve already worked through Mission statements and briefs for both OHTY and Ah! Designs, here is a little jump start for you (from The Brand Gap)

Write down:

1)   Who are you?

2)   What do you do?

3)   Why does it matter?

According to Mr. Neumeier: “unless you have compelling answers to all three questions, meaning that customers find them irresistible, you haven’t got a brand.” (Brand Gap 2006)

In this age of entrepreneurship you cannot have too much focus! Focus is the key- if your answers to the above questions aren’t exciting or dynamic you need to re-focus your business. Your category may be too broad, narrow it down, focus on the strengths the company possesses, be specialized! If you cannot be Number One in your business category (or even Number Two) then you need to change categories. Unless you want to be Number Three, or Four, or Ten and have to charge much less for your services even though the quality is just as good.

Keep these thoughts in mind and PLAN! Good planners (and PLANTERS) reap the benefits of the future. Taking the time to plan the business is better than jumping right in. Think about jumping in a pool with a shirt on, when you hit the water the shirt always rides up, and we don’t want to lose our shirts, correct?