MATB

What we can learn from Master of Human Connection - Taylor Swift
https://wix.to/OCHYiTH

The Power of Human Connection & Story-telling: a Masterclass from Taylor Swift 💃 The intention of this post is to save you time & money.But I want to start with a story, about the (suburban) legend Taylor Swift.On Sunday night we were lucky enough to get to see her Era’s Tour concert at Wembley and I’m not sure I’m ever going to get over it. It was our 9 year old’s first...

🎤 Public Service Announcement!⁠
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The personal branding offer of 2024 is BACK! 💥
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Katie Needle and I are teaming up to get your confidence and energy to grow your brand SKY-ROCKETING 🚀⁠
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THE OFFER 😎⁠
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FROM AMY:⁠
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🔥 Brand audit & creative brief⁠
🔥 2 logo variations⁠
🔥 Colour palette⁠
🔥 Brand font choices⁠
🔥 Instagram mock-up bringing branding to life⁠
🔥 One pager style guide ⁠
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FROM KATIE:⁠
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🔥 YOUR place on a shared two hour walkabout photoshoot⁠
🔥 where you join her, and a group of other fab business peeps⁠
🔥 in a cool city location ⁠
🔥 have awesome photos created for your marketing⁠
🔥 connect & network with other biz owners⁠
🔥 AND have a blast while doing it!⁠
🔥 Plus free upgrade of unlimited edited image downloads⁠
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This perfectly-formed value-packed offer will deliver the perfect branding pack plus some beautifully YOU-oozing brand photos meaning you can:⁠
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🩷 Get beautifully consistent everywhere your brand shows up⁠
🩵 Be energised & crazy-excited to sell yourself⁠
💙 Start taking advantage of all the new opportunities which will start to come your way⁠
💜 Make choices to step outside of your comfort zone & see where THAT takes you!!⁠
🧡 Commence being a BIT OF A BIG DEAL⁠
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Ts & Cs:⁠
🤓 Offer must be booked by 11.59pm on 26th April January⁠
🤓 £100 (non-refundable) deposit required to secure booking⁠
🤓 £427 due 1 May '24⁠
🤓 £427 due 1 June '24⁠
🤓 Pop-up space must be booked by end of May '24⁠
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Photo-shoot locations & dates:⁠
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Southbank: Monday 20th May
Bristol: Monday 8th July⁠
London Shoreditch: Tuesday 23rd July⁠
Birmingham: Monday 19th August⁠

DM me or comment GLOW UP below and we’ll send you the link to claim your spot 🔗

Comin' in HOT to 2024 with a bit of myth-busting ⬇️ ⬇️ ⬇️

I had a LOT of conversations with people throughout 2023 which made me realise that there are still so many misconceptions about branding design.

It's an investment, sure. But it's NOT expensive. The shift comes with changing your perspective and looking at the bigger picture.

If you are serious about building your own brand, you absolutely have to be in it for the long-game; one of the key components to success is TIME.

BUT there are specific elements which, if done correctly can get you moving faster in the early stages - and which make ALL the difference to not just how quickly you grow but how long you stick around.

And the two most IMPORTANT elements are:

🤓 the right brand strategy
🖍️ the right branding (all those lovely graphic visuals which communicate for you)

Get these bits right and so many things shift to get you moving - the injection of ENERGY they give to your business and you as a person can be phenomenal.

Opportunities start to present themselves, and you have everything you need to seize them. You can start to negotiate getting your products in physical spaces plus load everything onto a beautifully branded website to start selling at PACE.

I know it can be an overwhelming decision to make because it sets a bold and brave intention and you might fear the 'who does she think she IS??' phantoms...

But if you've worked that hard to bring a bloody fantastic product to the world that's going to make a huge difference to people - then honestly the decision isn't WHETHER to invest in strategy & identity or not... it's shall I do it today or TOMORROW?!

And if you want to work with someone who's passion & life-purpose it is to create relevant & strategic brand identities specifically designed to take your product to market then I am YOUR GAL 🙋‍♀️

Just DM me a 🔥 & I'll get in touch to book a no-commitment initial meet & greet chat!

P.s. payment plans available - I approach each situation on an individual basis 🤓

Things to know if you’re launching a high-end luxury product brand ⬇️

I’ve lost count of the amount of times a client has asked me for luxury brand design including GOLD 🌟 but also coupled with ‘but I have a super tight budget.’

So at that point I feel very comfortable in trying to persuade them away from gold!

Reasons gold can be tricky ⬇️

🥴 it’s very hard to get gold right digitally - you rely on achieving a gradient made up of different flat shades to give a metallic sheen effect
🥴 which can then be hard to match to when printing
🥴 you can achieve a beautiful gold foil effect for the look & feel of the branding in Photoshop….. BUT…
🥴 to replicate this look when printing IRL means using a print process called ‘hot foil stamping’ which can be incredibly pricey
🥴 finding a matching RAL (paint colour) can be extremely tricky (for brands who have a physical space) and again to get the right shade can be time consuming
🥴 gold can look super tacky if printed on cheap materials
🥴 and I’ve seen ‘luxury’ brands use too much of a yellow-toned gold, which again can have the opposite effect and make your packaging look cheap and tacky

I know all this, as my formative brand visual identity years were spent knowing the brand INSIDE OUT.

There was nothing I did not know about executing their brand gold in real life 🌟

I used to DREAM in Pantone 872C!!!

You can see here, in these designs for a luxury loose leaf tea brand, gold can look really quite high-end if done right.

You just wanna make sure your brand designer is properly experienced in these things 🙋🏼‍♀️

So you’ve got to the stage where all your hard work is coming together and you know you need a visual identity 🥳 but - still feels scary right?

As you hover around final choice of designer & paying that deposit - those nagging feelings keep you awake at night:

🥴 crikey, everything’s now gonna be out of my control
🥴 what if I don’t like the designs?
🥴 I struggle to give honest feedback & I don’t want to offend anyone
🥴 will the designer think I’m annoying if I want changes?
🥴 they’re the expert - will they actually listen to my concerns or requests for amends?
🥴 am I going to waste my precious money???

I totally get it. I’ve BEEN the client, briefing a designer. I’ve felt all these feelings, during experiences working both client-side & in agencies.

So I’ve made sure my BRAND FIRE process really focuses on YOU staying in control:

🚀 firstly we do the briefing questionnaire as an interview, where I get so much more juicy info than just asking you to fill it in
🚀 there’s plenty of time for all your questions, I welcome them to the max!
🚀 you have to sign off on the moodboard and look & feel for your brand before I do ANY designing, this is the crucial stage of ensuring I hit your brief bang on with no EEEK surprises when I present the solution!

And if for any reason you’re like ‘er… um…. not sure how to say this but….’ We discuss it, and we find a solution.

My time working on high-profile global brands has given me super-charged skills in being solution-orientated. Plus I’m as invested in designing the perfect identity for you as you are. It’s my life-purpose 🙋🏼‍♀️

What I WON’T do is let us go down a frustrating road of endless changes, ain’t no one got time for that. And the strategy piece I do first for you will lead to the right design anyway - it’s tried, tested & proven.

Want to find out more about BRAND FIRE? Click the link in my bio to book a call or DM me 🔥to start the convo…

Do you sometimes get stuck with moving your business forwards thinking you’re not ‘aggressive’ enough, or ‘salesy’ enough? Not ‘everyone look at MEEEE-y’ enough?

But this is still you ⬇️

❤️ You’re trying to mould your business around your life?

❤️ You’re trying to make the moves which will let you work AND be there for the kiddos whilst they’re young?

❤️ You want to make plans so that you can work anywhere and experience the amazing freedom that comes with that?

❤️ You’re offering something different, or solving a problem in a different way which you KNOW people want and need?

Then YOU are the person I am here for.

I work with PIONEER women. Women who:

💖 bring softness where things feel hard
💖 bring purpose to a commercially-obsessed world
💖 bring simplicity to complex situations
💖 care deeply in an unforgiving society
💖 bring ease where there is difficulty
💖 think differently in traditionally male-dominated situations

I work with these women to create visual identities that allow them to do their thing in the easiest, most highly visible and meaningfully relevant way possible whilst retaining their own essence 🥰

Is this YOU? Are you boldly, yet gently changing peoples lives in your own unique way?

If it is, comment below - I’d love to hear all about YOUR purpose & mission ⬇️⬇️⬇️

❤️

There’s something about being by the sea that makes creativity and ideas leak out of my pores.

For the sheer love of doing what I do (and to celebrate the Wi-Fi finally working!) I’ve moved on last year’s branding idea for - I’d want to bring all the colours of summer and beach to the branding. It’d look WICKED on banners and bunting throughout the town.

It’s got energy and so much potential for a suite of marks to vary the branding opportunities.

Whaddya think??!

I’ve just been bodyboarding. One of the best sources of joy on this fragile planet IMHO.

Absolutely exhausting in the best way. And on the flip-side absolutely exhilarating beyond belief.

The wildest of rides.

A bit like running your own business tbh. No way am I EVER gonna try and tell you it’s easy. I’m doing it for the second time, the first one wasn’t a success but I would not change a thing.

Man, I love the wild ride. The highs AND the lows. All of it.

But there are definitely sure-fire ways to make it easIER. Just as I wouldn’t try bodyboarding without a wetsuit and bootees (ever been stung by a weever fish?!!! WEAR THE BOOTIES), I wouldn’t try and progress my business without bringing in the help of experts to help me develop the areas in which I’m not expert at all.

Investing in your business when you don’t quite feel ready feels kind of the same as when that huge wave is bearing down on you and you get in position and ride it to shore, shrieking and hollering like a kid.

The return on that investment is HUGE and long lasting. Like the joy of riding the waves baby… 🌊🌊🌊

What’s your thoughts on bringing in an expert to help get you going? Tell me in the comments below, I’d love to know!

Oh HELLO team!⁠
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This is me - Amy - brand strategist & visual identity designer.⁠
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I create strategic, story-led brands and am absolutely rocket-FUELLED by a deep-rooted passion for adventure & journeying!⁠
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In 2007 at an absolute cross-roads I chose the path of adventure instead of remaining in the safety zone. I'll be forever grateful for my ten years in tennis, but I wasn't growing, learning or developing. I knew there was MORE ahead for me.⁠
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I also knew it would be hard, but I absolutely ROCK-SOLID knew it would be worth it. So I trained up in how to use a machete, how to hang a hammock, how to dig a reed-bed and how to manage young adults often on the precipice of a breakdown.⁠
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The experience was fundamentally life, heart & soul-changing. Along the way I washed in a croc-infested river, saw 70 elephants moving en masse and summited Mount Kinabalu - the highest mountain in SE Asia.⁠
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After that - I knew that I had it in me to forge my own path, and do things my own way. Opportunities which had once seemed 'not available’ to me, because of fears & insecurity just felt within reach. Everything seemed possible, and I had the courage to explore ALL of it. I launched my own product brand and that was a RIDE! Which led me to the realisation though, that my passion is going on adventures with YOU.⁠
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Working with, supporting and leading my clients through their exhilarating journeys of growth. THIS is where my heart & soul is now. ⁠
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If you'd like to understand more about the process when I work with a client - send me a DM - I'd LOVE to be part of your adventure!⁠
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Weekends should be for relaxing I know. I KNOW 😬 but you gotta do something to fill the time when your kid has a ‘7 hours of dance rehearsals’ sitch!

So sometimes this is just how it goes, you catch sight of a brief, can’t forget about it, get a super clear vision and before you know what’s happening, you’ve got it down.

Short and sharp, no messing - some ideas just can’t be tamed.

I guess that’s what the 30 prior years of creative thinking result in 😜

This is for

Want to sort your Instagram look out but literally don’t have the budget to invest in a designer? Because: ?

OK, I got you.

A few things to think about when getting your posts together:

- choose two fonts (there are some great font pairing websites online) and STICK to them. Your audience will start to know it’s you if you keep things consistent! Don’t be tempted to try a new font every time, it will confuse people, you might get a ‘like’ here and there for the message but it won’t entice people to buy in to you
- consider WHITE space. That’s not to say have loads of white in your posts - but make sure graphic elements and text have plenty of space to breathe - it’s hard for your audience to understand the point of your post when there’s mad content everywhere!
- look into colour psychology and choose 3 or 4 shades which represent your offering/vibe and also which create the feeling you want your customers to have when they see your posts (keep contrast in mind, try and have one neutral light, one darker shade, and two in-betweeners)
- with photos try and use those which pick out your chosen colours wherever possible
- don’t forget stories! Keep a consistent font on there and use your brand colours for text

It’s all about building recognition and becoming THE ONE for YOUR PEOPLE. Not the one for everyone!

Helpful? Drop me a 🙌🏻 if you found this useful!

SO. Your business is gaining a bit of traction (LEGEND). But have you pondered whether….

- You could move your business forwards FASTER with an up-levelled look?

- Your current branding clearly COMMUNICATES your story & values?

- Your business has a good level of VISIBILITY to attract your ideal customers?

- People are a little unsure of just exactly WHAT it is you offer?

If you are feeling ‘UH HUH, UH HUH’ after reading the above, my summer offer is here for YOU.

The BRAND EXPAND is your way to get my EXPERTISE in the most ACCESSIBLE way.

You’re going to get:

🌟 An audit of your current branding
🌟 A logo design based on as much story as we can squeeze from your briefing questionnaire answers
🌟 Three versions to use in a variety of spaces (social profiles, website banner, icon-only version)
🌟 Colour palette reflecting your brand personality (inc HEX codes so you can always use the same)
🌟2 brand fonts to align with the logo (title & text body)
🌟 One-pager style guide laying out the above

This is going to move you from that logo your colleague’s sister mocked up in Canva towards a brand with a real mission to connect with your customers.

This is for YOU if you want to start attracting more of the right customer NOW, without committing to a lengthier brand strategy process.

It’s £1000. THREE spaces available. Offer expires 30 June 2023.

DM me to book one. LET’S GO!!

Another Monday imminent you say? Don’t mind if we do. Shall we do this one together?

You got it babes. You can do it. OH YESSSSS YOU CAN 🙌🏻🌟🚀😎👊🏻💃🏻🤙🏻
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Do you find you get specific images in your head associated with days or months?

Sunday has just ALWAYS been blue in my head. In particular, a deep blue church door (not that we ever went to church on a Sunday!).

Saturday is a red post box.

Monday is a swathe of velvet (also blue). Tuesday is yellow.

Wednesday a lilac-purple and Thursdays are definitely green. Friday - another red one.

This week has been a visual feast of colour - I’m almost struggling to process the sights we’ve seen. But this Sunday it’s the bluest blue ever - restful, calming and bringing a deep sense of trust in things.

What colour is your Sunday?

#💙💙💙

At the coasters would be textured if I was to re-brand for them.

They’d have the ripples of the moon rock embossed into them, some a natural finish, some gold foil set into deep marine. Pleasing to caress whilst sipping a rose wine and orange liquor frozen martini - texture is just as important when considering the brand ID of physical space 🍹😎✌🏻

The vibe is laidback luxury BABYYYYY 🤩

Yesterday we went to for a glorious lunch and afternoon snoozing on sun beds by the sea.

The food, the cocktails, the staff - everything there is beautiful. Set in lunar-looking rock on Vlychada Beach (‘moon’ beach) I just felt compelled to redesign their logo for them 😊 - SO MUCH story-telling potential to be brought into the brand IMHO. And I was a bit confused by their current one as it features a sheaf of wheat.

I took one of the photos I’d taken and started drawing the ripples that are carved into the rock, then positioned these against a circle to represent the moon. This I’ve used to replace the letter O of THEROS.

I chose a simple, minimalist font to bring all the contemporary vibes to the name, then customised each letter to give it a slightly more organic feel and to reinforce the lunar landscape vibes.

This little moon motif will offer so much lovely potential to explore through textures as well and will work amazingly as little details throughout their gorgeous bar.

When you make the decision to up-level and invest in your own growth, you start to realise the real benefits are actually immeasurable.

🌎 It’s being able to show your kids the world
🌟 It’s being able to do the things in life that make your soul glow
🚀 It brings a new level of freedom to your life
🙌🏻 It means you can support people who truly need it - whether that’s financially or giving your time/services to help boost them up

When you choose to back yourself, fully realise your value and move up into a place of crazy growth - it’s honestly the most thrilling place to be 💃🏻

Here’s to the start of another fine week on this beautiful planet guys - I just know you’re gonna LEGEND your way through it 👊🏻

You can’t launch a brand with just a logo.

You can’t launch a brand with just a website.

You can’t launch a brand with just an amazing product.

You need ALL these things plus a solid brand strategy. You need someone asking ALL the right questions and who then be able to give you all the right ANSWERS.

Someone who can make the process fun, enjoyable, NOT confusing, and easy as pie 🥧

Someone who will take you through everything step by step and then someone who will find a solution so bloody beautifully compelling that you will be tripping over self you get your product on the shelves.

You’ll be a real competitor to the big brands. Your business will attract all its sole-mate customers who will then be in your story with you.

You need someone with BIG ‘excited-like-golden-retriever’ energy to make this happen for you.

And that someone, though I say it myself, is ME 🙋🏼‍♀️

Whilst you’re pondering on this, may I present to you this weekend’s passion project - an old one for ‘Odd Ones’ - sexy socks for happy feet! This brand exists to bring joy and individuality to every single foot. In each pack the left and the right don’t match. They want to set feet free from daily constraints of ‘matchy-matchy’ man!

What do we think?!

New week, new opportunities, new thoughts, new perspective.

You got this you magnificent human you!

🖤🤍🖤🤍

What is it about monochrome that is so beautiful appealing? I am either ALL about colour or black and white. Checks or stripes, I don’t care but I’m literally drawn to them like a magnet?

Is it wizardry? Magic? Just soooo pleasing, no?

checkerboard slide-ons are the epitome of this attraction for me. I love everything about them - the skater-BOI cool edge, the retro vibes and of course, their logo is just the BOMB. I’ve loved them for years…

Are there any brands that have just been in your heart and soul looOOongtime??

👠

When I talk about seeing a story or the brand personality in fronts and colours - this is a good illustration of what I mean!

The bagels turn into cute little googly eyes, you already know that this place is going to bring all the fun right?

The wordmark creates little smiles everywhere (and as I type that I realise there’s the idea for the strap-line or brand promise!)…

The bright mix of colours bring vibrancy, joy and happiness - whom wouldn’t want THAT on their lunch break from the full old office?!

This is what gives me L.I.F.E 🥰

Another little extract from the ‘passion project archives’ this was an entry for a project set by - called ‘The Bagel Shack’ - using my own custom type and beginning to explore some cute illustrative ways to represent the different fillings 😍

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-branding

‘We the Visionary’ - a cool kids’ clothing brand making gorgeous, trendy and comfortable clothing that doesn’t cost the earth and has a robust recycling process to boot, sending recyclable return address packaging to send back grown-out-of garments to donate to those in need…

Kids look the part and can just get on with doing their thing, lighting up our days and shaping the future of our world with their incredible kid-wisdom 👧🏼🧒🏼👧🏽🧒🏽👧🏾🧒🏾👧🏿🧒🏿

‘We the Visionary’ - a cool kids’ clothing brand making gorgeous, trendy and comfortable clothing that doesn’t cost the earth and has a robust recycling process to boot, sending a recyclable return address packaging envelope to send back grown-out-of garments…

Kids look the part and can just get on with doing their thing, lighting up our days and shaping the future of our world with their incredible kid-wisdom 👧🏼🧒🏼👧🏽🧒🏽👧🏾🧒🏾👧🏿🧒🏿

Yesterday’s passion project - I’m in that zone again where the ideas just won’t stop! I LOVE telling a brand story with imagery, font-choices, and colour work. And creating a logo which has that clever little twist. That little ‘oooooh, NICE’ moment.

Swipe to page two and you’ll see I created a circular icon out of the V of ‘visionary’, and then realised it represented the iris of an eye, thereby perfectly telling the story of the brand 👁️ replacing the O with this embeds the story into the logo…

This icon is then really versatile to use - I would play around with scale, insert images into the shapes, use as a watermark to make photos ownable. So many options…

‘We the Visionary’ is a sustainable cool kids’ clothing brand, their purpose to make fashionable yet highly durable, functional and comfy so the kids can get on with their lives, lighting up us old fogeys with their kid-wisdom, and shaping the future with their unique perspective and ideas to change the world.

Who wants to launch this brand with me?!!!

Full logo suite and colour palette including floral texture for Lock & Luxe - this week’s passion project set by thank you guys!

Loyalty card for my new branding passion project - the hair salon ‘LOCK & LUXE’ - socialising in Afro and curly hair.

What do you think?

Here’s the logo I created for the brief this week - LOCK & LUXE is a super sophisticated hair salon, which specialises in Afro and curly hair. Customers leaving refreshed and relaxed and thoroughly pampered!

After creating the moodboard quite quickly it took a bit of pushing for the logo to come, I ended up finding this beautiful font which I customised initially by blending the ampersand with the L of LUXE, and then took that styling for the letter to tweak the L of LOCK.

I wanted the strapline to curl echoing the customers’ hair type that the brand is for, and then loved the way it flows around the face, bringing the brand and the customer together 🥰

Thanks for the brief guys I hope I did the brief justice?