Building a Mystery...

... or a brand, as the case may be. (Again, if you know me, you know I quote movies and music. "Building a Mystery" is a song title by Sarah McLachlan... TECHNICALLY, I believe it's a song about vampires. But considering I'm usually up all night almost every night and sleep in late, I guess it's not TOO far off the mark. And as a redhead, I have that oh-so-fair whiteness characterized by vampires too, I suppose. Although, I never did get on the whole "Twilight" or "Vampire Chronicles" bandwagon... I was more a sci-fi and "Witching Hour" series type-of-girl. But hey, originality is what makes the world go round, no?) ;-)

And that non sequitur brings me right back to my point of this post: Building a Brand, which hinges on originality. There's something as a trained graphic artist (with a degree in Communications Advertising) I learned long ago, and I heard this again recently when taking marketing classes from amazing photog and marketer Sarah Petty; and that is: when you create a logo, you want it to be unique, timeless and enduring. Your logo is like your face, your personal identity... and if you are constantly changing your look (basically, what people associate with you), then you cannot build consistency. And at the root of consistency is TRUST. You don't see changes from Nike's classic "swoosh" logo, do you? Or the script writing of Coca-Cola? (although they have "evolved" over the years, they have kept their signature look and feel. And people are comfortable with what they know... and when their fave brands, such as Pepsi, go out on a ledge and stray from what their faithful fans know, they rebel. Really? Crystal Pepsi? Who could bring themselves to associate a cola drink with a beverage that was CLEAR? Too weird. So glad I gave those up eons ago!) ;-)

So in building my new brand as I venture into creating a new website that is based on photography only, I have been killing myself for no less than 6 months now, trying to create the "perfect" logo that I will not get tired of, that will represent me, my personality and my style, and will also be classic and enduring. It will be on EVERYTHING, from thank-you notes to my clients, to pictures I post on the web, in my blog, etc and so forth. And as a trained graphic artist and what I admit to be a rabid perfectionist, I have not hit my mark yet. I keep changing my mind, I can't settle on anything. I am TRULY my own worst client and it's completely frustrating!

And then Sarah Petty, in her infinite wisdom, said during class: "trade services if you have to with a graphic artist; they can design for you, and you can do pictures for them." DUH! Brilliant! (And, as an aside, PLEASE check out Sarah's site: The Joy of Marketing. She "speaks" and marries the two worlds--and their distinctly different languages--of the art of photography meets the art of marketing. She's amazing and inspiring! Thank you, Sarah!!)

So like the old joke: "How many _____ (fill in the blank) does it take to screw in a lightbulb?" Well, if we fill in the blank with "photographers" (or in this case, "Karen ReVelles") and the lightbulb is a metaphor for the brilliant missing idea, then the answer is this:

ONE.

It takes only ONE of me to come up with the solution, which is this: I went to my trusty and good friend Cheryl, with whom I have worked with for YEARS as a graphic artist (she's a brilliant AD -- Art Director -- now, and I just love her to pieces. She's quirky, funny, a great sport and a SUPER-talented artist). She's got the cutest kids who have inherited her hilarious personality. So I made exactly that offer to her! What helps is that she knows me and my style, my personality and my photography. So, she knows what will fit me. And I gave her what I had come up with to start, and gave her all of my own misgivings, what I liked and didn't like. And I gave her carte blanche to evolve what I had started, or even go somewhere totally new. Tonight I got a draft from her... and I LOVE IT!! She's super-cali-fragilistic-brilliant!

So with a few more ideas from her (overall web design direction, plus her input for my signature color choices, etc), I will soon be able to unveil my new site. I'm so excited! So this post is all about giving props to talented people... and also to knowing when to ask for help, and to focus yourself on what you do best. And for me, what I do best is relate to my wonderful clients, and take their pictures to tell their amazing stories using all the dancing light available to me.

(p.s. -- Also hoping that tomorrow night goes through as planned: I'm hoping to do a couples' shoot at the OC Fair, and I know EXACTLY what I want. I went last week with my friend and her hubby and their 2 adorable little ones, and got such fun and whimsical images that really captured the innocence and wonder of their first times ever at such a colorful and larger-than-life event. Stay tuned!)

nite nite,
-kr