live. breathe. design.

your brand says a lot about who you are as a seller. you want your shop banner and profile pic to effectively convey your work or your message.

i recently had the privilege of working with fellow etsian and Homespun Society member, Kornelia of Made by Sunflower, on her shop brand. Kornelia creates beautiful, and very detailed handmade jewelry. she wanted a banner and profile pic that accurately reflected her product.

BEFORE:

you will note that the banner shows off her jewelry and also has a font that is elegant to coordinate with the style of Kornelia’s jewelry. one thing that i noticed here, and you see in a lot of banners is a size issue. banners are tiny (760 px x 100 px), this limits the details and font sizes you can use. the pieces of jewelry shown are beautiful examples of Kornelia’s work, however having the whole piece of jewelry pictured forces the image to be so small that it does not show off all of the beautiful details that make her jewelry so unique and beautiful. additionally you find the same problem with the font, in particular the tag line, it’s size and background imagery make it difficult to read.

AFTER:

you will note that here we are still showing off her gorgeous jewelry, however by doing a detail shot you can really see all of the intricate work and beauty of the metals and stones together. here we still used an elegant font that compliment her jewelry, but in this case, we used it only on the main word of her shop title. this allows for it to be larger and more readable. having a complimenting font for the other words adds interest and allows for more space, making everything easier to view. the tagline is still printed in a small font, though now it is on a completely white/solid background which allows for it to be more legible.

we have also made a profile pic too coordinate with her banner, which you can see in the bottom left of the after photo. essentially whenever Kornelia is talking to someone on Etsy, they are receiving a subtle, but constant reminder of of her brand.

coordinating that imagery between your banner and profile pic, along with all of the social media you use to promote your shop, your email signatures, business cards packaging and invoicing, is a key part of creating a top of mind presence and a successful brand.

thank you so much to Kornelia for letting me use her shop for this comparison. please make sure to visit her shop to view her gorgeous selection of jewelry. great for a gift or a lovely piece for yourself

you can also “like” her business on Facebook and follow her on twitter. (and take a peak at how we coordinated these pages as well!)

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I offer both branding and shop design, some samples of my branding work can be seen on my website.

a few short days ago Amanda Mazur of Sweet Reverie announced  i had won one of her adorable little handmade birdies from her Facebook giveaway. yesterday she arrived at my door, and she is just too stinking cute! by the way, her name is Abigail, another lovely touch. she will be the perfect spring decoration in my house, just when i was getting ready to transition out the winter look!

be sure to check out Amanda’s great handmade shop on etsy and the graphic design business that she runs with her hubby too!

this week’s “pack it up, baby!” features another vintage design. this one was a particularly unique  find (thanks again to Tom). federal meats is a local butcher shop with several locations and has been around since 1930, making it a buffalo,ny staple. this insulated paper bag looks like it was from the late 40s or 50s. the illustration is so whimsical and charming in it’s simplicity. what is particulary exciting about this find, is that my father-in-law is a long time employee and manager of federal meats. so not only is it a great piece of local graphic design history but we have a personal connection to it, too! enjoy

of all the wonderful places in st augustine’s old town we found another new spot. one that will be a regular stop when we visit, that is for sure. i believe this frozen yogurt shop is relatively new to the town and it is locally owned too. it is so fun and brightly colored on the inside, plus they have an absolutely fabulous logo. i am a huge fan of text based logos. this one, painted on the wall behind the dipping cabinet, beckons to you from the street through the open door. pretty tasty frozen yogurt too!

also note all the little hand drawn, in chalk, fruit illustrations on the menu board hanging above. so cute!

this week’s featured artist is leah duncan of austin, texas. her wonderfully delicate illustrations make me so happy inside. while i usually go for bold & bright designs i find her work to pack just as big of a punch. featuring fantastic mid-century influences her work stands out as clean and detailed. view more of her work in her etsy shop or on her website.  or follow her and gain some inspiration from her blog, freshly chopped.