If I had to choose one thing I love most about designing brands and websites, I don’t know if I would be able to do it.

• But I do know that somewhere near the top of the list of favorites would be differentiating each individual brand.

  It’s a fun creative challenge to make each client’s brand completely distinct and unique.

  And it helps when the mission behind the brand is unique and special all on its own.

Much of the branding process takes place before my clients send me their initial design inquiries. The design direction isn’t developed in the inspiration stages when I pull images from their inspiration board or even when I look over their client homework; it’s developed far earlier.

Brands are developed at the start of a business through their interactions with their audience. They’re developed through every point of contact, whether it’s through an Instagram post, product offering, or the copy on their website. 

My job as a designer is to identify the existing brand and display it visually. 

Which is why designing for Olivia Purvis was an exciting opportunity.

With every client branding project, I make it my mission to not only create a distinct visual identity for each business but to develop a system for how all of the design elements work together.

Not only does it make for a more polished, professional brand in the long-run, but it makes it much easier to implement a brand into my client's website and collateral items like business cards, social media images, product packaging, etc. 

Jen Neal's new brand goes down as one of my favorite design projects because of the system we created with her vibrant colors, bold patterns, and classic typography. I'm excited to share the design process with you and offer a behind-the-scenes look at how I strategically incorporated each design element into her brand.

My 2-week design process has made things a little busy around here! I've booked over 20 projects for 2015 and it feels like this year has flown quicker than all the rest.

With little turnover time between clients, e-courses in full-swing, and the launch of the Collaborative in less than one week, I have a few fun brands that haven't made an appearance on the blog quite yet.

So if you enjoy Elle & Company client project reveal days, you're in for a treat. I have 3 new brands and websites to share with you today (along with a little snippet of the process behind each one)! 

Back-to-back weeks of client launches? It's like Christmas around here! 

My 2-week client process has been keeping me busy, and I'm excited to not only give you a look at the finished brand and website for one of my latest clients, Reveleigh & Co., but also share a behind-the-scenes look (and a video) at how I created it. 

The scary, exciting thing about entrepreneurship is that business is always changing and evolving. When you're first getting things up and running, you might have a general idea of the services you want to offer and the clients you want to work with, but as you gain experience in your industry you begin to refine your offerings, your processes, and your brand.

It's always a treat to work with creative entrepreneurs who've spent a few years in business; they have a better idea of the clients they're trying to appeal to, the items they need to have designed, and the overall visual identity they're trying to achieve through their brand and website.

So when Amanda Jameson approached me for design work, I was thrilled. Her previous brand and website weren't cohesive with the quality and style of her work, so we spent 2 weeks partnering together to create something more fitting for her photography business.

The final product is one that I'm thrilled to reveal today (as well as a behind-the-scenes look at how it all came together)!

The night before a client launch day always feels like Christmas Eve around here. So much intention, time, and effort goes into a brand and website design on both my end and my client's end, and it's a good thing I only work within 2 week timeframes because the anticipation to reveal the final product gets me every time. 

But while you can look through my design portfolio and get a glimpse at the final designs, you might miss out on my favorite part of the entire project: the process. Because while it might seem like design only involves creating pretty things, there's much more intention and effort that goes on behind the scenes.

So today I'm giving you a behind-the-scenes look at the creative problem solving that took place behind my latest design project for Alex Estes with Prairie Letter Shop. The hand lettering, bright color palette, and fun illustrations make this project one of my favorites to date, and I'm excited to walk you through the design process!

A brand is like a person; it has a distinct style and character that's all it's own. It has a unique tone of voice, it uses certain words more often than others, and it has its own unique way of "dressing itself" to make a great first impression.

My job is to help with that last part - "clothing" a business through its visual identity. 

Before my 2-week design process begins, I have each of my design clients fill out a series of questionnaires about their brand, process, and website. One of my favorite, most telling questions seems so simple, but I refer to their thoughtful responses throughout the entire design process. What are 10 adjectives that best describe your brand?

Lori Hedrick described hers as real, close, caring, happy, familiar, easy, rich, and true. I'm excited to show you how those seemingly simple words have played out into Lori's beautiful new brand and website! 

While branding has many benefits for a business, some of the greatest are differentiation, recognizability, and memorability. So whenever I approach a new project, I challenge myself to push the limits and design a brand unlike any other I've designed in the past and unlike any other I've seen from other designers.

My 2-week design process has made this challenge easier by allowing me to focus solely on one client at a time and pour into all the fun details. Today's new brand and website for Magnolia Media PR is no different, and I'm excited to show you the final designs!

Around the first of the year I received a design inquiry from the blogger behind Real Food Whole Life, Robyn Downs. After our initial consultation, it was clear that Robyn and I would work well together. Not only is she extremely organized and intentional, but Robyn has a great amount of drive behind what she shares on her blog; her passion for nutrition and leading a healthy lifestyle is contagious (so much so that I've been following along with her helpful meal plans). Our 2-weeks together resulted in a new brand and website that reflects her passion for healthy living and attention to detail, and I'm excited to share the process and final design in today's post!

Taking on one design client at a time for 2015 has had numerous benefits, but I've been surprised at how much this new process has helped my creativity. Being able to pour into one client for 2 weeks helps me give them my undivided attention, dive into the new brand's aesthetic, and provide them with a cohesive visual identity through logos, collateral items, and a website. Each 2-week project is different, and the variety and challenge to make each brand one-of-a-kind has been fun for me.

I've had several photographers in my project lineup for the first few months of this year, so I challenged myself to go above and beyond to ensure that each of these brands would be individually unique. The newest Elle & Company brand and website design project is unlike any other I've worked on, and I'm excited to show you some peeks and walk you through the design process today!

One of my favorite things about designing brands and websites is that no two projects are ever the same. While the design process may look similar, I enjoy designing elements of each brand that make it distinctly one-of-a-kind. Today's brand and website reveal for Minky & Prickett is no exception, and I'm excited to give you an inside look into the design process as well as reveal the final brand and website!

One of the biggest compliments you can receive as a designer isn't from a client; it's from their friends and family. So when my recent client and talented calligrapher, Amy Webber, told me that those who know her best looked at her new brand and thought it fit her to a T, I was honored. Not only am I thrilled to reveal this new brand and website design with you today, but I'm excited to walk you through how we arrived at a finished product that both suits the amazingly talented lady behind Sincerely Amy Designs and appeals to her ideal clients.

Joy. It's the one word that I was asked to reflect in the new brand and website for Bulloss Photography and it perfectly captures my experience working with Jess and Will. From our initial design meeting to the photos that were used in the inspiration board and the excited emails that I received yesterday about today's launch, joy has been the common theme throughout this design project. This new brand and website is one that I'm thrilled to add to my portfolio, and I'm excited to walk you through my process and reveal all of the lovely details today.

Last fall, after juggling multiple design projects and struggling to spend adequate time on each one, I decided to switch up my branding process and focus on one client at a time. I began booking all of my 2015 design clients in two-week timeframes, and Amanda was the first on my list. We began working on her brand and website two weeks ago, and the following 10 days were a fun whirlwind of concepts, drafts, and revisions. I'll share more about my thoughts on this new process in a later post, but today I'm excited to show off this gorgeous new brand for Southern Charm Events & Planning!

It isn't every day that I'm asked to create a brand and website for an author and speaker, so when Melissa Kruger asked me to design her blog months ago, I jumped at the opportunity! While Melissa had been writing for The Gospel Coalition and Christianity.com for years, she was seeking to have a 'home base' for her blog posts, books, and speaking engagements. She named this new venture Wit's End. 

"Slowly I'm learning that being at my wit's end isn't really the end of a thing, but the beginning. The end of thinking I can rescue myself is the beginning of crying out to the Lord for deliverance. The most secure place might just be at the end of my rope, clinging to Jesus, watching Him calm what I cannot control."

If you're a fan of pretty pinks and soft blues, gorgeous florals, classic typefaces, and illustrative details, you're going to love this new brand for The Bloom Workshop! Bloom is a one-day workshop for creative entrepreneurs that focuses on blogging, design, photography, and styling. Michaela and Ashley do a gorgeous job with every detail of the day, from the teaching to the styled shoot and swag bags. After 3 successful events in 2014, they are offering 3 kinds of Bloom workshops and 9 events throughout the U.S. this upcoming year.

With all of these exciting additions, some changes needed to be made to the Bloom brand.

Emily Gerald contacted me the same day I officially announced my branding services, and her brand and website launch is the first "whole package" reveal that I've done around here. From the logo to the website and collateral pieces, we've touched every part of her business and added her brand to it in some shape or form.