Welcome to The all new 23&9 Creative
I am SO excited to show off the all new 23&9 Creative brand today!
If you’ve ever re-branded or re-launched a website you know how much work goes into the back end. This journey started in January and I was expecting to launch beginning of June. After COVID-19 happened, things got pushed back a bit, but it gave me a little more time to perfect everything and now here we are!
The logo and style guide
So why did I re-brand in the first place? Historically for my little business, I’ve updated my brand about every 2 years. That wasn’t really on purpose, but just worked out that way. And to be totally honest, I’ve never TRULY loved my brand. Let’s take a stroll down 23&9 Creative brand lane…
It literally makes me giddy looking at this because I can now tell you my new brand is SO ME. Even after being a branding designer for four years, I never felt like I got mine quite right - until now! And what a relief it is to say I truly LOVE everything about my brand.
My logo, secondary logos and submark I drew by hand. I was happy with them! But when it came to my patterns and other “elements”, my brain drew a blank. This was an area I felt I couldn’t improve by myself - so I called in some reinforcements!
I met Kelsea of Kindly by Kelsea a few years ago when she purchased one of my original Squarespace templates. When I looked at her work for the first time I remember thinking THIS GIRL HAS A GIFT. She is one of the most incredible brand designers I’ve ever seen and I tell everyone I know to try and get on her list! I was lucky enough to get a little bit of her incredible talents in my own brand and hired her to do some icons and patterns for me. I couldn’t be happier with how perfect they are and how well they match me and my brand.
Also SUPER fun fact - the third pattern of shapes is actually the negative space that the letters in my logo make. MIND BLOWN!
The photos
My photo shoot was supposed to be a wonderful Friday in mid-March, which ended up being 2 days after DC shutdown for coronavirus. I was SO bummed. But I knew waiting every second for Lauren of Lauren Louise Collective to take my photos when it was safe was more than worth it. And let me tell you, I could NOT be happier with how they turned out! If you are at a point of wondering if you should invest in brand photos for your business the answer is YES. They are a huge step in bringing your brand to life!
You may have noticed the amazing sign with my logo in the photos. This was one of the reasons I was SO excited about this shoot. My friend and fellow Squarespace designer Megan of The Busy Bee started a new business with her hubby called Flow Lab Creative and they make these insanely gorgeous handmade wooden signs. I HAD to get one! It is amazing quality and one of the most fun things I own!
the website design
Being a website designer I had major pressure on myself to have a great website. Over the past two years I’ve taught myself quite a bit of coding and really honed in on my personal website design style. I was so excited to dive into everything I could do with this website to make it special while always making sure it’s user friendly first.
It definitely took me a few years to find my own website design style. I used to try and be trendy and minimal and that is just NOT me. My last website (the left photo) finally felt a lot like me so I was excited to play off of what I had built and create something even better! I still wanted to be bright and fun but just add a touch more professionalism. Do you think I did it??
If you’re looking to learn more about Squarespace coding I HIGHLY recommend Thirty Eight Visuals. Beatrice is a coding goddess and has an amazing Club you can join that gives you access to a Facebook group that is invaluable! She is amazing and I am super grateful for all of her help.
It was really important to me to call out all the incredible people that helped me getting to where I am, to show that you do NOT have to wear all the hats. I used to think I literally had to be perfect at everything to run my business. And then I learned that is NOT TRUE. Do not be afraid to ask for help. I know that $$$ comes along with getting help, but sometimes the best thing you can do for your business is invest in it. And a little investment up front can go a LONG WAY! The brands that you love and aspire to be didn’t get there overnight or without lots of help along the way. I am a major perfectionist and have to remind myself of this almost everyday. I am so grateful to every single client I have ever worked with who has given me an opportunity and helped me grow and learn.
Okay sooooo… what do you think?! Would love to read your thoughts in the comments! Thank you SO much for checking it out!
