Lots of people talk about their branding and dog on how ‘simple’ or ‘boring’ or ‘low-key’ it is.  They complain about how much their logo doesn’t reflect ‘who they are’ or ‘what they feel’ or ‘how they shoot.’

Okay.  Let’s take a look at Apple.  Most popular products on the planet, at the moment.  Go to their website and look at their logo.  Simpler than simple.  The logo in no way captures all the incredible and fabulous things the company produces, but it gives us a peek at their sleek style.

Try to imagine a logo that screamed ‘cutting-edge inventive geeky hipster wearing retro, tight-tight eighties throwback jeans and an Ed Hardy t-shirt’ is our target market. It would be…a hot mess.

Again, think of all the things for sale at Target.  Everything from clothing to dental floss to vitamin water.  Imagine a logo that said all those things.  Hot mess city.  Same goes for Wal-Mart.  Adobe.  Any grocery store on the planet.  And your business, too.  No symbol on the planet can capture everything you do!

A strong logo rarely includes doodads or thingamabobs.  The earth’s best logos are fairly simple.  (Golden arches, anyone?) So think simple.  And simpler, still.

Stop trying to commission a logo that screams YOU AND EVERYTHING YOU DO.  It’ll be out of date in no time.  Find one that whispers of your essence but allows room for growth across the years.

Oh, and the business therapy winner?  Xander of Photographing Sound. E-mail me to claim your prize, love! Thanks to all of you who signed up for the Merit Badge mail, left comments, and tweeted about the giveaway!

Want to read it on the blog? LOGO TIPS AND TRICKS

And then, my Hip Slip arrived.  Doug and Chenin know I’ve been lusting after one, and it arrived without warning today.  Squeal!  Double squeal! The product itself is fabulous, but the branding is just as remarkable.

First, the box.  Even the UPS man commented on the loveliness of the box.

Then, the paperwork.  Yes, it’s that good.  A postcard with tips for taking better photographs, as the Shootsac line caters to professional photographers:

A little information about the Hip Slip…And consistent use of the logo:

Oh, and the bag itself.  Chosen to match my studio colors, of course!

In the space of a box shipped from across the country, Shootsac delivers an experience.  A little information, a lot of pretty, and a heap of usefulness.

What about your brand?  How can you create an experience with your product’s delivery, whether it’s being picked up or shipped thousands of miles?

Want to read it on the blog? BRANDING HALL OF FAME: SHOOTSAC

Well, I launched two products and visited the shop. It hit me like a ton of bricks: I WOULDN’T BUY FROM ME. The whole dealio looked rather rinky-dink, despite the hours of customization I put in behind the scenes, and the code I learned to tweak for ultimate bad-ass-edness.

I wouldn’t buy from me.

I cried.

What can you learn from this? Take an honest look at your work, your website, and your blog. Would you buy from you? If you’re looking with your most honest, most critical glasses on, what could you do better? What can be tweaked?  Which galleries can be pruned, which articles shortened (or lengthened), which products photographed better? If you wouldn’t buy from you, what’s the first step in the rebranding process?

In my case, a new logo, a more magazine-y/fashion fair, color scheme tweaks, and a newly-appointed storefront customization brought everything closer to my vision for Brand Camp. It isn’t easy. It’s a time-consuming, tricky, and rough process. But it has to be asked:

Would you buy from you?

Want to read it on the blog? WOULD YOU BUY FROM YOU?

Let’s start with Vital Tips for Effective Logo Design.  It seems so simple to have a simple logo, but simplicity is…hard.  The rest of the article provides us with iconic logos and — better yet — how their design principles can be applied to your own logo.

Want to go the custom website route?  You’ll need 8 tips for working with web designers.  I love that one of the guidelines is to be honest without being nitpicky.  Genius!  Now go read the other seven.

If you’re in the midst of figuring out what to share with the world in the way of a bio, try Problogger’s ‘how to write an about me’ page.‘  Quick, easy, helpful.

Spreadsheets make the biz world go round, and if you’re in need of a quick and simple solution for keeping tabs on $$ so you can follow your biz heart, try the Think Bakery blog.

Once you’ve brushed up on these topics, try a little search engine optimization tuneup through the LiveBooks blog: 10 things not to do.

Finally, challenge yourself: define your style in three words or less.

Want to read it on the blog? SIMPLE WAYS TO STRENGHEN YOUR BRAND.

Successful brands evolve.  They make mistakes, learn from them, and make more mistakes, then learn…and in the process, they tweak their logos.  There’s a fascinating look at well-known brands here. So go.

Go.  See Target’s 1st, absolutely wretched logo, and take heart.  You, too, will evolve.

Want to read it on the blog? EVOLVE.

1.) Username.

Do you have just one username, and is it consistent across platforms?  For example, are you listed on Facebook as Lauren L. Hammerstein, on Twitter as LaurenLeeH, and on your website as LLH Photo?  (See how that can be confusing?)  If you can, get a new username or switch your existing URL — this can be done quite easily on Twitter — to reflect your ONE chosen username.  Whatever that is.

2.) Avatar.

How’s your avatar looking?  Christine Tremoulet is an excellent example of having a memorable avatar, and I’ve seen it all over the place — Twitter, PhotoLovecat, FStopBeyond — it’s her.  I may not even recognize her in another image, because I’d be convinced of her just having a little red wall behind her wherever she goes.

3.) Logo.

It hurts me to say it, but I have to ask : are you using just one logo?  Yes’m, I just wrote that.  I’ve seen different logos being used on assorted marketing materials for the same company.  Not iterations, but full-blown entirely-different logos on currently-circulating materials.

Please, fix it.

If your username, avatar, and logo are consistent, we’ve come to the final stage of Brand Check:

4. Message.

Copy and pricing send a message, but is it the one you’re trying to convey?

When your marketing materials, web design, and general web presence scream high-end, but you’re selling a 5×7″ FINE ART print for $15 (I saw this done today, and have to mention it), your brand is NOT consistent with your message.  The $15-shoppers are looking for keywords like ‘value’ and ‘affordability,’ not ‘decor’ and ‘fine art’ of any kind.

Ultimately, the more consistent you are with your message, the stronger your brand becomes.  The stronger your brand becomes, the more clients you attract, etc, etc…world domination follows.  But you’re going to have to pick just one logo first.

Want to read it on the blog? BRAND CHECK! CONSISTENCY IS KEY.

When most of us creatives choose to throw open business doors to the world at large, we think, ‘I need a logo’ and then, ‘I need some colors for that logo.’  We hire someone, or we make ourselves a nifty little logo in one one Adobe program or another.  We call it a day and keep on doing what we do — making art.  Hoping business will find us because we’re talented, lovely people.

Brand camp needs to exist because a logo & a color scheme simply aren’t enough.  In today’s market, the need to create a powerful, cohesive, and utterly unique brand is more important than ever.  Don’t get lost in the cacophony of people who make lovely art BUT ABSOLUTELY SUCK AT BRANDING.

Together, we can revolutionize your brand.  (Hint: it’s so much bigger than a logo and a color scheme.)  In time, you’ll find that branding applies to every interaction you have with a client.  It’s not just your logo, featured on big glossy postcard mailers — it’s the pens you use, the decor you employ to decorate your space, the packaging you purchase, and the website you maintain.  It’s every tweet appearing on Twitter, every friend you make on Facebook.

Your brand is made up of an infinite number of elements, and all of them had better be playing on the same team.  Let’s play ball.

Want to read it on the blog? WHAT IS BRANDING?