It seems that people think there’s a magic bullet to branding. Like, ‘Kristen, as soon as I figure out my logo, my brand will be complete! WOOOO!!! I’m gonna go do a keg stand!’
Truth is, branding is a constantly evolving process. Yep, evolving. Like, it’s never done. Ever.
An example:
In March, my portrait website got a makeover. Holy CRAP, I thought it was the best thing ever. It was ‘unlike anything I’d ever seen before’ and fresh and funny and a bit witty.
Unfortunately, it’s a bit tricky to navigate, a bit cluttered, a bit heavy on the transition effects, and a bit lacking in the usability department. It also has the SEO-optimization of your Grandma’s knee-high stocking collection.
So basically, this website that was TOTALLY THE SHIZZLE TO ME six months ago is mostly embarrassing to me now. And by mostly, I mean…I’m surprised anyone has hired me with it in place, ever.
This is because as my knowledge evolves, my brand evolves. And as my brand evolves, elements have to be reworked. It’s a process that never ends…though if you do a really good job, you get more of a shelf life between re-works. Take heart. Keep working on it. And celebrate with a keg stand at regular intervals, of course.
You are so funny! I lovvve the keg stand comments! Thanks for making branding not so painful!
I’ve lost track of the iterations my various sites have gone through. I remember making my first online portfolio in college, and it was the coolest thing that ever existed. Now, if someone stumbled upon it through some archived page somewhere, I’d try to pretend like it wasn’t mine. Since then, I’ve gone on to create many more embarrassing websites.
It’s kind of painful to sit down and realize that you really need to do a total overhaul, but so worth it when you don’t cringe when you look at it anymore.
Thank you! You really spelled it out in this post! Now with the “perfection” pressure off, I can just get down to it.