time. The time had come once again for a rebrand. It wasn’t a MASSIVE rebrand… it really wasn’t an overhaul at all… it was more of an update. I didn’t really CHANGE my look and the feel of my brand, I just made it sleeker, more modern and more “grown up” if you will. There are VERY few brands that can keep their look the EXACT same forever. My brand wasn’t BAD, but I knew it could be better. The “damask” background of my blog has been a part of my brand for 4 years…. it was time to move on. So in August, when all of my photog friends were changing their looks and it seemed like EVERYONE was having a
designer spruce up their site, I became anxious. I knew I needed to do it too! but WHEN?! When was I going to make this happen? Well, for me, the mini rebranding process includes several steps. First, because I love design and I have some background in it, I started drawing up what I wanted the new “look” to be. For most photographers, the beginning of a rebrand begins with inspiration boards and long consultations with a designer…. well, I don’t have a designer and so my consultations consisted of me talking to myself in my office. The reason I haven’t hired a designer to completely overhaul my brand is because 1. I enjoy design and have a little bit of experience with it. 2. It’s pricy and 3. I have to invest big bucks into my blog re-do’s and so I have to save somewhere!!
Rebranding consists of numerous different things. The first step for me is deciding on the basics: Fonts, Colors, Texture and Icon. That’s the foundation of my brand. Once these pieces are decided, you can flow into the next step… making the new look come to life. For me, this meant calling my blog designer and setting up a new project. Flosites and I began this new project at the beginning of the fall. I’ve worked with them for 3 years and I’m really grateful that there isn’t a 2 year waiting list to have work done!! I sent them my ideas and then they made it come to life. We spent months tweaking and updating and fixing. The blog launched last Monday and so I knew what was coming… the website.
Luckily, I have a Showit Site and so I have the freedom to change, create and modify my website with EASE, whenever and however I want!! I was in desperate need of a re-do and so I began that project this past week and it’s been my baby the last 5 days… just ask Michael. Now, let me preface this with one comment…. Most photographers are NOT designers. If you despise album design and could care less about negative space and serif fonts…. then by all means, hire a designer. If you’re working with a Showit site, you have several options for the design of your website. You can either hire a showit designer OR you can use a stylegroup!! I created my new site from scratch but that’s because I’ve been using Showit since 2009! …. I think I’m starting to get the hangout of it by now! :) So after the blog was finished, I redesigned my website and I’m happy to announce that it was launched today!! So before you go and take a look at it, here’s a peak of my design process. This file has been printed and laying on my desk since AUGUST. Yea. Obviously my site doesn’t look exactly like what I planned but that’s a GOOD thing!! I needed someone to help me make some changes and Flosites did just that. So enjoy a sneak peek of the design process and when you’re ready, take a look at the new KATELYNJAMES.COM!!
So that’s what I imagined for my new look… and this is what the final product looks like! Be sure visit KATELYNJAMES.COM for the best view!
Thanks for reading!
— Katelyn
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