May the Best Brand Win

Window Mural painted by Kevin cameron

So you’re an artist and you’re trying to brand yourself.

Good luck with that, :^)

Just kidding.

By definition a brand is the perception of your company and the emotional reaction to it by your client or prospective customers, patrons or collectors.

Branding is a funny thing.  You control it but you don’t. Someone may respond differently to your brand than the next person.  In fact two different people … two people are always different, aren’t they… can react or respond to your brand in different ways and yet still like your brand.

An example might be Tim Hortons ( coffee and donut restaurant).   Although the logo is not technically the brand the logo does contribute to or  help *express ( pardon the pun ) the brand.

If you’re familiar with the cafe then seeing this logo will conjure up ideas and emotions from visiting a Tim Hortons restaurant. You might think of time spent with  a dear friend or meeting your favourite people early in the morning before work.  As the case is often here in Nova Scotia, during the winter months, Tim Hortons is a warm welcome for snowplow drivers. These guys and gals work double, double ( ahem) shifts keeping the roads clear of snow and ice.

For me, a good memory is painting Christmas/Holiday window murals on a local Tim’s window.  My daughter usually skipped school for one day each year to supervise. :^)

As the Autumn/Winter evenings approach earlier I remember  the bright paint of the mural in the well lit cafe contrasted  with the dark rainy days of early December outside. Dark figures shimmering through rain glazed windows, approaching closer with promise of warm, dry shelter and a wet, hot cup of coffee.

Well, enough nostalgia…but…that’s the point.  A good brand can help create nostalgia.

If you think of your art business as being branded…if you really want to go that way…then it will involve these points and more:

1. Subject/Theme that you wish to paint ( for buyers)
2. Style of your art ( which can include both your personality and media)
3. Your personality as expressed through your art.
4. Your unique value.
5. Your promise and integrity to be who you are-always.
6. Your story. How did you get where you are?
7. All of the artifacts associated the message of your art ( Brand associations)

All of these factors come into play if you wish to commercialize your art, which can be more or less subtle , I suppose.

This blog ‘My Adventures in Art’ is for my more eclectic side.  As you read you will discover a variety of topics that I find interesting ( and hope you do too).  For this reason it’s not just about one style of painting.  It’s kind of like the old TV variety shows- a mix of everything.

Let’s continue this discussion category more later under ‘Marketing and Branding’.  I’d also like to explore different views on Art for Money ( or not!).

Okay, thanks again for stopping by.

*like ‘express’ coffee

 

 

I Lied…a little.

Logo for a Math tutoring business

Not too long ago I announced my departure from Logo Design to focus on painting…then…I was asked to do another logo.  I accepted.

I know what you’re thinking, ” Ah Ha !  He got hungry and needed to do some graphic design to survive.”  Well there’s a little of truth in that but mostly I have this real fascination with Logo Design.  It just challenges me like nothing else.  I try to be faithful to my art and painting but then this real temptation to divert from it comes along and if it’s a business I like…well.. there, I am hooked.   Creating a logo is akin to watching a child grow.  A basic idea starts out and then you have this visual that takes on a life of it’s own.  It becomes unique.

A logo is like a name that is a graphic as well as a word or words.  If you can really get inside the soul of the business or company then you just never know how surprised you will be by the end process.  If the design is good ( and the client lets you use  the best idea ) then you can sometimes come up with a real winner.  Mostly a good logo takes time and lots of revisions to make, although the basic idea may come instantly after being familiarized with the company.

Logo design is always a process and I always tell my clients that. It is very rare that someone has the finished logo on the first try.  Several questions must be asked to determine the nature of the business and who it is intended to reach.  Here is one Questionaire that I give my clients.

This is one way to get a close idea of the brand of which the logo is a part.  The brand is how others or the world sees you and how they feel about you and what emotional response they get from you.

So obviously I can’t show you the logo that I’m working on now because it would break confidentiality with my client but above you will see some of the logos I’ve done.  Well back to painting soon …right?   No more logos… I’m done..ha ha..yeah right.