How I got myself branded

No, I've not undermined my mini-rant in my last post and got a tattoo - I have a new logo and it is beautiful. It is so close to what I wanted that it's as if it's always been there and has simply been delivered, swaddled and sleeping peacefully, by the branding stork. Which is odd because at the start of the process, I had no idea of what it should look like - I work with words, not pictures. I just knew what it should represent.

In the beginning
The process of designing your own brand is rather strange. Although I was branding WordFire Communications (the company), and not Julia Sandford-Cooke (the person), it still represents Julia Sandford-Cooke because I am the company. I could, of course, saved myself a heap of money and designed it myself. But then I would have lost a heap of money because potential clients would have taken one look at my primitive Wordart (probably in Arial with some smoke-like wiggles emanating from FIRE) and gone off to find a communications specialist who could present themselves professionally.

The agony of choice
So I spoke to some designers I know (I know a lot of designers) and one or two that I didn't. It soon became clear that it's cringingly awkward to engage someone with whom you have previously had a non-work relationship to perform this rather personal job for you. What if I didn't like what a friend produced? Would I have to be polite and put up with a brand ID I hated for the next 10 years, or would I be direct (as I normally am) and find I no longer had that friend?

Airing my briefs
I've written a lot of briefs in my time, and I know how I like to be briefed - in detail, with all expectations made clear, but with enough flexibility to allow creativity. My brief was 5 pages long, which, admittedly, is likely to send any recipient running for cover, but I thought it was important to include:

• What I wanted (logo, letterheads, business cards but not web design)
• What WordFire does
• Who my potential clients are
• More about me
• My brand challenges (issues that might prevent me from getting across what WordFire Communications can offer customers)
• Words I associate with my brand (professional, quirky, creative and so on)
• Logos I like
• Required formats for the final files.

Quote... unquote
In the end, I got three quotes: one from a newly established local designer who I sourced via Twitter, one from a friend who works with Mr B and one from an agency I'd used and respected in my old job. All three of them said they were pleased to get a decent brief for a change, so they didn't run for cover after all. All three quoted at least 50% more than I'd budgeted for. But the agency was the cheapest and also offered the best value (6 logo options, 4 sets of changes and a full stationery package). There was also the advantage of a pre-existing working relationship without the difficulties of a personal relationship. Turning down my friend and the keen young local designer was the worst part of the entire process but they were both very nice about it. At least to my face.

Starting work
So the agency sent me their logo options. All 13 of them - they couldn't decide which to leave out. Of these, about three were along the lines I was thinking of, but only one stood out as a good fit. This is in no way a criticism of the agency - quite the opposite as they demonstrated their creativity - but it does show how much personal preference influences design choices.

Adding a little colour
We went backwards and forwards for a while, tweaking the typeface and the visuals, trying a few minor changes and then changing them back. The draft logo was in black and white so the agency asked me what colour palette I wanted to use. I didn't know. My underdeveloped visual imagination suggested, well, fire of course: red, yellow, orange. They also happen to be the colours that either don't print properly or can't be seen by 10% of the population. So I went over to trusty Colour Lovers, which is a fine place to visit even if you're not designing a logo. People who are good at that sort of thing compile palettes and patterns, so those of us who are not blessed in such skills can see what's trendy and what's attractive. After a happy browse, Ocean Five caught my eye - bright, engaging, kinda retro and, most importantly, popular among the site users. I sent over a link to this and a couple of others and suddenly there was my logo, fully formed and confident, on a files for business cards, comp slips, letter headings and alone an proud. Even better, with or without a strapline that has somehow came along for the ride.

Oh, you want to see it, do you? Wait a minute. First I want to reflect on what I've learned from branding myself.

1. Designers like clear briefs. OK, so I knew that already. But they really do produce good work on clear briefs. I know from hard experience that vague briefs are of no use to client or supplier.
2. Would I have got a different result from a different designer? Of course, but this one seems so right that, ironically, it's hard not to assume that every designer would have come up with it. The agency, by the way, was Zuluspice. Branding isn't even something they market but maybe they should.
3. When I posted the logo on Facebook, an unprecedented 15 people "liked" it. That's a good sign.
4. Was the cost and time worth it? Undoubtedly. Take a look (this is the slogan version):

Related PS: I went to the bank today wearing my "cute ninja" T-shirt and gym hoody, which I like to pretend makes me look young, hip 'n' trendy (three things I was never very good at being). The snooty lady behind the counter was mighty surprised when I told her that the business advisor had asked for some of my business cards and that here was a bundle for her to give to clients. Funny how quickly people jump to conclusions. Let's hope they jump to some positive conclusions about my new brand.