I am so excited to be launching my new brand and website today! It’s something I’ve been working on for a while, and have been envisioning it for even longer so to see it all come together is so gratifying. This process was as fun as it was challenging, so I thought I’d share with you some of the highlights and the talented people who helped me along the way!
I’ve always been a “brand” junkie who truly believes that the way a business projects itself, no matter how big or small it is, plays a huge part in their success or unfortunate failure. Branding was one of my favorite classes in college and I took continuing education courses in brand studies at the School of Visual Arts after college. I’ve even kept a list of what I think of as good brands and bad brands over the years. And yet, I had a brand and subsequent identity that I wasn’t completely happy with as it was no longer reflecting my personality or me as a photographer. It was something I knew I wanted to update but the fire was really lit under me when I had my one-on-one custom mentoring session with the amazing Caroline Frost. Our session left me feeling more confident, equipped with the knowledge I needed to take my business to the next level, and the tools get started! Following our session, I went through Caroline’s recommended branding exercise which helped me think about where my business was and where I wanted it to be. From this, I was able to come up with the words that would describe my brand and direct my design choices: Natural, Romantic, Luminous Photography.
The design process began with choosing a designer whose work I loved and personality was compatible with mine. Cue Abbey from Leaves and Bows! Abbey has been incredible from the start. She completely understood my vision and was not afraid to explore other creative directions. Below is my original inspiration board and finished logo with branding elements from Abbey.
You may also notice a small but significant change in my business name from “Nicole D Photography” to “Nicole DeTone Photography”! This was a simple and purposeful decision. DeTone is my married last name and what I now go by. Plus it just flows better and fits my brand!
The most challenging step of this process was developing a new website. My previous website was built through WordPress and I was so limited in my customization of it. It was not mobile friendly, was completely clunky and hard to navigate in the backend, and their customer support was subpar. I compared a few different platforms and am so happy with my decision to go with Squarespace. They offer many different template options, their customer support and user forums are outstanding, and it is so unbelievably user friendly that even someone like me can build a website! Mind you, this project was a big lesson in patience as there were plenty of times it would take me 3+ hours just to figure out how to make one small change. But it was well worth it every time for the happy dance that followed! I won’t bore you with the details of the steps to make this site, or what is out-of-the-box and what is custom, but the biggest takeaway I have is that doing this myself was the best decision. Part of my problem with my old WordPress site was that someone else built it so I had no idea how to make changes without the fear of completely breaking the site. But because I built my Squarespace site, I now know how to make updates or where to go if I don’t know exactly how to do something. It is so liberating! And to not discredit all of the brilliant developers out there, this is a very basic site and I already have a list of custom development updates that I’ll be needing in the future.
Because I’ve been on a blogging and social hiatus while wrapping this up, I have so many beautiful sessions, exciting news and a BIG GIVEAWAY to share so please stay tuned!! Thank you to my family, friends, fans and everyone who helped with this project.
xo – Nicole
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nicole@nicoledetonephotography.com
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