enJOY it

So I have ordered at least seven sets of business cards for myself in four different designs. Never once have designed them and printed them out actual size to see what they would look like before I pushed the "send to print" button.

That's sort of weird right?

I've never done actual mock ups for the items I am ordering. Stamps, postcards, mailing labels – they just get decided on a whim, ordered and then used.

But I have also never tried to unify the whole package at one time. There seemed to be a bit more pressure when I was making so many small investments at one time.

So when I decided to do the brand makeover, I first made a "chart" with sketches and notes of what I wanted. 

• business cards
• thank you "postcards" (really just flat cards to go in the envelopes)
• A2 notecards
• stickers for the outside of the package
• stickers for the inside of the package
• 2 text rubber stamps (elisejoy.etsy.com & elisejoy.com) to go on the back of prints & etc.
• 1 circle stamp for notecards & packaging
• 1" pin back buttons – still to be ordered.
• mailing labels with the new logo/return address

I picked basic colors and a super basic font for this redesign so repeating these colors and text made it pretty easy.

The sizes were pre-determined based on cost and capabilities of where I was ordering the items (all online resources that I will continue to share with reviews as the actual items come in). I printed out my designs on computer paper and trimmed them to size to see them all as one. One part of my brand. One marketing tool. Again, simple font and simple colors? Can't really go wrong in the unifying department.

A couple glances from me over a day and one "yeah, looks good, babe" and it was send to print.

Because here is the thing : no one is going to do this for me. I can talk and think and dream and doodle for weeks about changing up my brand or revamping the shop or developing new product.

Or I can DO IT.

In the first case, I might get an amazing plan. Maybe detailed action steps. Maybe lots of support. Maybe a feeling of progress.

But in the second case, I actually get progress.

If you are on the edge of starting your own shop, or relaunching your own brand, I really encourage you to just start. Make some samples, take some photos & get them on Etsy. Buy a domain. Order your business cards. The hardest step is the first. But after they get easier because you become familiar with making decisions and trusting your instinct.

And the best/worst case scenario? You can always redesign down the line.

ps … I am prepping a post (or maybe a short series of posts) about branding and re-branding. I am not an expert, but am happy to share what I have learned. Any questions? Please ask them in the comments.