Why Change?

Growing up with 5 people to one bathroom (brutal) we all used one family shampoo and conditioner.  Herbal Essences. For those of you who are my age or older, you may remember the clear bottles with the floral background, and the “You make me feel like a natural woman” commercials.  Then, one day, Herbal Essences rebranded. Now, by this point, I was in college and buying my own Herbal Essences shampoo (old habits die hard), but I couldn’t find it!  Then I saw the new label, the new bottles, and I was angry.  Why change a good thing?  I scoured the shelves for a remnant bottle in protest.  Found one too!

It took me some time to come around to Herbal Essences’ new look and, truth be told, I love it.  It makes it so easy to find on the shelf (red, I’m the red bottle…I have no idea what is says on it). I get why they needed to make a change. Young millenials reading this have no idea what I am talking about because this new brand is not so new anymore. Herbal Essences needed to make a change. They were attracting an older generation still stuck in the 80s and 90s and not making an impact on the shelf whatsoever. They were definitely not attracting a more vibrant generation.

So, why did I re-brand? I think everyone (myself included) feels a little betrayed and sentimental for what used to be. But. I knew that re-branding, or branding in general, was necessary for my website and my small business. I actually didn’t even realize how necessary it was, until I started the process with Katie, owner and designer from Ribbon & Ink.

 

Ribbon & Ink

I contacted Katie last summer when I came across some of her beautiful designs, showcasing other women creatives in the industry, and felt she would do a wonderful job of branding Lauren Kearns Photography. We officially started the process in December when she sent over a questionnaire that I filled out, then edited, then rewrote, then edited, about 100 times before submitting. From there, the ideal client, logo, layout and brand elements snowballed into what it is today!

Katie helped me to question and define every aspect of myself as a person and company, and helped my business define it’s own character. These are things I often contemplated, but never actively pursued (in a rather artist fashion). While I loved my previous logo (beautifully designed by Barbara Wentzel, who was trained as a graphic designer) my website and brand were a logo and gallery, not a brand.

 

A New Identity

In creating and sharing this brand, I feel rather vulnerable and totally exposed. There’s freedom and protection in having a logo and gallery to represent your company, because it’s static and safe. Lauren Kearns Photography as a brand now has an identity, elements of a particular style, and it may not appeal to everyone.

That’s a scary thought!

As a human being, I have a particular need to be loved by everyone (okay, maybe this isn’t realistic). I have been particularly fortunate over the last couple of years to find brides and grooms who fit my ideal client perfectly, and I knew that I needed to rebrand and tailor my site to continue narrowing that focus.

I’m happy to share bits and pieces of the journey that have brought me to this point, with Katie as my guide! Scroll down to see some of the process in creating this new brand!

 

The Process

After an hour-long video chat with Katie, she created my ideal client:

We then moved onto logos and colors, and there are so many varieties of this logo that I love!  I immediately fell in love with Katie’s logo design.  My Great-Grandfather was a photographer and carpenter and engraved his initials “BK” (Benjamin Kanzler) with a B and backwards K.  When I showed this logo to my Mom and Aunt, they immediately choked up before I even mentioned the resemblance! To see more of Katie’s designs and logo alternates, check out her blog post about the branding process by clicking HERE!

Katie worked tirelessly to find the perfect patterns for my brand board, I just love these!

And of course, I was so excited to update my Wedding Welcome Guide!

I can’t wait to get my hands on these new letterpress business cards and stationary!

And last, but not least, a new home for my brand and photographs.  Lauren Kearns Photography’s new website!  Thanks for stopping by!