Journey to Rebranding: Part Three

This is the third post in this series. If you missed the first two, you can find them here and here.

With my logo and brand board complete, the last steps in my brand development were a website, collateral and packaging. Arguably, some of the most important pieces of developing a brand. These are the elements that my clients would see and touch, and judge me by, so that had to be perfect. 

For my brand collateral, I had to think through presentation and packaging, and most importantly, what I wanted my client experience to be. When I chose my business name, many years ago, the word boutique was really important to me. I wanted clients to get the same feeling you do when you walk into a local boutique: comfortable, inspired, and that you’re the only customer they have. So I designed my brand packaging to be boutique-like: kraft tissue paper, twine and a hand written note. Once I introduced address stamps into my assortment, I added linen bags so that customers had a place to keep them long after throwing their box away.

I was never a fan of packing up orders. (Maybe one day this is something I'll hire someone else to do!) But working with my brand elements & keeping all my packing supplies in one place has completely changed my outlook on this task. I always felt like it was so much work, and so disorganized. But knowing what goes in each and every package, and where all those items are, has been a game changer. 

Next up was my website. Once I hired a web developer, I sent her my thoughts, ideas, logos, brand board & functionality requirements, and she got to work building our current website. She did an excellent job turning my vision into reality, and I’m so thankful for her patience during this process. The entire process took 6 weeks from start to finish, and we finalized the website details just in time for our brand launch.

Because I continue to host my shop in Etsy, I did my best to brand my site there, too. Updating my header, changing the terminology in my listings, and creating links back to both my website and social media handles, made the whole experience more cohesive.

Building a brand is so much more than a logo. It's about creating an experience and lasting impression on your customers. It's about telling your story through imagery. A powerful brand can completely change your business, and its is important to be thoughtful and intentional about the process.

Of course, now that I've shared all of this, our brand is going through a slight tweaking right now. If you read my business goals for twenty-fifteen, you'll know that I plan to move our website hosting platform early this year, as well as integrate my blog into the website (instead of it having its own domain name). All that means some small revisions for the brand - nothing crazy - but making sure that everything - web buttons, categories, links, Etsy listings - are all completely seamless and consistent. I can't wait to share some of the changes with you all, very soon!

Are you new here? Hi! I’m Jillian. Wife & mom, and small business owner. Bella Carta Boutique is a custom design studio, specializing in invitations, announcements and stationery for all of life’s most special occasions. We are located in Northern New Jersey, but serve clients in New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and can ship worldwide. If you’d like to work with us, or learn more about what we do, click here!

Journey to Rebranding: Part Two

Before the Christmas break, I introduced a new series: The Journey to Rebranding. This post is the second in the series, and if you missed the first one, click here to read it!)

Once I narrowed down my imagery and finalized my inspiration board and colors, I got to work on both my logo and brand board. I felt strongly that I wanted the words “Bella Carta” to be hand lettered. I knew going into this rebrand that hand lettering was very popular, and maybe not quite as timeless as some other options. That said, I’ve always loved calligraphy – talented calligraphers always make it seem effortless, and I adore that no two letterers are alike. Calligraphy is a true, and rare, art form, and I felt strongly that having my logo lettered with a slightly whimsical tone would keep my brand authentic and approachable.

Back when I was pregnant with the twins, I had been searching Etsy for the perfect calligrapher to help me make a custom art print for their nursery. I stumbled across West Sheridan, and we got to work on the print that now hangs in their room. Fast forward a few months, while attending the Emily Ley Playbook Webinar - Nicole popped up in the attendee list - and we reconnected. She was probably thinking, who is this stalker that remembers working with me 6 months ago?! =) I emailed Nicole a week or two later, sharing my ideas for a rebrand, and asking her if she’d consider hand lettering my logo. What attracted me to Nicole in the first place was her whimsical, imperfect lettering (and her sweet disposition!) and she got started on the first round of my logo. After a few tweaks, and the decision to add an alternate logo, this is where we ended. Nicole was a dream to work with, and in the many late nights I was working on the rebrand and the new website, looking at this logo made me know there was light at the end of the tunnel.

With my inspiration board complete, colors chosen and my logo files in hand, I set to compile a brand board of all of the key elements that would make up Bella Carta Boutique. I searched for patterns & textures I thought best fit my brand, as well as fonts that could play off each other well. Being able to carry each element of your brand through to your website, print collateral and the client experience is so important, so I spent a lot of time experimenting with all of these elements until I found the perfect combination.

Confession: I love this brand board. I have a copy of it printed on my desk, and sometimes just pull it out of the folder to take a look. It is such a sweet reminder of the hard work that went into building this brand over the summer, and was the first time I actually considered offering branding as a service to clients. The entire process, and especially the methodical planning of each element, really speaks to my type-A heart, and hopefully some time this year I will begin offering this service to other small businesses!

Check back next week for Part Three in this series! 

Are you new here? Hi! I’m Jillian. Wife & mom, and small business owner. Bella Carta Boutique is a custom design studio, specializing in invitations, announcements and stationery for all of life’s most special occasions. We are located in Northern New Jersey, but serve clients in New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and can ship worldwide. If you’d like to work with us, or learn more about what we do, click here!