»My progress has felt very inspired and
I have been more than excited to work on this project. It’s starting to take
over most of my thoughts as I think through different aspects of the branding
and product I want to sell. One aspect of my inspiration has come from just
brainstorming words I feel describe the essence of my brand. Words like the
following:
Unique·Smile·Inspire·Creative·Contagious·Genuine·Original·Spark
Delight·Charm·Enchant·Flavor·Passion·Fresh·Free·Whimsy
A few of
these words will show up on my business cards to further detail this project,
that for me, has become a living, breathing entity. I feel so blessed to have
it in my life. If I haven’t said this before, I have decided to start my brand
by designing and selling notebooks with my artwork/design on them. Theo Davis
will print them and do the finishing work. I still need to experiment with
papers for the cover and text pages, as well as continue to explore options for
binding. We (as in Theo Davis) can do several types of unique binding that
would highlight our capabilities as a company well, but I also need to think
practically on what would be easy to use. I want the notebooks to be convenient
to use, while holding onto their uniqueness. As soon as I get a product nailed
down, I’ll put a few designs on Etsy and see what happens.
»Research can be very helpful when
trying to determine production and price points, as well as just to see what
people are buying. So, I did a bit of research to see what people were selling
and what my competition would be, especially on Etsy and I made a few
interesting observations:
- Moleskines: The number of people
selling decorated Moleskine notebooks far outweighed any other notebook
type. It doesn’t surprise me though—Moleskines have very strong quality paper
that feels good to write on. The paper I choose will emulate their feel.
- Kraft paper on the covers of
notebooks is now very popular because it has a DIY feel to it—which is all
the rage now. Just go on Pinterest and it’s all over the place. I am definitely
a fan.
- The artistic nature of the design
is crucial in decision-making for this market. The product needs to make a
statement and carry value further than just something to write stuff in.
If it has value that is recognizable, people will buy it.
»My brand name for my product
design/potential business is:
kiss kreativ
The idea
behind ‘kiss’ being my identifier is that, to me, this word inspires a feeling
of light-heartedness, fun, and affection. Something that gives back and adds
charm to the mundane. Plus, I wanted the name to be short and sweet. My
notebooks can be called kissbooks…one word. Kreativ is ‘creative’ auf Deutsch.
In my first post I listed German as one of my interests and I want it to be
part of my brand as much as it is a part of me.
The first
version of my new business card for kiss kreativ is complete. My title on the
card is Chief Creative Mind…we’ll see how much I like it once I see it printed
on a card. J The
tagline that will be printed with my logo for kiss kreativ comes from a line I
wrote earlier with a word change: kiss kreativ ·Infusing Charm Into the
Mundane·. This is
what the logo looks like:
I am running
a few proofs of the business cards on different papers to see what looks best with the
color/design I chose.
So… Step 1 is
coming to a close—I’ve almost got some business cards that I can be handing out
as I work on this project. What’s next??
»These are my next goals:
- Choose paper/finishing touches
for business cards.
- Print business cards.
- Nail down papers, binding, etc
for notebooks.
- Send out blog link to 30 of my
friends.
»You can get involved by either sending me an email or commenting below with an answer to the following question:
What is the first word that comes to your mind when you think of paper?
Noun/Adjective/Verb...whatever works!
Thanks for reading everybody!!
