Tara Hawley from Sweet Little Birdy dropped me a line to give her a hand revamping her business identity and applying it to a suite of promotional collateral. Clearly with a name that included a bird, we were going to stay with the bird she had. We just tidied it up a bit, gave her an interesting shape to brand with and keep her existing colours.

Once that was done we started rolling out the new logo on her material. With a business that sells party and homewares, gift and event styling options, there was a phenomenal range of imagery to choose from – and everything was just so gorgeous! So far we’ve done a couple of adverts (keep an eye out for the Sweet Little Birdy advert in the upcoming issue of Donna Hay Kids) and postcard, flyers are just about done as well.

I just love having a strong identity that carries through all the accompanying material. When you take a step back and see it as a whole, you really get a sense that this is a business that has things together. Its looks so professional and I hope this really helps Tara take her business to the next level.

Make sure to stop by www.sweetlittlebirdy.com.au and check out her products – they are just fabulous!

Posted by Netra on Jun 9th 2011 | branding - brochure - card - commercial - corporate - design - flyer - graphic design - logo - marketing - print design
Show Comments (1) | Leave Comment

I’ve had the distinct privilege of working with this brand since its inception and evolution over the past couple of years. What initially started out as NFE Design and then grew to require the specialty sub-branch Indulge has now shifted gear to evolve into a new sub-brand direction called Beloved by Renee Bell.

Renee has built a strong visual identity within her own personal and business brands over the past few years. Both each have their own equity and so all we had to do to leverage this equity was to tweak Indulge slightly and so… Beloved was born. You can check out more of Renee’s work on her Not For Eating blog at www.nfedesign.com.au or her website www.reneebellphotographer.com.au.

Posted by Netra on Jun 7th 2011 | branding - card - design - graphic design - logo - marketing - print design
Show Comments (3) | Leave Comment

It’s that time of year again, where we look back on a year of fabulous new brands and get to vote for your favourite!

Go to http://www.facebook.com/NetraChetty and make sure to cast your vote. A sneak peek of the entrants this year are here below – a years worth of brandin creativity – I LOVE my job!

Posted by Netra on Mar 15th 2011 | branding - corporate - design - graphic design - marketing - print design
  Hide Comments Leave Comment

When Rana first contacted me she wrote me a message that simply said “I think there is no question. I need you!” And so began this branding  journey!

I would love to say I successfully get every single brief right the first time, every time – but that is just not the truth. This was one of the briefs where Rana and I both worked really hard to come to this solution and it took us a while but we got there in the end!

She was open, and honest and true to herself and her vision of the brand – that is what ultimately leads to a successful brand and a memorable visual identity. With this branding, Rana has so many colours and options to play with as part of her marketing and promotional material. The idea of the bunting is something she is trying to incorporate into her hero imagery where possible and it’s making for some fun images.  The whole thing is bright, cheery and a whole lot of fun!

Make sure to stop by her website and blog and read her post about her launch. Congrats Rana!

Posted by Netra on Mar 7th 2011 | branding - card - design - graphic design - logo - marketing - print design
Show Comments (3) | Leave Comment

Mandy Bowler from White Tulip Photography contacted me late last year to rebrand her existing business. Put simply, she had outgrown the existing identity. It had served her just fine until recently but as she had grown as a photographer and a business owner, it was time for a revamp.

With a name like ‘White Tulip’ there was a pretty narrow area in which to play with branding visuals – but having said that, there were so many styles we could have chosen. Mandy chose to get me to do everything for her, the logo, business card, a document template, blog interface and there are a couple of outstanding pieces to go. When you see the bits together this way, it’s impressive to see how the brand has been carried through effectively across all materials, giving her a credible business face, as well as a slightly more casual persona for her blog and online activities.

Make sure to stop by her blog to check out the new brand in action, She will be rolling it out across all material over the coming days. Mandy has also just been nominated for Australia’s Top Wedding Photographers by Capture Magazine.  Congrats Mandy!

Posted by Netra on Mar 5th 2011 | branding - card - corporate - design - graphic design - logo - marketing - print design
Show Comments (1) | Leave Comment

Marie Candy’s business name is derived from a combination of her children’s names. For me as a designer, the business name and vision are critical to the branding process as those component drive the conceptual design process. Initially I was a bit stuck until I realised that the name ‘kayana’ is an actual name meaning “keeper of the keys” from there this launched into a brand of burnished golds and woody greens and secret doors in secret gardens.

Actually as part of the project, Marie’s ‘homework’ was to watch the movie which she hadn’t seen. That feel of childhood wonder and magic was something we wanted to bring to this brand created around two little girls.

Thank you for trusting me with your brand Marie and I hope this marks the start of a brave and magical adventure for you too! Make sure to stop by Kayana Photography and check her out. 

Posted by Netra on Feb 24th 2011 | branding - card - design - graphic design - logo - marketing - photography - print design
Show Comments (1) | Leave Comment

I met Natalie Green over the phone over 2 years ago when she was writing a story about Heartfelt (previously the Australian Community of Child Photographers). We both ended up volunteering at the organisation at the same time and have been able to collaborate on a few projects over the past couple of years.

Nat is a writer at heart. The way she is able to string words together, or spot a gramatically incorrect sentance astonishes me anew each time we work together. In the last year or so, we’ve had a chance to collaborate more, with Nat doing writing and proof reading for both my corporate and small business clients. So when she asked me to produce her logo and identity I was thrilled at the prospect!

A business name like ‘Colourful Words’ should be the first clue that Natalie isn’t like other writers. She is funny and quirky and pedantic and not afraid to showing a bit of spirit. I loved working with Nat as she had a clear sense of her own strengths and what defines her business. That alone makes for a challenging yet highly conceptual design outcome – the very best kind! She also trusted me to do my job and to do it well for her and her business.

The final outcome is a play on the double meaning of ‘colourful words’ – in part as the literal interpretation as well as the implication that there may be  some unexpected language involved! I LOVE the final outcome and am really pleased with the overall look and feel. Nat is still working on finalising the blog interface, but I am sure that will happen in good time. You can check Natalie out on her blog – http://www.colourfulwords.com.au/

All the best for the coming year Nat – I am so excited to be a small part of your journey in 2011!

Posted by Netra on Jan 25th 2011 | branding - card - corporate - design - graphic design - logo - marketing - print design
  Hide Comments Leave Comment

I have been a bit busy recently and have only just gotten around to sharing the latest creative collaboration. Clare Day asked me to help her tweak her branding. She had been using a logo that she had outgrown and her style had evolved in the years she had used it.

Clare’s name actually means clear and bright – a perfect combination with ‘day’ don’t you think? It also happens to very accurately reflect Clare’s sunny personality. The notion of the sun stuck with me and I started with the idea of a solar eclipse and solar flares.

I should stop to mention here that Clare owns six tiaras that she wears as the occasion demands, or after a particularly trying day. She also loves, loves, LOVES purple. So it seemed only natural to move my sunflare to the top of her solar eclipse logo and suddenly it looks like a tiara. Or a present wrapped up with a bow. Or a wedding ring. And so it stuck.

Clare has just revamped her website with the new icon, and is using it to great effect as a watermark as well. Make sure to stop by and check out her work. We are still working on some of her promotional material, so keep an eye out for that over the coming weeks.

Posted by Netra on Nov 26th 2010 | branding - corporate - design - graphic design - logo - marketing - print design
Show Comments (4) | Leave Comment

Belinda Cook contacted me wanting a new look for her evolving business. She had some help creating her branding when she first started out, but felt that she had outgrown her old look and feel. Her photography was being undermined by her outdated branding and she knew it was time for a change.

Belinda was happy to stick with her current business name, but was happy to have a total revamp with her look and feel. With a name like Garland Photography, it was an easy leap to focussing the business identity around the idea of a floral motif. After all, garlands are a symbol of celebration and welcome, two really appropriate concepts to underpin the brand. After some quick online surveying Belinda found that her target audience picked green as the colour most associated with garlands and so we were off.

This branding was a bit unusual for me. Usually I am very much against fine detail in logos that need to appear small. But we had taken the ‘arm’ of the ‘g’ in the name, and used that to develop a range of floral icons. These icons are used to make up the flowers in the tail of the main letter ‘g’. To get around the details getting lost at smaller sizes, we developed a system where Belinda can use the more detailed icon where the logo appears at larger sizes, and then for smaller sizes, there is a solid option available. Belinda also opted to go for a document template design as well, which means hat she gets to retain control of all the marketing material. Using the templates provided, she can customise each document to suit her needs, whether that is for letterhead, pricelist, booklet cover etc – it all works seamlessly as part of a larger identity.

Make sure to check out the Garland Photography blog to see how Belinda had adapted the design for her online presence.

Posted by Netra on Nov 9th 2010 | corporate - design - graphic design - marketing - photography - print design
  Hide Comments Leave Comment

Dale Taylor’s work is iconic. She has a certain style and flair for creating the most amazing images of sunsets, and sunrises and silhouettes. You would think that after doing one or two or ten of these, there was nothing new that could be done with a sunset and a silhouette, but Dale makes every image of hers just magical.

When she asked me to help her put together her branding, it seemed like a daunting task. Part of the challenge is that Dale does so many different things and wanted to encompass it all within a single brand. She has her portrait photography business, but also does weddings. She sells actions and textures to other photographers and also runs workshops. Dale is looking to branch out into commercial work and also shoots art by commission.

Pulling all these facets together was a monumental feat. I really wanted to make her branding instantly recognisable as ‘Dale’… regardless of where it was being used, for what audience and for any purpose. That meant stripping back the essence of her style to the basics – the silhouette.

After much brain storming, we came up with a modular solution for her brands and sub brands. While the main identity is the running girl with balloon, the whole suite of icons are made up of silhouettes traced from Dale’s images themselves. The squares or tiles read as a storyboard especially when used as a series of images – you can see the story unfolding in each consecutive tile. They can be used independently as Dale sees fit, or she can group them together  for other sub-specialities, and the running girl in the middle is always a visual link to her main brand. That way she can chop and change the tiles around to promote just about anything, and still maintain her unique look and feel across all these different areas. We took it a bit further, using the some of Dale’s own photography and textured behind the icons for added interest (though they can be used without).

You can see below how each group has its own look and feel, but represents the main brand so strongly and always, ALWAYS appears with Dale’s name in the tagline.

I would have to say this was one of the most challenging visual identity briefs I’ve ever had. It was also so much fun to work with Dale who was so open to any ideas I threw her way and who took everything I said on board. It’s been a long time in the planning and a bit longer in the making but I am so happy to see it all here and out in the open. You can check out the brand new blog here.

Congrats Dale – you totally deserve all the great things coming your way!

Posted by Netra on Oct 27th 2010 | corporate - design - graphic design - marketing - photography
Show Comments (4) | Leave Comment