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
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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
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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
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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
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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
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Nicole Lloyd was referred to me by Fiona Rogerson of Evoke Art whose branding I did not so long ago.
Nicole had an amazing birth experience where she felt the sound from her crystal bowl helped her focus and be calm through the challenges of labour and birth. She is passionate about all things birth-related and was very keen to share this experience with other women too. Taking advantage of her background in music, Nicole has started Sound Birth to do exactly that as well as encourage other forms of music and sound therapy for labour and relaxation.
If you have no idea what I am rambling on about (indeed, I had to google ‘crystal singing bowls’ myself before taking on the project) you can check out photos on the Sound Birth Facebook Page or on the Sound Birth website. Good luck with your new venture Nicole!
Posted by Netra on Jan 17th 2011 | branding - card - design - graphic design - logo - print design
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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
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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
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Samantha Pearce wanted a new look after 8 months off from photography. Sam is one of the most talented photographers I have the pleasure of knowing. She creates a bit of a magical story in every photo session and each image is her way of capturing that fairytale. I have been lucky enough to be on the subject-end of Sam’s camera and where some photographers may yell instructions like a drill sergeant, Sam’s way of finding the moments, not constructing them – is something I admire and aspire to.
Sam’s brief for this logo was something that was bright, golden, that was all about childhood and fun. When she left after the briefing session, I had the idea of using painty-childish handprints to make a ‘sun’. As I was trying different positions of the hands and fingers, I noticed the shape of the overlap was suggestive of a heart. So with a few deft tweaks, I made the heart shape more distinct and yet still kept it subtle. I like to think it is the little surprise you see in the logo after a while and it totally suits Sam’s emotive work as well as her passion for photography and all things family.
So without further ado, here it is – make sure to head on over to her website and blog to check out her work and make sure if you’re in Sydney to book a session!!!
Posted by Netra on Sep 21st 2010 | corporate - design - graphic design - marketing - photography - print design
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James Boddington and I have been working on this project for some time now. He is a super-busy photographer, winging his way around (most recently to Vermont) photographing weddings. Though that is only part of the story, he is also an accomplished commercial and editorial photographer as well.
James wanted a new take on his old logo, just to freshen things up. We threw around words like quirky, unexpected, bold and unconventional and after a solid dialogue we arrived at this solution. James has such a clean look and feel to his site and work, the images do really speak for themselves, so the branding had to tie in with the photography discreetly.
Make sure to check out his blog, wedding site and commercial site. Yet ANOTHER amazingly talented photographer I have had the pleasure of working with – I truly do have the best job in the world!
Posted by Netra on Sep 3rd 2010 | card - corporate - design - graphic design - photography - print design
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