Branded

by Anita Mae Draper

I finally did it! I created a visual icon or logo, for my writing and added it to my new website and business cards. It all started when the Inkies were discussing brands and taglines and helping each other pick appropriate, attention-getting ones. Take a look at these:

• Barb Early - Faith, Fiction and the Occasional Felony
• C.J. Chase - Intrigue of the Past, Inspiration for the Present
• DeAnna Julie Dodson - Step Into Time...
• Debra E. Marvin - Dark Tales Brimming With Light
• Dina Sleiman - Dance With Passion
• Gina Welborn - be light. be love. believe.
• Jennifer AlLee - Inspirational Fiction For the Heart and Soul
• Lisa Karon Richardson - Inspired Adventures
• Niki Turner - (Hasn't decided yet, but didn't want to leave her out)
• Susanne Dietze - Romance with Nineteenth Century Charm, Timeless Heart
• Suzie Johnson - Hearts Uplifted, Hope Renewed

Until then, I'd been using the tagline, Prairie Stories to Stir Your Heart, but one of the Inkies came up with Woven Under Western Skies. I liked it right away, but felt it needed more. I mean, what was woven under the western skies? All my books contain faith and romance as well as being western based. So my tagline became Faith and Romance Woven Under Western Skies or just Woven Under Western Skies when space is at a premium.

I had the words, but I wanted a logo to match. So I started playing around aiming for simplicity.

Here's what I came up with:

#1 - I liked the flowing look which simulates the prairie wind and the curved line for Under the Western Skies, as well as the faith element, but what about the romance?

#2 - I liked the idea of the cross and heart entwined, but it didn't look right even though I tried to slant the cross and heart to simulate the windy prairie.

#3 - Uh oh. I'd gone backwards in my design. By trying to show the woven part, I lost the romance. And the overall look was too busy.

#4 - Okay, this I liked. Similar to #2, but better because the cross and heart are going in opposite directions. Not only does that balance it out, but it simulates two people from diffferent faiths, backgrounds, and walks of life. Plus, I still had it all Under the Western Skies. Perfect!

Well, not quite. The image was what I wanted, but it looked childish. I needed an artist to pull it all together and make it shine.

As it happens, God has blessed me with a friend who is a graphic artist when she's not writing or mothering. I suppose she's really an eFriend because I've never met her, but firmly believe God had a hand in bringing us together back in 2005 when I used to participate in the Writing Challenges on the Harlequin Community Forum.

Other than her exceptional writing, DebH drew my attention with her avatar. It turned out to be the image she created for her wedding invitations showing her and her fiance doing what they love doing most - scuba diving and kissing. Heh.


Deb took it one step further and used the same images to create the topper for her own wedding cake.

Naturally, when I needed help with my logo, I emailed it to Deb with the word, HELP!

Within hours, Deb sent me a reply that said, It sort of looks like you were going for a brand looking type of logo. (like a cattle brand?) Going with that line of thought, i liked logo number four - it seems more aesthetically balanced. i'm attaching a photoshop file with my interpretation of that "brand". you can turn on/off different layers to see how it looks (i put a tan background for you to see the brand "burn" i added for a subtle touch - you can turn off those layers though). i even put in a blue the same color as your name on the vista card (nice! like the sepia too).

Here's the Vistaprint business card I was thinking of ordering:

And here's what Deb came up with:

I liked the blue, but it reminded me of iced sugar cookies. Yum - I could have my brand and eat it, too. LOL

 

 

 

 

 

And here's what the back of my business card looks like, because I did go for the Premium Vistaprint ones...

And finally, Deb's 'branding iron' energized me to create this for my new website:

Not only has Deb been there to help me artistically, but she's followed my writing progress and is one of my biggest fans. I can't tell you how honored I am that someone like Deb believes in my writing ability.

Here's Deb with her son, Nathaniel aka Guppy.

Yes, she's the DebH that comments on my blogs, including here at the Inkwell where either one of us will mention Guppy, her son and Boats, her husband. Guppy is quite a suitable nickname when you look at his scuba diving parents. Oh, and did I mention that Deb got married on a dive boat at sea?

Thank you, Deb for supporting me all these years and being there when I needed you. Hugs.


Do you have a brand? Tagline? Icon? Tell us about it. And if you don't, tell us what you write and maybe we can help you create one.

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Anita Mae Draper is retired from the Canadian Armed Forces and lives on the prairie of southeast Saskatchewan, Canada with her hubby of 30 plus years and 2 of their 4 kids. She writes stories set on the prairies of Saskatchewan, North Dakota, Montana and Wyoming. Anita Mae has semi-finaled in the Historical Romance category of the ACFW's 2011 Genesis contest and finaled in the Inspirational category of the 2011 Daphne du Maurier, the 2011 Fool for Love, the 2011 Duel on the Delta and 2009 Linda Howard Award of Excellence contests. You can find her at http://www.anitamaedraper.com/

Check my new website for rules on how you can enter my Welcome Prize Package.