I feel so lucky in this phase of life. I have the freedom to take on freelance projects as I see fit and don’t feel any pressure to take on ones that don’t inspire me or don’t offer me any reasonable compensation. I’m free to offer up services for reasonable rates, trade, or pro bono if I’m passionate about the organization. It was something that I deeply struggled with while I was considering diving into working for myself full time. I feel like I made the right choice for me more and more each day.
I’ve known Angela for years and have been lucky enough to get tons of great massages from her. When we reconnected I learned that she recently went into business for herself and was struggling to reclaim clients after her employer closed up shop. We talked through her branding and marketing needs and dove right in.
It was really important to me that Angela stand out among the crowd. I’ve been able to experience her handy work (see what I did there?) and I wanted to be sure that she was well represented. There are certain industries that tend to use the same sort of imagery over and over. Massage and spas tend to be that way with an over emphasis on lime green and stacked hot rock stones. They always tend to be overly literal as
well. If there isn’t a hand or a stone, or a leaf, then how on earth will people know it’s a massage therapist brand?
ahhhh.
Well… in an effort to combat all of this, I dove in to who Angela is and focused on her. We talked about things like her favorite colors and how she wanted people to feel when they came to her website or interacted with her brand. We created mood boards and communicated often. I’m so proud of where we landed.
When creating her logo, I wanted it to be special and she responded positively to geometric designs, so I created a shape that, in a very subtle way, included the initials of her company. Can you spot the ‘A’ in maroon, the ‘M’ in orange, and the ‘B’ in teal? I’m so happy with how this turned out and it gave us the right tone to move forward with her other pieces.
Here’s her brand/mood board:
She needed a website and bad. She was just using her company Facebook page and it didn’t have the ability for her to have clients book appointments. This site was such a challenge for me, but I couldn’t be more proud of how it turned out. It has elements like video, a single scroll home page, and an online booking widget. I love how the elements don’t scream massage, but rather help you identify a mood and a tone. It’s beautiful and relaxing.
In her print pieces, I wanted to be able to carry the same mood as her website, so I used some watercolor effects, which has a natural feel to it like wind, water, or sand. Here’s her new business cards:
If you’re in the Phoenix, Mesa, Chandler area, do yourself a favor and visit Angela for a little massage and bodywork. You won’t regret it. Promise.
