Operation Rebrand Complete!

Our place is a mess. I’m wearing the same outfit for the third day in a row. And for about a week, I’ve been living off Lucky Charms (with green milk) simply for the convenience and magically deliciousness of it all. But now? IT. IS. FINISHED!! Rebranding my website and blog has been an intensely long process, but now that both are complete, I can’t tell you how excited I am to return to solid foods and laundry that actually gets done. (Okay, not so much the latter…) But what’s most exciting is this fresh start for our business and brand! So without further ado, I thought I’d delve into the conceptual and design process of it all. With that said, this post is written more for the photographers/business-minded readers out there. But by all means, give it a read through if you’re interested! :)

When this journey began over three months ago, Dylan encouraged me to write down words that I felt described my previously existing site and blog, as well as words that I wanted my new design/brand to reflect. Now neither of us are legit designers, but we’ve both dabbled in it in college, so this brainstorming seemed a proper place to start. The old site? Flowery. Immature. Design-less. (Meaning, nothing about the “design” was intentional.) But how did I want my new site? Linear. Structured. Mature. FUN. Me. What followed were countless late nights note-taking, doodling, designing 10 different designs of the same design, and redesigning those designs until THE design felt right. (Redundancy intended.) And lest I forget to mention what and WHO made this all possible – a HUGE thanks to the crew at SHOWIT for being so dang helpful all the time! On we go!

Dylan and I are truly a DIY super-team! At least, I like to think so. :) Dylan shot the promo featured on our site’s splash page, and I played editor-in-chief. Since its debut in June, there just hasn’t been a good place to embed it. Until now! I love how this page sets the stage for the rest of the site. Both in terms of clean design and showcasing my personality behind the lens. The only thing it doesn’t set the stage for is the 10 inches of hair I cut off somewhere between the promo and the “about” section. ;)This home page was the bane of my existence for quite some time. But I’m pretty pleased with how it’s turned out. :) Since the very beginning of the brainstorming process, we knew directing viewers to my blog was top priority. After all, my blog is my voice. And I want people to get to know me through that outlet. Buttons linking to my latest wedding and 1 For Me // 1 For You giveaway were designed to encourage viewers to do just that! (Plus, I sort of think they’re pretty…) The same goes for the bottom three buttons, including my Facebook Like Page and my Twitter. If there was one thing I wanted to accomplish with the home page, it was to encourage people to connect with me. I also included three brief snippets of testimonials that can be read in full on the testimonials page. (More on that later!)Dylan played just as much a role in this process as I did, including owning all photo cred for pictures of yours truly. ;) There’s not much to say about this page. But I do feel it’s important for a photographer’s “about me” to showcase their true personality and style of writing. Even if it makes you out to be… Eccentric. (For lack of a better word.)This has got to be my all-time favorite page. :) I wanted to include a few more fun details about myself. You know, important things like my inability to complete crossword puzzles. As in, not one. EVER. And I decided Tidbit Tuesday-esque was the way to go! Polyvore.com is a crazy awesome resource for making some really sweet collages like the one seen here.The next two pages are pretty self-explanatory. But whereas my previous site had just 12 images in each category, the new site features about 100, split between the weddings and lifestyle pages.Remember our keyword, intentional? Throughout this entire process, I kept reminding myself to put on my “potential client” shoes. If I was visiting this site for the first time, and found myself on the invest page, what would I want to know? ONE – Price. Obviously. TWO – Does she travel? What equipment does she use? How would we reserve our date? Etc. And THREE – What has been the experience of other brides who’ve worked with Alyse? Buttons linking to FAQ and testimonials pages were creative, yet simple ways we practiced being intentional.
If I’ve ever been in love with a contact page, it would be… Right. Now. I didn’t want to limit myself to your everyday, typical layout for a contact form, so I played around with it until it felt cohesive with the rest of the site’s design. SO happy with it! :) From there on out, the “clients” navigation brings the viewer to an external page hosted by Pictage, where clients and their family/friends can view images upon entering their event-specific passwords.

And THAT, is the notorious rebrand. :) I’m not going to go into the new blog design because you can see it for yourself right here! But suffice it to say once the website was complete, redesigning the blog was no big thaaang!

Pretty please don’t hesitate to leave your reactions/comments/critiques below! As with all new sites, I’m sure there are little bugs here and there that I may have overlooked while in my Lucky Charms-induced coma. So HOLLA below!!

Happy Sunday! :)