Hi Guys! I feel like I need to make a post about expressing ideas for your projects. Its something that I feel is kinda difficult for people to do. So I wanted to post some tips and give you an idea to the types of things I need in order to start forming a design plan for your project.

First of all, I like to know things about your business. When did you open? What kind of products do you sell? What inspired you to become a creator in Second Life? If your brand has some sort of sentimental meaning to you. Things of this nature. Sometimes I am familiar with a business, but learning about these questions from you, helps get the juices flowing.

After we get the introduction out of the way, I like to discuss the main piece for the project. Typically, its the logo. I like to know what kind of ideas you are thinking for a new look. That can be literally anything, from color scheme, to font styles, icons, accents, backgrounds … etc. If you are unsure of all this, I suggest in the meantime awaiting your consultation, you have a look at the internet. Sites like Pinterest, Instagram, Google Images, DeviantArt, Behance, Dribble, Etsy are all fantastic avenues to look through when brainstorming an idea for your brand. Its absolutely ok to be up in the air about style, I would assume that is why you are seeking me out. However, I cannot read your mind and I don’t know most of you personally. So I do ask that something is relayed, even if its “I like lilac, but I hate yellow. I like girly, but not in a childish way.” Something to give us a foundation to build ideas from. I can admit, it is extremely frustrating and often orders start off on the wrong foot if you don’t have any ideas. I have been in consults before and got 0 from the client and to be honest that puts me in a very uncomfortable position. Often orders that give little to no inspiration, turn out costing the most, because I am literally guessing what you might like and I charge for the time devoted to trying. If your brand has an obvious connection to an object, meaning, name or theme, often I can run with that and create something in light of a pun, but if your brand name is a verb, made up or abbreviated those are tricky tasks and need collaboration most of the time.

I cannot stress enough that placing an order for custom graphics is very much a multi-party collaboration. In real life companies hire graphic design teams to generate their marketing / design plans. Its not one soul sitting in a cubicle being a mastermind. This kind of work takes an extreme amount of creativity, research, sketches, storyboards, failed attempts, re-dos, revising and patience. I feel like I begin to lose a lot of patience when the client is not willing to cooperate with me in terms of expressing thoughts or general communication. So, I hope by posting this excerpt it paints a clearer image for your consultation and what kinds of things we will be discussing.

The more information you can give me about your style, environment, inspiration, ideas the smoother the whole design process will be. I do struggle with orders that don’t give me a lot to work with and I have turned them down before. So please please, have a look online, see what is out there in terms of design and save the links so we can have a look and narrow it down to something that will suit your needs.

I will link my Pinterest. I have created boards with many different logo / design styles. I add to these quite often. I hope that within these examples you can pick out a style that we can discuss or design towards.

Brand Example Keywords: women’s clothing logo design, footwear logo design, salon logo design, nail shop logo design …

Style Keywords: modern, minimal, colorful, youthful, royalty, fantasy, icon, submark, vintage, monogram, shabby chic, chic, feminine, masculine, typography, product, geometric, lettermark, wordmark, pictorial, abstract, mascot, emblem, seal …

Last thing … I find it really hard to believe that you, the creator of a business, in a virtual world has NO idea how to be creative. Often clients are just like “IDK this is why I’m hiring you!” If this is the case, you are hiring me for the wrong reasons. I am an addition to your team, I am a person who brings your ideas to life! Maybe you should Google what a graphic designer does. It doesn’t say “magician” next to it. Another excuse I hear often is “I’m not a graphic designer.” I don’t think you have to be a graphic designer to have ideas, you aren’t a robot, you have feelings and unless you are color blind, you CAN pick out at least color schemes. I mean, I’m not a painter, but if I wanted to paint my house, I think I could decide on a color or in what style I would like someone to do it in.

I don’t buy in to these excuses.

So please, if you are interested in working WITH me, you will have to do your homework, because it is YOUR brand. YOUR baby. YOU created it from nothing.

So let’s work together and make it shine bright like a diamond, shine bright like a diamond .. So shine bright toniiiiiiiiiiiiiiight, You and I, We’re beautiful like diamonds in the sky, Eye to eye, So alive, We’re beautiful like diamonds in the sky ….. dooooo deee dooooo, dooo deee doooooo …. ❤

Incredibly blunt Toxxic is out ❤