As is always the case, this project began with a need, and a strategy call. I had the pleasure of working with my friend McKayla Nevers on this one and the mission was to help her create a standout brand identity for her Indiana-based freelance creative company.
We got on the phone, and as is the case so many times, we were starting from absolute zero. She had a name for the business and that was basically all. We thought we were in for quite a challenge because even though the name is an amazing misnomer and quite clever, it doesn't lend itself easily to visual imagery.
And this is when I made a really beautiful discovery; I realized during this call that I have a natural ability to disarm people and make them feel comfortable opening up to me. It's a superpower. McKayla and I talked for about an hour, and during the majority of that time I can honestly say that we were just bullshitting - I asked a few practical and onboarding questions at the top of the call, but besides that I just did what felt natural and asked her about her life, her business, and her history with photography and creative work. And funny enough the truth of the visual identity just started pouring out!
We talked about imagery that meant a lot to her, and one of the first things that came out was her first tattoo, of a bobcat skull. There wasn't some deep vulnerable meaning behind the tattoo, but there was meaning! And I knew that we could lean on that as a source of imagery. She also told me about a line that came to her somewhat randomly years and years ago that seemed to stick: "Moments to Memories". It didn't seem significant until she said it out loud to me, when we simultaneously realized that we had discovered the tagline to her company.
Most of the creativity behind this identity project worked itself out during this phone call. Everything after that was pure execution. After the call I got right to work on the initial Logo Comps
There was a clear winner. After that we got right to work on the rest of the Core and Core Plus elements.
