Self-Brand

Branding myself was a project that I had a really hard time with. It took me many tries to find the one mark that I would be satisfied with. I’ve always had a hard time describing myself so once the self-branding assignment was given to me and my class, I knew it would be a challenge. Challenges are fun to me; it makes me push further into concept with tasks.

My logo contained my last name and a mark. The mark was actually a lower case “a” from the Georgia font family, but with the bowl taken out to where the “a” was still recognizable, but also abstracted.

Once I had my logo complete, I could continue to work on deliverables. My letterhead, envelopes, thank you card and presentation folder ended up being very clean and simple.

Overall, I am pretty satisfied with self-branding assignment. It was difficult, but rewarding at the same time.

Take Root.

Being part of Leadership Chattanooga’s tree planting project was an amazing feeling. It was so exciting to be part of something that was for an important cause. My class was asked by Leadership Chattanooga to design various components for their project. Since the project was dedicated to stop climate change by “reducing their carbon footprint,” my class had to produce efficient design and conjure up a name and tagline to last for years to come – and hopefully spread to cities all over.

As a group, we first decided on a name and a tagline.We came up with Take Root, along with its tagline plant. grow. sustain. Normally, names and taglines are hard to come up with. Ironically enough, my class came up with the tagline first and then the name followed shortly after. Everything was decided on so fast.

Individually, we all had to design marks for the projects. Lots of nice mark designs were displayed, but only one could be picked. Leadership Chattanooga chose Nick Turner’s design.

We were then all split into groups and assigned different tasks to complete. There were three groups: Team Identity, Team Event, and Team Brochure.

I was in Team Identity.

In my group, we were to set the standards for Take Root for an identity guide – which we were to design as well. Also, we were in charge for designing the letterhead, notecard, and envelopes. With the help of my team, I designed the letterhead and envelopes.

I had so much fun through this adventure. Design classes at UTC, previous to ours, have never had an opportunity like we were offered. It was quite surreal to be part of this project. I grew a lot during the whole process and it has led me to see a glimpse of the “real world.”

Press Release: Richard Beeland and Janis Hashe.

Thursday: February 7, 2008.

Richard Beeland, the Media Relations Director for the city, and Janis Hashe, writer and editor professional for Chattanooga, came to our Process and Materials class on Thursday and offered many insightful tips for writing a press release.

I never really knew how much trouble it was for an article to be published until now.

Some of the tips offered:
1. Keep the article simple and “dumb” so people can easily understand.
2. Make sure that the reporter completely understands the material that is being written so they can get a suitable quote from whoever you might need a quote from.
3. Stay away from jargon, unless it is being used with people who can relate.
4. When sending the article, make sure it is completely tweaked and then it is sent to the appropriate editor for that particular section, otherwise it will be canned.
5. Send a press packet or electronic packet.
6. Make sure you remind the editors and press release to follow up.
7. Be professional.

“The Brand Gap” by Marty Neumeier

“The Brand Gap” is a book describing the difference between branding, logos, products and identites. It’s very simple to follow and should be read by everyone. Whether you are interested in designing or not, “The Brand Gap” contains information that is very important for all people and by reading its parts, one will gain more knowledge and be able to produce more outcome in his or her company. Neumeier lists steps that you must take in order to become successful and “your not either one or two, you need to reconsider” and basically go back to the drawing board. “A brand is a person’s gut feeling about a product, service, or organization.”