Starting a new project is always fun and exciting. You have a vision of how you think it’s going to turn out, but never realize the full extent until you jump in. In reality, the final project always has some kind of tweaks and unforeseen twists along the way.
I am newly getting into design, so the opportunity to test out what I have learned with an actual business was exciting. Soul Uplifted is a life coaching practice. They are just starting up and needed a lot of work. The scope of this project included designing a logo, brand style guide, email banners, Instagram posts, as well as creating some work process flows to keep things organized. It allowed me to be creative, step outside my comfort zone and get some work done.
Logo
Coming up with a logo is always fun. For this specific business I had to communicate a lot with the client. She wanted something that radiated hope, healing and joy. My first thought was the color yellow and sunshine. I got to work, after lots of sketches, and bad ideas I felt like I was able to come up with something simple that fit the feel of the business.
Brand Style Guide
The Style guide was really fun to create. I also loved being able to communicate with the client on their vision. It was neat to help them come up with ideas and see them get even more excited as things started to come together.
Business Card
I don’t know what it was, but the business card was a little bit harder than I thought it was going to be. I realize that my final design is simple, but I learned that simple is not always easier. The hardest part for me was trying to make the typography look good. I got a lot of help from a friend who knows a lot more than me. I realized just how much farther you can get when you ask for help.
Instagram Posts
One of my favorite parts of this project was creating Instagram posts. It was fun being able to get creative, collaborate and then see the finished product. When I first started, I didn’t think that 12 Instagram posts would be very many. However, after getting into it I realized it was a little bit more work than I thought. To help me create a baseline I first found quotes and create a mood board of similar accounts and what they were sharing. I then referred back to the style guide and was able to come up with these posts.
Work Process
Because Soul Uplifted coaching is just getting started, they also wanted some work process form set up. I have a background in using excel so I was able to design and develop a simple easy to use way of tracking clients and payments. This part of the project was more technical, but I actually really enjoyed it.
Thoughts and Lessons Learned
This project was fun! Especially looking back its cool to see all that I was able to accomplish. Some of the biggest takeaways from this project is to be flexible. Timelines are great, but sometimes due to the client, or life in general you need to be flexible. Along with that you also need to be able to be willing to change ideas or implement new designs. Basically, you are there for your client. I also learned to try new things. There were times that I had to do things I hadn’t ever done before, but I learned that by taking a step into what you don’t know is just one more step to making you better and improving.
One of my favorite parts was talking with the client and then being able to make her vision come to life. It was fun seeing her get excited as we talked, we came up with new ideas as well as found ways to improve things that had already been made.
Overall, I am so glad I had the opportunity to work on this project. I felt like it was able to help me as a person in my individual life as well as a professional in kick starting my career. I’m excited to see what the future holds!