Swirl & Spark has a brand new look! What do you guys think? I’m completely obsessed with how pretty it is! It feels fresh & fun, positive & motivating. That’s saying a lot for a site that I’ve been staring at for the last six and a half years!
From the very beginning, I’ve handled every part of this website myself—the posts, the pages, all of it. But as an amature there’s only so much I can do. I’ve wanted to do a refresh for awhile. The old look just didn’t feel like me or give off the vibe I’m trying to convey. As hard as I’ve tried, I just haven’t been able to make the site match my vision. Then I met Jordan, a brand designer from J. Ashley Innovations and she got my vision. She worked her magic and brought the images in my head to life on this site so perfectly. It was like she could read my mind! She also cleaned up the pages and customized the colors to match the new brand colors. But best of all, she’s a small business owner. I love her work so much and I’m so happy I was able to support her in my own small way.
I’ve been doing a lot of research on branding lately. So much information is out there but there seems to be one consistent idea from most things I’ve read. You are a brand whether you intend to be or not. Every comment, post, retweet, or picture you put out on social media creates that brand. People will make assumptions about you based on them. So be aware of what you’re putting out there so that your brand is something you’re happy with. Be intentional with what you write, whether that’s a blog post, a social media post, a tweet, or a manuscript. And when you are published, or working towards that goal, and need to create a platform for readers to find you, be intentional with what your platform looks like and be consistent with your message there as well.
My books are are all about dreaming big, chasing those dreams, and perservering until you reach them. They’re also filled with themes of teamwork, hard work, and motivation. These are the very things I write about on this blog also. When you come here and spend some time with me, I hope you walk away learning something, but also feeling more motivated and inspired too. That’s the person I am and hopefully my brand reflects that. I want you to know what you’re getting with anything that I put out there. I want to be consistent and always leave you knowing that anything is possible if you think more, work hard, and dream big… which not so coinsidentally is the tag line of the Piedmont Challenge, the competition found in Spin the Golden Light Bulb!
Author branding is more than just one book or even a logo. It’s about being consistent with your content across all platforms in order to reach your target audience and readership. It’s about being yourself and having your platform reflect that. But… a professional, pretty, colorful logo or banner definitely doesn’t hurt!
This logo finally reflects the idea behind the name, swirl & spark:
As writers or other creative types, ideas don’t appear for us on command. They need to swirl in our heads for awhile and we need to be patient. We need to let our imaginations take over and let our thoughts do their thing. We need to let them swirl and swirl until suddenly something sparks. And that’s when it hits us—we have an incredible idea! There’s nothing like the feeling of that amazing spark!
Every time you stop by this site, I’m hoping you’re reminded to let your imagination swirl and spark! That’s when the best ideas come to us.
Let me know, by commenting below, what you think of the new logo and site design. I love it so much. It inspires me now more than ever and hope it inspires you too!
swirl and spark 