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queenikathleeni
Artful Branding & Graphic Design for Entrepreneurs
 
 
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A New Chapter for queenikathleeni

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How to Strategically Schedule Your Instagram Feed with the 9 Box Method
Katie RyanDecember 20, 2018Comment
How I Grew My Pinterest Views from 20K to 100K+ in 2 months
How I Grew My Pinterest Views from 20K to 100K+ in 2 months
Education, BusinessKatie RyanDecember 17, 2018Comment
How to Build a Direction Board- My Step by Step Process to Booking High-End Clients
How to Build a Direction Board- My Step by Step Process to Booking High-End Clients
Business, EducationKatie RyanOctober 22, 2018Comment
A New Chapter for Queenikathleeni!
A New Chapter for Queenikathleeni!
Business, DesignKatie RyanOctober 19, 2018Comment
Meet the Aspen Collection
Meet the Aspen Collection
Katie RyanOctober 17, 2018Comment
Stagg Design Shop Relaunch
Stagg Design Shop Relaunch
Katie RyanOctober 17, 2018Comment
How to Prepare to Freelance Full-Time
How to Prepare to Freelance Full-Time
Katie RyanOctober 17, 2018Comment
Stagg Design Relaunch
Stagg Design Relaunch
Katie RyanOctober 17, 2018Comment
How to Prepare for an On-Brand Photo Shoot
How to Prepare for an On-Brand Photo Shoot
Katie RyanOctober 17, 2018Comment
Why Your Business Needs Brand Standards
Why Your Business Needs Brand Standards
Business, Design, EducationKatie RyanOctober 17, 2018Comment
How to Attract Your Ideal Client on Instagram
How to Attract Your Ideal Client on Instagram
Education, BusinessKatie RyanSeptember 26, 2018Comment
Introducing Stagg Design!
Introducing Stagg Design!
DesignKatie RyanAugust 15, 2018Comment
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katie@queenikathleeni.com
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build a life that's even more beautiful than the brand you've built.

I could have just waited and posted the end result in a couple weeks but I really want you to see the process of my work. This is an essential part of my Artful Branding process- The Direction Board. I don’t do mood boards because it really didn’t communicate to my client what my vision was for the full picture so I present a direction board instead. No it’s not picture perfect and I leave it artfully messy so my clients can actually see my creative process in bringing their brand to life. This step in my process has completely transformed my work flow with branding clients by cutting down my revisions by about 50% 🙌🏻 Not only can the client see my vision, I get a very clear idea of their design taste. I can get a sense of what color palette, marks, font pairings, and even logo style they are drawn to before ever starting the project. Plus I have an open and honest policy with feedback, if you don’t like something, tell me now and it leaves the board! #artfulbranding
This is NOT talked about enough. First they say, "Don't make your passion your work, then it will not longer be your passion." 🤔 Then it's, "You are so talented, why aren't you using your creativity more?" 😰 Then it's. "How is it goinnnnngggggg?" 🥴 Then we graduate to, "Are you still doing your art thing?" 🙄 And finally when you haven't stopped creating in 5 years straight it moves to, "I'm really impressed with all of the work you've done." 😳 The noise starts to quiet down a bit after people realize you're just not ever going to stop doing this. I swear these conversations almost ate me alive when I first started building my business because when you first start you really don't have a backbone. You are unsure of what you're doing too and all of this noise, it's NOT helpful. YES everything above was said to me and WAY way more. All of us creatives get it. Maybe creativity is really misunderstood. It is this precious thing that is so fragile when we first decide to see what is has to offer. I want to see the conversation around creative entrepreneurs change. YOU CAN have a passion that is also your work and have it fuel your entire life. 🙌🏻 Your job can allow you to use your talents every single day and you can get paid well. 💰 Your creativity CAN support your ENTIRE LIFE. Creativity takes courage at all levels- it is always a risk. It's so dang fragile and it should be celebrated, supported, and met with curiosity. Now go find a creative and LIFT THEM UP TODAY. 👏🏻 👏🏻 👏🏻
Made it through an exhaustingly long day and couldn’t help but laugh at myself at the end because I made this job up 🤯 Still blows my mind when I really stop and think about it. Endlessly grateful for the opportunities that have come my way 🙏🏻 and I can’t wait to wake up and do it again tomorrow. 🤩
If you had to choose one investment this year for your business- I highly recommend brand standards. Here’s why we prioritize this so much in our design process: 1. 🧐 Consistency- it’s so important to have a cohesive look and feel on every single touch point you have with your customers. If you don’t have a clear message (look, feel, voice) you’re delivering, it’s going to be confusing to the consumer. We want to create a strong, cohesive recognizable brand that resonates with our target audience. 👯 If you have a team, brand standards become even more important. It’s a huge resource to get everyone on the same page so they know what colors you use where and what font size, color, and heading goes where. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ 2. 🕰 Time- Brand standards are a HUGE time saver for your designer. Although it may be an investment up front, it will save you time and money in the long run. When I work with a repeat client the first thing I do is pull up all of their brand standards, templates, and color palettes that have been created in past projects and it saves me hours to use the design decisions that were already made. 3. 💰 Value- When a brand’s identity is cohesive, it increases the brand’s perceived value. By implementing standards throughout, you appear more professional and more reliable and make it easier to maintain the quality and integrity of your image. Aka it will help you raise your prices 😉
“Does this support the life I’m trying to create?” ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ It’s a question I ask myself constantly. If the answer is no, I have to find a way to change it or get rid of it altogether. This applies to everything from the way that I shop for my groceries (Hello instacart what a life changer) to the clients I work with and the projects I take on. ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ Being an entrepreneur means not only creating a business that gives you life but also creating the life that you’ve always wanted. Join my business coach, @shannaskidmore for her FREE TRAINING #bringingbasicsback lesson #1 is live today. Sign up via the link in my profile. She is responsible for helping me raise my client average by 900% 😱
Hi 👋🏻 that’s me, Katie!! I’m doing what I do best- bringing my clients BIG DREAMS to life and putting my special Artful touch on it. So much has changed over here in the past few months. First of all, I took my business FULL TIME 🎉 After 5 years of side hustling with lots of late nights, 6 day work weeks, and hard lessons learned- I finally did it. Cue all of the happy tears 😭🙌🏻👏🏻 I joined 3 teams where I serve as either, website designer, surface pattern designer, or all around graphic designer- talk about a dream come true. 🙏🏻 Last week we kicked off our new series #thebizbehindthebrand an educational series on how I run my creative business. So much more to come here 🙊 Last but certainly not least we are getting ready to launch our brand new website that will be the new home for Artful Branding & Design 🤩 The content and resources planned for this new online home are just beyond! I can’t wait to share my knowledge with you in a new way. What are your big dreams for the year?!👇🏻Pop them in the comments and let’s make them happen friends! #artfulbranding
Oh my gosh 😱😱😱 my jaw hit the floor when I saw this gorgeous nook styled by the amazing @Briahammelinteriors with the @staggdesign Forest plaid pillows! I had the pleasure of bringing that pattern to life when I first started working with Stagg Design. I’m so proud of all that we accomplished last year but after our call tonight I’m so darn giddy about everything that is to come with that amazing team this year 🙌🏻👊🏻👊🏻👊🏻

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