If you've been around at all, you're aware of the big rebrand! It's an exciting move for my business and I feel like it really reflects "me", my customers, and how I want to present my business to the world!
I thought it would be fun to look back at my old logos and see the growth! It's no secret that I had a previous business with a partner, and I designed both of the logos we used for that business, too, so we are going WAY back here!
Setting the stage...
In 2020 when I opened Sound & Circle, I made a lot of changes from my previous business to set myself up for success this time around, but also just wanted to get it up and going. During that time I kept a list (in my planner, duh) of goals I wanted to focus on in 2021. A lot of it was behind the scenes and things I wanted to do that would set me up in the future. It included, website/SEO work, figuring out wholesale a bit more, refining my products and equipment so I could start to compete with the big guys, and freshening up my brand.
I also started this whole thing as a handmade hobby, not knowing what it would become. So, our logos were homemade, and everything was just kind of piecemeal and not based in much intention. As I saw Sound & Circle grow, I moved away from the "homemade" appeal of it and wanted to elevate what I was offering.
A look back...
Below is our first logo from my previous business. I was into "digital scrapbooking" at the time and thought the burlap background was *so cool*. We also didn't have ipads or any graphic design knowledge, so all of this was done on paper then scanned in and minimally edited. It was fine, but I also kind of cringe at it now.
I can't remember when I decided we needed a more "sophisticated" logo, but at some point I created this one. The watercolor background was scanned in, but we had ipads/ProCreate so I could make the rest of it. We didn't have any iterations, a pretty basic color palette, and a hand-lettered font. The writing I did always bothered me, but we didn't really understand font licenses, and it went with our whole hand-lettered look. I did like the visual of this logo, though.
For Sound & Circle, I defaulted to creating it all myself. In my mind, I create covers, planners, and everything, so a logo should be no problem! I think that it definitely did reflect me and my style in that it was clean and simple. I still like the meaning of the 3 slices, too. I did a little better at creating some variations, but really... no. My color palette was a little more intentional, too. But, I couldn't put my finger on why it still kind of bothered me. My website and branding didn't look like the bigger businesses I wanted to go up against, and I didn't want to market to more wholesalers because I felt not as refined with my simple little logo.
And that takes us to now...
I worked with Duo Collective on an SEO audit and optimizations, and really appreciated how thorough they were, and communicative. They've really got your back and want to see you succeed! I kept watching their feed and the branding work they did and finally decided that that was the next investment I wanted to make. In my mind, I needed professionals to help me create a brand look that was ME, but elevated. I want to keep growing but didn't want to grow more without a more cohesive look. I also wanted to move away from the hand-lettered look. While I still enjoy doing some of that, there are SO many other businesses that shine in this area and it just wasn't where my passion and priorities fell any more.
Working with Abbey & Courtney was SO fun. Never having done something like this, I felt like I was in an episode of What Not To Wear or Fixer Upper. They did so much work to understand my goals and presented such great options each round. I am so happy with how everything turned out and this new chapter for my business.
