The solution isn’t more design tricks. I t’s a brand kit rooted in your identity. In this episode, I explain why identity comes before design, and how a brand kit can build trust while saving you time and energy.
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]]>Remember when the first step to looking professional as an artist was ordering business cards? That’s exactly what I did when I started out.
These days, I don’t even have current business cards, but I do have a strong brand identity, and that’s far more powerful.
You don’t need stacks of printed materials anymore. Your website, Instagram, and email list do most of the heavy lifting for your art business.
But whether digital or print, every marketing piece you create needs to send the same clear message. That’s where too many artists stumble.
The Problem with DIY Design
Here’s the tough love that I can only say after so many years of experience: most artists think they’re better designers than they really are.
Artists thrive on creative expression, which can lead to trying a new font for every postcard, experimenting with endless Canva templates, or switching colors on a whim. That’s creativity, but it’s not communication.
Designers focus on communicating a clear and consistent message. Without that, your materials end up looking scattered. One postcard looks nothing like your website. Your Instagram doesn’t match your emails. The result? Confusion for your audience and a lost opportunity to build trust.
Listen
Or listen and subscribe on your favorite app by searching The Art Biz with Alyson Stanfield.
Identity First
Before you start choosing fonts or colors, you need clarity about your identity as an artist, which is why this is developed over a long period of time alongside your art. Ask yourself:
- What story are you telling through your art?
- What kind of experience do you want people to have when they encounter your work?
- How do you want to be remembered?
When you’re clear about these things, design decisions become easier and more authentic. Skip this step, and no amount of design polish will save you.
The Solution: A Brand Kit
A brand kit is your shortcut to consistency. It holds your key design choices in one place:
- Fonts and colors
- Logo or wordmark
- Artist photos
- Templates for postcards, emails, or social posts
- Words and phrases that capture your essence
With a brand kit, you stop reinventing the wheel. Every touchpoint, from your website to a thank-you card, looks and feels like you.
Over time, that kind of consistency builds trust. It’s like showing up to every art opening wearing your signature hat: you’re instantly recognizable.
Build Your Brand Kit with Support
You don’t have to figure this out alone. Inside my Essentials program, we build your brand kit together.
I provide the framework, and you get feedback from me and a community of artists. It’s like a crit session but for your marketing (and friendlier). You’ll walk away with tools you can use again and again, saving time and energy for the studio.
Remember: identity first, then design, then consistency. That’s the path to a strong brand—one that helps your art stand out and makes it easier for collectors to remember you.
Learn more and join us inside Essentials.
Related Episodes
These episodes feature guests who have clarity about who they are as artists and what they want from their work:
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]]>Above all, knowing your brand (how you want to be perceived in the eyes of others), helps you make decisions. If opportunities aren’t aligned with your brand, you say No.
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]]>In his book, Blink, author Malcolm Gladwell makes a convincing case that you have exactly two seconds to make an impression.
And remember that you only get one shot at that first impression. People might give you a second chance, but they’ve already judged you. You’ll have to work hard to overcome that judgment if it’s less than flattering.
That’s where a strong artist brand comes into play.
Not too long ago, artists didn’t have to worry about things like their brands. But in an increasingly competitive market, and the noisy online space, we will do better when we know where we fit.
A brand is not a logo.
Let’s be clear. A brand is not a logo. A logo is only the visual expression of a brand.
Branding expert Re Perez says, “A brand is a desired perception.”
Your art is created in the studio. Your brand is created in the mind. Not your mind, but in the minds of others. Your brand exists in the minds of viewers, buyers, collectors, and gallerists.
Above all, knowing your brand (how you want to be perceived in the eyes of others), helps you make decisions. If opportunities aren’t aligned with your brand, you say No.
Branding makes you memorable, which therefore leads to more fans. Branding might also lead to higher prices and more consistent sales.
It also helps you make decisions because your selections should align with your brand.
Your art is the basis for your brand.
The first step to becoming a branded artist is always the work. That means it looks like you did it and not like a variety of styles by your various mentors or teachers.
This is why studio practice must come before anything else. You have to make lots and lots of art!
Once you have that art, you can think about how it should be presented in the form of marketing materials: your website, blog, business cards, letterhead, brochures, and so forth.
My guest for this episode of The Art Biz, to talk about her intentional artist brand, is Alexandra Squire.
Alexandra was clear from the get-go about what she wanted her business and career to look like. She hired professionals to help her pull together a branded identity to present her work to the world. And it was always based on the work. Her strong work backed up the beautiful packaging.
Alexandra and I talk about her decisions, marketing, and how she finds time for her painting and business while raising three young girls.
Listen
📄 This Week's Assignment
Consider your artist brand. In particular, think about and even write in your journal about this one question: How do you want to be perceived in the minds of others?
If you want to take it to the next step, consider whether your social media, newsletter, website, marketing material, and exhibition venues are aligned with how you want to be perceived.
Highlights
- Alexandra’s long and winding road to becoming an artist. (3:25)
- “I looked at myself as a brand.” (7:09)
- Marketing yourself effectively. (11:26)
- Hiring professional help for your photography. (14:03)
- Your brand exists in the eye of the viewer. (18:42)
- Making the trade offs that pay off. (22:16)
- The moment when you identify your artist brand. (26:20)
- How Alexandra shows and sells her work. (28:15)
- Keeping an artist’s schedule while raising a family. (33:38)
Alexandra Squire Quotes
- “I decided from the beginning I wanted to be a certain type of artist.”
- “You have to present yourself in a certain way, and that’s how people will view you.”
“I turned down a bunch of opportunities that I felt didn’t best reflect my brand.”
About My Guest
Alexandra Squire is an abstract painter defined by the pairing of vibrant colors and muted tones to create simple yet deceivingly complex works. She focuses on blending and layering to make pieces that are rich in color and depth with unexpected palettes. Her paintings serve as a metaphor for life in that they depict the multitude of ways in which our experiences meld together. Alexandra’s work has been exhibited nationally, and her paintings are a part of private and corporate collections throughout the United States.
Follow her on Instagram: @alexandrasquireart
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]]>We have a new look at Art Biz Coach, and I’m using today’s post to give you the inside scoop on how all of the pieces came together.
Back in January, I asked if your brand was missing you because I had concluded, with the help of my mastermind buddies, that my personality was a little absent from the Art Biz Coach brand, especially in the visual manifestation of Art Biz Coach.
So I hired Rachel Dunham of Brand Therapy to work some magic on me. We’ve been working on this for more than two months.
The First Steps to a New Brand
I didn’t pay Rachel $75 to come up with a quick logo. I wanted a much deeper process for a more profound transformation.
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]]>We have a new look at Art Biz Coach, and I’m using today’s post to give you the inside scoop on how all of the pieces came together.
Back in January, I asked if your brand was missing you because I had concluded, with the help of my mastermind buddies, that my personality was a little absent from the Art Biz Coach brand, especially in the visual manifestation of Art Biz Coach.
So I hired Rachel Dunham of Brand Therapy to work some magic on me. We’ve been working on this for more than two months.
The First Steps to a New Brand
I didn’t pay Rachel $75 to come up with a quick logo. I wanted a much deeper process for a more profound transformation.
The first thing Rachel did was ask me to complete a 19-page survey.
The next thing she did was create a private Pinterest board where I could post inspirational photos for the design and photos of me in various outfits. This is when she gave me advice for what to wear in the photo shoot that I had already arranged with the talented Regina-Marie.
Then we scheduled 3 phone conversations – each with a separate purpose:
- The first was focused on me: who I am, my vision, my values, and what makes me unique.
- The second session focused on Art Biz Coach: our core message, ideal clients and their struggles, products, and services.
- The final session focused on my online presence: website functionality and social media presence.
I emphasized the following points in our conversations:
- I want my site to be more visually engaging. I have a visual audience but I offer services, not a visual product.
- I want my message to have more of my personality, which means adding a little edge – not so serious and proper. I’ve been called sassy – mostly by my mom.
- Adding pattern would be a plus because I’m drawn to pattern, especially polka dots. Patterns flow from my pen when I doodle in meetings.
- I really liked my current yellow and warm gray. Those two colors were the ones I used when Stanfield Art Associates began in 2001.
The Logo Is Birthed
As I’ve written before, a brand is much more than a logo, and that logo must evolve from deep values, purpose, and direction. That’s why the inquiry started the process.
After coming across my signature, Rachel decided to incorporate it into the logo.
The logo was the longest, hardest slog of the process, which is why I refer to it as being birthed. We went through so many versions and even tried using the peacock blue that I love so much. But we eventually arrived with this.
Everything else that came afterward would be congruent with this logo.
Studies have shown that women don’t particularly like gray and men are averse to purple. Either I’ve managed to turn off both genders with this logo or, more likely, I trust the keen eye of my visual audience to look at the whole rather than pooh-poohing individual colors.
There is significant meaning to every aspect of this logo. I won’t go into depth, but to me it symbolizes the 4 Cs: connection, community, creativity, and clarity.
Updating YOUR Brand
And now, a little something for you.
If you ever decide to freshen up your professional look, you may struggle, as I did, to come up with a list of all the things that will need updating. What needs new colors, images, and fonts?
This list covers most of what we developed for the new Art Biz Coach brand, though not everything will apply to your situation.
- Website and/or blog (individual pages and posts, sign-up pages, thank you pages)
- Headers for each page
- New photos of yourself that promote your brand (Thanks again, Regina!)
- Select photos of you with others and in your studio and your art in situ
- Buy / Sign Up / Submit buttons
- Sign-up forms
- Product graphics for classes, books, and programs
- Newsletter template
- Business cards
- Brochures
- Hang tags
- Note pads
- Note cards
- CD covers
- Letterhead
- Report templates or class lessons
- Social media graphics: Facebook and Twitter cover images, buttons to connect with you
I sure hope this list comes in handy for you at some point.
Share your experience with updating your professional artist brand in a comment. I’d love for you to add to the list above.
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]]>The post Is Your Artist Brand Missing You? appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>For my hot seat, I chose to talk about my brand.
To prepare the group, I reminded them of some of the websites and programs associated with my business:
Art Biz Coach (website and business name since 2002)
Art Biz Blog (blog since 2004)
Art Biz Makeover (live event)
Art Biz Bootcamp (online class)
Organize Your Art Biz (online class)
Art Biz Lift Off (online class and self-study)
Art Biz Incubator (membership)
(My bad: I failed to mention my book, which has done so much to help artists with their self-promotion and promote my brand.)
I wanted feedback on this list, mostly on the use of Art Biz Coach for my business.
Is it too tired? “Coach” was trendy in 2002, but is it time to retire that?
Does “Art Biz” sound masculine?
Is there confusion between Art Biz Blog and Art Biz Coach? After all, most people these days have their blogs integrated into their main sites.
Am I questioning this because I’m just bored with the name?
After I threw out my questions to the group, our coach led us all in an exercise to discover where our brands were hitting the mark and where we could use some help.
The exercise wasn’t new to me, but it was a reminder that I haven’t been living up to the tweaks I identified over a year ago.
An Exercise In Trust
I started 2015 with the word “authentic” as my word of the year. It’s a word that I sometimes think is overused, and yet it reached out to me.
Now I realize that the word “trust” is a better word for me in 2015. I seek more trust in myself and my vision and trust that you will stick with me as I make necessary adjustments.
The result of the hot seat with my mastermind group was an affirmation from everyone in the room that Art Biz Coach is a strong brand.
They gave permission to incorporate more “Alyson” into my business, which means adding more fun, elements of surprise, and a little edginess.
All of this is just in time for a visual makeover I’m planning to introduce this year with the help of a brand design expert.
Your Artist Brand
Branding is usually created behind the scenes with branding experts, designers, and copywriters, and then unveiled in a Ta-da moment. I’m sharing my personal story and struggles with you because 1) I trust you and value our community and 2) I want you to consider your brand.
What 3 words would you use to describe your art and brand?
For some it might be classic, professional, and serious.
Others might lean toward kooky, colorful, and friendly.
You get to decide who you want be in this world, how you show up, and how you want to be perceived [tweet this]. I advise you do it with gusto – and to trust in your choices.
Does your marketing reflect your brand?
Are you inserting your personality into your brand?
Are people reminded of why they love your brand every time they see a tweet, Facebook post, email, or website with your name on it?
How could you add more YOU to your brand?
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]]>The post Branding Your Art Business appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>I encourage you to embrace it, too.
Everything I have been sharing with you since 2002 will help you create a stronger brand, so we might as well call it what it is.
I’ve been teaching basic tenets of branding for years, but, boy, I had no idea about everything that goes into creating a memorable brand. Here is a sampling of what I learned at Branded: The Event.
A brand is a desired perception.
Your art is created in the studio. Your brand is created in the mind.
Not your mind, but in the minds of others.
A brand doesn’t appear after one or even two meetings. A branding expert spends many hours, weeks, and even months talking with you about your business.
Once you start promoting your brand, it takes time (years) for it to stick in people’s minds.
A brand is much more than a logo.
A logo is only the visual expression of a brand.
While most artists don’t have logos, you do embrace a certain typeface and, perhaps, color combination. Your art serves as the visual expression of your brand.
To get to complete visual packaging, a branding expert helps you articulate core values and aspirations. He or she also helps you position yourself in the marketplace – the art market, in your case.
This is almost impossible to do on your own because you’re too close to your work. Without a branding expert on call, you can start the process by talking with trusted advisors.
Build your brand for a specific person.
Bloggers often talk about writing for a specific person – your ideal reader.
The same goes for branding. Rather than saying, “My ideal buyer is 40-60, female, and lives in the Midwest,” you drill it down and give her a name.
“My ideal buyer is Barbara. She is 48 years old, has 2 teenage sons, and is overworked at the nonprofit agency where she serves as executive director. She has an MBA and lives in the suburbs of Chicago. She drove a van for years as she was shuttling her two boys to their activities, but she’s now thrilled to be driving a Toyota Prius. . . .”
A branding expert, like Re at Branding for the People, will ask you to be this specific.
Do you have an ideal buyer in mind? Most artists who have been selling for awhile already know one by name and can complete a profile such as this.
Everything is an opportunity to reinforce your brand.
Every time you tell someone you are an artist, you have the opportunity to support or to detract from your brand. For example:
What are you wearing?
How do you communicate?
How do you package your art and products?
How do you display your art?
How do you follow up?
Branding makes you memorable, leads to higher prices for your art, and creates fans. It also helps you make decisions because your selections should align with your brand.
Start today by articulating your values, your ideal buyer, and how you will reinforce your brand.
Share your insights in a comment here.
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]]>The post What Do You Call Yourself? appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>He was dubious of titles – even the title “artist.”
He said: “Everyone else gives you titles. I recommend you don’t give yourself one.”
Deep Thought Thursday
Are titles necessary?
Are titles limiting?
Do you have a title for yourself? Like, when someone asks you what you do, do you say “I’m a(n) . . . “
Do you have more than 1 title?
Tell us!
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]]>Here are some random thoughts that are now coming together in a new website.
I built my brand as ArtBizCoach.com. It seemed cool in early 2002 to be a dot-com company. Now it seems lame. I’ve always called it ArtBizCoach.com, but I’ve discovered that most other people think of it only as Art Biz Coach. And so it shall be.A little bit of red goes a LONG way. The red background of Art Biz Coach has gotten in the way. It limits what I’m able to show on the site and is too bold. So does this funky logo. I want my Web presence to be a backdrop for my consulting work–not the main show. I also want to show of artists’ artwork appropriately.
Four and a half years is a long time to have a website without a major overhaul. I’ve made big changes to the home page, but the rest has mostly stayed the same.
I created a fan page on Facebook as Art Biz Coach / Stanfield Art Associates. Because my brain was chewing on all of this, I purposely left the .com out of the fan page title.I use my name and @abstanfield with social media. This allows me to shine as an individual rather than a business.
Now, many people know me through social media. They’ve connected with me on Facebook as a friend or on my Art Biz Coach fan page.
Many more people know me because of the Art Biz Blog. At least I think they know me. My name hasn’t been in the header since last summer. It was a deliberate decision at the time because I was reconsidering how the blog would work. It was also a mistake to leave my name off the header. That’s about to change.
The work that I do with artists is personal. It’s critical that my clients, members, and fans are able to trust a real person.
The result of all my hard thinking is the discovery that I am my brand. It’s what I tell artists all of the time. YOU are your brand. The work we do contributes to the brand, but we are known by our individual names.
I’ll be working on my new Art Biz Coach site throughout the month of July, with a target launch date of August 2.
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]]>The post Spit Shine Your Image appeared first on Art Biz Success.
]]>All of these are used in promoting your art. I have some ideas for how you can improve your image one step at a time. But first, let me ask you some questions about these four areas.
1. Your Art (and how you present it)
Do you have a recognizable style? Is your work “crafted” as best as it can be? Are your canvases sturdy?
Are you preparing your surfaces properly, or is everything going to fall apart in 5 years? Are your welded joints properly finished?
Are your mats perfectly cut? Are hanging devices properly attached? Do your pedestals have a clean coat of paint on them, or are they scuffed up? Are your display cases scratched?
2. You
Do you speak kindly of other artists and festival organizers? Are you generous or guarded?
Do you dress like a professional when you go out or do you find yourself embarrassed at the way you look when someone asks you about your art? Do you keep your word, meet deadlines, and follow through with projects?
3. Your Venues
Will you forever be known as The Coffee Shop Artist because you found a safe place to show your art and never left?
Or are your venues consistently improving? Did you build a site on Etsy.com and stop there?
4. Your Marketing Materials
Is your art always the most important part of your marketing, or have you gotten carried away with funky fonts and design elements?
Do your business cards, note cards, hang tags, and letterhead convey a consistent message? Do your website and blog promote the same message as the rest of your marketing materials?
FINAL WORD: Presentation is everything. Everyone has to start somewhere, but you also need to grow and improve. We get only one chance to make a first impression. Make yours count by spit shining your image in any or all of these four areas.
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]]>Read the newsletter here.
[powerpress url=”http://artbizsuccess.com/audio/spitshine.mp3″]
The last episode of the Art Marketing Action podcast was November 22, 2010. You can listen here.
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