Art Deco Inspired Branding Collection & Custom Showit 5 Website Design || Stefani Ciotti Photography
Aug 4
Stefani is a total boss babe with a heart of gold. Just one skype meeting and I knew I had to work with her. This Orange County based photographer (who’s shot for the likes of Lin & Jirsa!) was ready for a new look.
She got in touch with me looking for a brand spankin’ new Showit 5 website, when she realize she was in over her head trying to design one herself. But after that first Skype meeting she too was hooked — and decided she needed the whole shebang! A complete brand overhaul. Within three weeks (a lot more Skype calls, emails, and coffee) she had a fabulous new Branding + Logo collection AND custom Showit 5 website.
The first thing to go was her hot pink and super girlie look. Stefani told me she wanted something more mature, and also felt like her current branding was alienating a lot of her grooms. So I started with an art deco inspired mood board and chose rich and vibrant colors, which still speak to her spunky personality. But they definitely have a more refined air about them.
Before the rebrand, Stefani was trying to be a jill-of-all-trades when it came to photography, offering everything from weddings to family sessions. And I think a lot of us start there. Maybe we don’t know what we’re passionate about yet — or maybe we’re just trying to make ends meet. But a few years into her business and she had found her heart was really for weddings — and only weddings. So we used this rebrand as an opportunity to establish her as exclusively a wedding photographer.
One of my favorite parts of this project is Stefani’s logo. The geometric icon has a slight nod to a diamond (hint-hint, wedding photographer!) but there is actually a deeper meaning. Stefani is a rock star when it comes to OCF — Off Camera Flash (ahhh, a girl after my own heart — wasn’t this just a match made in heaven??) so I actually created the icon to represent a flash, or light. We both felt like her expertise in lighting set her apart from her competitors, so I wanted to feature it loud and proud. And there’s no better real estate than on a logo! Boo-yah.
Stefani choose a Branding Collection that included print collateral (which I think is so important for photographers) so I got to design her new business card, note cards, thank you cards, and stickers. From there we started her website design experience — making sure everything coordinated. Remember, the key to killer branding is consistency. She decided on a 5 page website with a blog to help her SEO and also give her clients a more immersive experience.
[check out Stefani’s new website here!]
It was a whirlwind experience — I only take one branding client at a time because I want to be fully immersed in their project and give them my total attention. But when it was all done (in 3 short weeks!) Stefani had a very successful relaunch.
Congrats on your new brand and website, Stefani! You are a doll and it was such a pleasure creating this for you!
