Cynthia Oswald

Surface Design, Fine Art + Branding for Creatives

Content Strategy

Branding that comes together with ease


Over the past three weeks I’ve been sharing the journey of how my wedding invitations came to be. Today I’m sharing the finished pieces, as well as the entire wedding suite and photos of the big day! I was so excited when our wedding invitations arrived! I made Steven open them so I could video the reveal. Perhaps it was a little over the top, but these little things really excite me! As the video reveals I’m not sure Steven was as excited.

Once the invitations were designed we had all the necessary elements to begin creating the entire event package. The illustrations were already complete and I had purchased a couple of fonts that I knew would work well with my hand lettering. My intern, Hannah, was able to work through designing the program, table numbers, and place cards. She repurposed everything I created in new ways to bring together the entire package.

When you have the fundamental elements needed to make up your visual branding package it’s rewarding to watch your brand package come together with ease.

Pictured below are a few of the items we created using my original illustrations, hand lettering, and fonts. There’s no question that these all belong together. Likewise, you want your customers to easily recognize your brand—whether digital or in print. Designing our wedding invitations was a fun way to represent our unity and who we are as a couple. Designing your branding package should faithfully represent your business—defining the business personality and emulating your unique mission. Sometimes it’s abstract and subliminal but it’s still there—pictures are worth a thousand words (or more). Let’s make sure your images are sending the right message! Contact me here to get started.

Cynthia Oswald design

Wedding photographs by Becky Albright Photography

Branding with purpose:
creating and collecting brand materials with your wish list in mind

Steven and I got engaged May 31 and chose September 9th as our wedding date. Yes, that was a little ambitious. In just over three months I would need to sell my house, move, and plan the wedding! I knew that every moment would count so I was intentional about creating elements for the wedding invitation that could be reused across all of the wedding day materials. I had no choice but to let the illustration ideas simmer as I prepped and sold my home. I’m sure glad I did. At first I was thinking about including bunnies and squirrels on the invitation. Yes, I’m a Beatrix Potter fan. However, this isn’t a children’s book—it was our wedding invitation. As the idea for the big day evolved so did the look of the invitation. I decided to take inspiration from the willow tree in our yard and combine it with my innate desire to create decorative, ornamental elements (hence my logo). I got out a fresh sheet of watercolor paper (pictured above) and used every square inch to create illustrative elements (pictured below). These would serve as the “branding” elements for the entire event.

With my wish list in mind I created illustrations that could be repurposed across an entire collection of event items. This is the same way I create for your brand materials. The idea is to establish a collection of secondary brand elements that match your brand style—creating a library of sorts. This library includes items like your logo variations, multiple fonts, images, and illustrations that portray your mission and values. Today I want to share with you some useful tips on how to collect these items with your wish list in mind.

1. What particular styles do you love?

You’ve had a week to think through descriptive words that resonate and start taking notice to your visual preferences (if not, start here). Now it’s time to name them. My favorite designer and business role model is Louise Fili. Her work makes my heart beat a little faster so I decided that she needed to represented. I purchased her “Love” stamp for all of my envelopes and bought a font that she just debuted, called Montecatini. The font was also named after a town in Italy—Montecatini Terme—which I happened to visit 13 years ago. What does this have to do with you? You’ve collected your inspirations and preferences, now it’s time to imbue more of what you love into your brand. Keep collecting those items and make sure to share them with your designer.

2. In what formats will your materials be created in?

Thinking through the entire event package prior to creating the illustration was crucial for saving time. This included my invitation, thank you cards, table numbers, place cards, signage, program, website, cups and more. Before you start finalizing one little part, picture how your brand will be represented as a whole. Is your logo only going to be visible on your stationery? Or will you be creating packaging that features your logo as the main branding element? Do you have a car or truck that needs to have your logo and brand elements prominently displayed? All of these details matter. Think big and then start small. It should be fun to think of the different ways your brand will be represented.

3. Price out the cost to produce prior to designing.

Did you know that postage costs more for square envelopes than rectangular envelopes? These tiny details add up when you are working on branding elements. Small choices make big impacts both in dollar amounts and on our environment so I suggest pricing out different ways to produce your marketing pieces. For me it was important that my invitations be printed on 100% recycled paper. I also wanted to reduce waste by allowing the RSVP to tear off and serve as a mailer. These choices cost a little more up front but resonate with my brand so I could plan accordingly.

Essentially when you are thinking through all of these little elements your brand is coming to life before you even began. This means that you are troubleshooting issues and saving money in the long run—which to me, is branding with purpose. That’s what I’m here to help you do! If you’d like to review your next branding project start by emailing me here. Next week I’m going to share the entire wedding package so you can see it come together. For now, I’m going to go make the BEST COOKIES EVER (recipe here). Happy Thanksgiving!

Social Media Comparison at a Glance

I like to try and be aware of trends, especially in the world of technology. It takes me a bit of time before I jump on the bandwagon. This is a double edged sword … in one way I lose out because the first people to be active are also the people who could benefit the most (i.e. the big boom with domain names). On the other hand, I haven’t wasted time or invested a lot of money until I know it’s worthwhile. The amount of technology associated with the web industry is massive. I find it important to spend the time to research and be extremely selective before promoting a web product or service to my customers. That said, I asked Hannah Sicherman to spend some time researching and comparing 6 different social media platforms. Below are a selection of Hannah’s bullet points and resources for each:

1. Instagram:
• Mainly a mobile platform to share photos and videos
• Showcases daily life, products, or behind the scenes processes
• Ability to promote posts so they reach a greater audience
• Feels more personal and creates a bond with your audience
• Ability to go live with Instagram stories
• Tag other users to interact with your network
• Use and create searchable hashtags related to your product or service
• User base is growing rapidly—much faster than social media platforms as a whole

Instagram Resources:
• http://www.businessnewsdaily.com/7662-instagram-business-guide.html
• https://business.instagram.com/getting-started

2. Pinterest:
• Curate mood boards for specific topic related to your brand or mission
• Great platform for shareable content—infographics, charts, good visual content
• Ability to allow followers to contribute to your boards or create hidden boards
• A great way to draw from other’s work and interests to support your brand
• Link your content back to articles, blogs, or your website
• Use keywords and passwords to make the content you pin more accessible and searchable

Pinterest Resources:
• http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/26-tips-for-using-pinterest-for-business/
• https://www.inc.com/john-brandon/9-tips-boost-your-business-pinterest.html
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/thesba/2013/06/07/how-to-use-pinterest-for-small-business/#60c5a9594e5b

3. Twitter:
• Tweet meaningful content that keeps your audience engaged
• Add links to your tweets and tweet @ other businesses to interact
• Portray the genuine voice of your business
• Follow and get the attention of the right people, your target audience or influencers
• Use and create searchable hashtags related to your product or service
• Not heavily image-based and copy is limited as well

Twitter Resources:
• https://business.twitter.com/en/basics/manage-your-business-account.html
• http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2417634,00.asp
• https://www.forbes.com/sites/kenkrogue/2013/08/30/31-twitter-tips-how-to-use-twitter-tools-and-twitter-best-practices-for-business/#52f45b556248

4. Facebook Business Page:
• Resembles a website with homepages, about sections, and other tabs that followers can click through
• Connect with audience through wall posts or personal messages
• Create multimedia posts
• Pay to promote posts and advertise your page
• Tag people or businesses in your post, give credit, and share to connect with your network
• Has one of the largest user bases—700 million daily users

Facebook Resources:
• https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/dos-donts-facebook-business-infographic#sm.00001ksframnoid49ws0mjipogz3u
• http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/promote-your-business-with-facebook/
• https://startupsavant.com/facebook-for-business-101/

5. LinkedIn:
• A networking platform designed to help make connections between professionals
• Use keywords in your profile to be more easily found for certain skills or qualities
• Showcase your work by adding samples
• Share articles that are relevant to your industry and link back to your website
• It’s essentially an interactive resume, with endorsements, samples, and your work history
• A premium account is available for purchase allowing your profile more visibility
• Pay extra to join ProFinder and submit estimates that are requested by users through the platform

LinkedIn Resources:
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-kanalley/how-to-use-linkedin-effectively_b_2744857.html
• https://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/23454/The-Ultimate-Cheat-Sheet-for-Mastering-LinkedIn.aspx#sm.00001ksframnoid49ws0mjipogz3u

Hannah’s research is a great start if you’re interested in exploring a platform. If the style of one platform resonates with you more than another why not give that a try? Being active on all of the platforms is not necessary. Your time is better spent connecting in a way that feels authentic to you. Speaking of authenticity, make sure you are being authentic to your brand voice no matter which platform you are using. It’s also important to stay active and engage with your audience and potential customers. Happy posting, engaging, and connecting!