OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW

A few days ago I decided to start this blog, and I actually wrote this as my first post before I decided I better introduce myself! So here is my first written post - second!

I recently finished designing a logo for a friend and we decided to do a trade in services. I design her a logo, and she helps me with my horrible "business sense"! You see I love designing and let me go as far as to say I am pretty good at it! But my "business sense", well, thats a different story. And for me to tell you that story I must give you a little background info...

I graduated from high school in 2005, and a month later started the Animation, Art and Design program at The Art Institute in Burnaby. Two years later I graduated and headed out into the world with my demo reel to find that this industry was just not for me. I moved back to the island and became a paramedic, but I still loved designing, and so I started doing things here and there like designing my own wedding invitations, a logo and business cards for my dad, and more wedding invitations! Over time I got asked a few times "why don't you charge for this?" and my answer "I don't know!" or "I don't think I am good enough." So I kept making wedding invitations, for my cousin, for my sister and for a friend or two, and I kept getting asked why I wasn't turning this into a business. Then, one day, and I don't really know what sparked this, I figured why not, you only live once, lets do this! And so Moments in Design was born! OK - it wasn't THAT fast! I fretted over a business name for quite a while, and then I fretted over a logo! If I was going to be a designer I had to have a good logo!

| Original logo |

I got compliments all the time on this logo! And so up until now I was almost afraid to change it. But then I sat down with Colleen from teamU.biz! I had designed her logo (to be posted later), and now it was time to sort my business out. We sat cozied up at The Buzz Coffee House one day and Colleen completely changed my view of how I have been running things! To make a long story short, she made me realize that I have been selling myself short, only just covering my expenses, never mind my time! And I am still working on that, and Colleen and I are still smoothing the details out, but I left that meeting inspired. I drove to work that night and knew I needed to revamp. So I got to work and pulled out my computer and 5 minutes later my logo was sitting in front of me! And then the doubts started! Was it TOO simple? Was it too BIG of a change? So I saved the file and walked away.

I showed it to three people before I showed it to the world, my dad, who is always honest and gives me a straight opinion of my work (you see my mom, being my mom, thinks everything I do is fabulous, and I love her for that!) and two friends. One of those friends is taking the Graphics Program at VIU so when I showed to her I was hoping she would get where I was going, and she did! Her opinion really got me excited, but still it sat as a file on my desktop, waiting to be revealed to the world....

And here it is! 

| New Logo |

And while its been on my facebook page for a couple of weeks, I am very excited to bring it, and the story of how it came to be, on my new blog!! I would love to hear what you all think!

Today is a busy day and tomorrow I have my first horse show! Pictures to come!