Branding Your Craft
A little about my branding and design background. I had a highly successful career as a graphic designer and design studio CEO. My focus on visual branding for some of the world’s leading companies earned national and international recognition. LinkedIn Profile
A Quick Take:
Identify what is unique to your work and yourself. Let it reflect your personality.
Decide how much space or room you have for a mark.
Do you want your business name or personal name attached to that mark?
Keep it simple.
Branding Your Craft.
From the beginning of time people have identified their handicraft with a “mark” to signify they made the piece by their own hand.
In today’s society there has been a resurgence of people making things with their hands. From woodworking, to metal fabrication, and ceramics. Their handicraft can be a small piece in a larger project, it can be a piece that is used day to day, or admired for the beauty someone sees in the piece itself.
As society progressed a brand or branding has evolved over time. The “Nike Swoosh” is known across the world and has grown over the decades from a small start-up to an international giant.
Years ago I interviewed a woman rancher who talked to me about the historical significance of “a brand”. The significance of that brand was synonymous with their ranch.
Personally, I spent my early professional career designing logos and creating a brand identity for small start-ups to Fortune 500 corporations. “A brand” is something businesses invest in heavily to ensure their customers identify them in a global marketplace. Today, social media plays an important role in building a brand and is synonymous with a brands success.
My past experience as a creative director has provided immense value as as I begin a new career path as a ceramic artist. One of the first things I did was to create a maker’s mark that was unique to me. That mark identifies myself as the artist associated with the ceramic pieces that I throw on a potter’s wheel or build my hand.
Here is a deconstruction of my marker’s mark:
Lisa Love Marker’s Mark: The darker lines represent each letter in my name that form the final marker’s mark or icon on the right. This mark is stamped on each piece of pottery I make.
Once you have your marker’s mark complete, you can roll-out additional pieces to your overall brand identity. If you have any questions, let me know. Most importantly, have fun with it!
Follow me on Instagram @lisaloveceramics
