For my student led project, I plan on creating my own set of personal branding materials for future creative freelance projects. The materials will include a logo, business card, and social media headers, including for my website.

I chose a logo from a freelance artist that I follow closely on Instagram. She has a very specific, eclectic persona that helps market her artistic pursuits, including cosplay, wool felting, and illustration. She sells these products on her Instagram @shandelions and her website https://shandelions.bigcartel.com/.

What I admire about her branding is her utilization of three design principles: the Gestalt principle, balance, and colors of a similar tone. The Gestalt principle has to do with association due to proximity. If you go to her website, she sells a lot of merchandise focused on nature, with motifs of pumpkins, mushrooms, plants, and insects. The name that she goes by, Shan, is also on display within her username for her social media platforms Shandelions. The proximity of her most used motifs and her name incorporated into the word “dandelions” immediately creates a connection within the minds of users that Shan is a creator who loves nature, which her products reflect.

The balance of her hand-drawn elements is evident with the two similarly sized mushrooms closing in her name Shandelions, drawing the eye to her brand name. The other elements, including the butterflies, ladybug, and pumpkin, are small yet evident enough to allow her to display her earthy, eclectic personality without drawing the eye away from the primary content. Incorporating the ladybug and pumpkin into her name was a great way for the design to remain balanced yet true to her personality.

Lastly, her choice of colors also speak to her earthy persona and are appropriate to the colors she incorporates into most of her art. Not only do the colors display what she care’s about in her art, but the color scheme is not distracting because only a few colors are actually used just in varying values.

Overall, I want my branding materials to capture my own eclecticism and artistic personality to the success that I view Shan’s, using proximity, balance, and colors to her marketing advantage.