If you follow me just about anywhere on the internet, you're probably aware that I'm heading to Creative South later this week. This will be my first design conference so I'm pumped beyond belief and can't help mentioning it any chance I get. Knowing that I'll be meeting a lot of internet friends and cool creatives there, I wanted to create some brand swag for them to remember me by.

I started by designing some seriously spiffy business cards (more on those soon), but I wanted to make something else with more widespread appeal. I knew people wouldn't be so interested in plastering something with my name all over their possessions, so I chose to make something awesome and channel my brand into this swag in a more subtle way.

More Than a Promo

When you're creating brand swag, it's important to step out of your own shoes for a minute. Forget about your own opinions and consider what would really strike a chord with your audience. What would they find useful or cool?

Personally, I had 4 goals for my brand swag, which you can apply when you're creating a new piece of collateral for your own brand.

Whether you own your own business or not, we all experience overwhelm sometimes. Our culture is constantly applying the pressure for us to ramp up, do more, work harder, and optimize every minute of our lives. And to be completely honest, most of that pressure comes straight from our own heads.

We're constantly telling ourselves that we're not doing enough—that we're not enough. I'm just as guilty of these feelings as anyone else. There are definitely times when I let stress, anxiety, and expectations—my own and those of others—get the best of me. But over the last few months, I've been really trying to take my own advice and slow down.

Creating Space for Renewal

For those moments when you're feeling tired, uninspired, and drained the solution isn't always to keep pushing on and grinding yourself down. Sometimes the best way to get back on the right track is to slow down and create some margin from your usual routine. How will that help? These 6 steps to slowing down will show you just that and more.

I don't know about you, but I can't get enough of HGTV's Fixer Upper. From Chip and Joanna's gorgeous renovations to the adorable Gaines family, I know I'm not the only one that's contemplated packing up my belongings and moving to Waco. Just kidding (not kidding).

Fixer Upper has won the hearts of would-be homeowners all over the country and beyond. And how could they not with those precious kiddos, heaps of shiplap, and all of those farm animals!? Their businesses have grown tremendously over the last few years too. From their beginnings with a realty and reno business, they now also run a cozy b&b, a booming online shop, and a larger-than-life marketplace in a converted silo. They've even got a book on the horizon!

Are y'all ready to take on branding lessons from Fixer Upper?

Considering that the Gaines family has completely enchanted our homes and hearts, there's a lot to be learned from these beloved biz owners. So what branding lessons can you learn from Chip and Joanna Gaines of Fixer Upper? Read on and find out, folks!

Meg and Ross came to me with an amazing business vision and big plans for their specialty coffee shop—Function Coffee Labs. They had no existing logo or visuals, and were ready to get serious about their branding. They wanted me to craft a logo that would bring their brand to life, attract customers, and build credibility for their new business. Sounds like a tall order, but I'm always up for the challenge and really believe in the power of beautifully strategic branding.

Don't ever let anyone tell you print is dead. In this digital age, having something tangible to represent your brand is more important than ever. Designing stunning stationery is one of my absolute favorite facets of brand design. Not only is lovely stationery nice to hold, but it can make some powerful statements about your brand too!

Let's dig into some print terms, my favorite print methods, and what you need to know about them. When it comes to stationery and collateral, the sky is the limit and there are LOTS of variables to consider. So for simplicity's sake, let's limit the discussion here to business cards.

Letterpress, embossing, die cut, foil stamped—any of these sound familiar? You've probably heard of some of these specialty print methods before. I began my design career in the wedding industry, mainly because gorgeously fancy stationery is one of my most favorite things. However, when I shifted my focus to branding that's when I realized just how special it could be.

I know what you're thinking. Yes, these methods can be a bit pricey. But much like a quality logo and brand identity, these techniques do more than get you noticed. The magic of specialty print methods is that they make very powerful statements about your brand, without even showing your product or mentioning your service. So let's do a bit of digging into what makes specialty print methods so special.