How I Rebranded My Website!

Would you believe me if I told you I built this website last year?

Lol, no but really I did! ...It wasn't ready yet. So God had me sit on it... For A. Whole. Year!

Though if I'm being honest, when I saw my website this year, I saw my growth. I saw what God needed me to learn in a year, what He needed me to learn before I could officially launch my business!

My first website was cute and it was fun! There were videos and loud colors. I even built out the current menu that you are navigating through today. However, it was unorganized and lacked strategy.

2018 was THE year of strategy. I strategized the layout and execution for the 11/11 project for Singer / Songwriter Melissa Ashley. We dropped all of that content - 11 rows and 22 videos - each hour on the hour on Day 1 of 2018! Then, I started organizing my own Instagram layout to show off the creative work I was doing. That was the beginning of being strategic about my own brand. Soon, I was coordinating interactive networking events with the women of Boss Night Inn and had to be strategic about our marketing since we aim to target female entrepreneurs of color. I even took on a few clients who weren't just friends!

All in all, last year meant work and preparation. It meant thinking not just creatively, but more strategically.

This year, that growth shows in how I changed my website. Check out the comparisons below,

Original Website - Home Page

The home page of my original website was actually a video with me being fun, yet bossy with my camera. Videos were so trendy at the time, that I thought it may work for my brand.

Strategically, it doesn't work because it puts too much focus on me instead of my work. As the landing page for new customers, it didn't show off anything that I offer or do. The navigation and name of my website was also hard to see.

New Website - Home Page

For the rebrand, I decided to keep the colors of the website simple. I used a white background with pops of color in the text. I added my sample portfolio above the fold (i.e., the top of the website, specifically the part of the website visitors see before scrolling down). I even included a prominent Call To Action. My logo is more prominent and the navigation is much more user friendly.

Original Website - Portfolio

The portfolio page of my original website was jumbled and unorganized. I was not as strategic about the images I added as I am now. There were low resolution photos and others that didn't showcase my strengths. Ultimately. it became more of a catch all than a carefully curated portfolio.

Website Rebrand - Portfolio

For my new website, I added white space to the background of the page and borders between the photos to create cleaner organization. I also removed weaker photos and added photos with more light to balance out the ones with heavy contrast. I reordered photos as needed to help ensure the flow was seamless and natural.

Original Website - Creative Work

In order to see my past creative work on the original website, you had to click on the Creative tab, which took you to a landing page that served as a gateway to three separate galleries. The image navigation for each page was poorly designed. I just picked a fun button template and then chose a funky photo background. Individually, they are great images, but together, they were incohesive. They didn't gel well together.

Website Rebrand - Creative Work

On the new website, I removed the landing page altogether and simplified the process by adding buttons to the portfolio page instead, steamlining the flow and simplifying the experience. I also created a new page called Campaigns where I put all of my most creative work.

Original Website - Branding

On the original website, I didn't have an official logo. I used what was provided in the Wix template. I also chose teal as my accent color while dark blue was my main color. I have no reason as to why I chose two different blues other than blue is my favorite color, so it personally appeals to me, lol! However, the contrast of the two were not strong enough to be a balanced mix or cohesive brand set.

Website Rebrand - Branding

For the new website, I kept the format and navigation that I built in 2018 and updated the colors to a strategically balanced set. I retained the blue, which represents my personality and added yellow, which represents the spark of creativity and brightness that I will bring to your project. I designed a logo that reflects creativity and thinking outside of the box. I also brightened the overall site with much more white space vs the dark grey in my original website. While I was initially going to launch with my podcast, I decided to hold off until Fall 2019.

Original Website - About Me

On the original website, I went for a more conversational bio. I wanted to keep it friendly and personable. I also tried using another animated button like the ones on the Creative Work landing page. This button was a short video loop similar to the one on the Home page. The colors and overall branding was a collection of things I liked, but lacked the strategy to bond them and create a cohesive experience.

For the About page, I prominently displayed the logo that I merely settled on, set the background to blue and used white text on top of it (despite that being harder to read), and formatted it to all fit above the fold.

Website Rebrand - About Me

For the new website, I kept it clean using a white background and black text to ensure easy readability. I used elements from my logo in the headline, which is the only place on the page (outside of the navigation bar) where my brand colors show. I changed the photo template to the circles you see below. I also dug deep and gave a more genuine history and authentic purpose in bio. (It helped that I also looked up a few bios from a couple of my favorite Black Women Entrepreneurs - CocoChanelFitness.com and Koereyelle.com.)

Final Take Away - Original vs Rebrand

What I learned last year truly set the tone for the brand that I was able to deliver this year. It was this spark of new knowledge that directed my steps for the services I offer on my new website.

I can certainly speak to how important it is to start by defining your creative strategy before your launch instead of building and hoping the strategy will come. What I know now, I want to pass on to you! Book your free creative consultation today!