If you google the definition of “brand” you’ll likely find a googillion (you’re right, I made that up) articles about how it’s so hard to define. But that’s just a plain-ol’ brand, not an inspired one.
I was technically trained—in school, in my career, and in my business—to design logos that are visually strong with a perfect marriage of positive and negative space, an intentional use of color, and with a healthy dose of common sense to make sure it would be readable from a distance.
I was also technically trained to design logos that were creative. How does one train for creativity? Trust me, the brilliant folks at Kutztown University had (and still have!) a way to get you out of your own head, see the world upside down and inside out, and connect dots that no one has ever dreamt of connecting before. They encourage the free-spirited mind, but enforce a strict set of design rules that make the outcome brilliantly, powerfully, beautifully functional.
I grew up slinging pasta and beer at my family’s third-generation Italian American Restaurant, so it was a natural fit to merge my technical design skills and stretched creative thinking with real-world, salt-of-the-earth, no-two-the-same… people.
Raw, authentic, emotional people. People with needs (hunger), wants (alfredo sauce), fears (make it quick!), and dreams (a lovely dining experience). Connecting the dots, it was easy to see that what I learned could be used in SO MANY ways… but the most important to me was connecting people.
And so, in school, in my career, and in my business I’ve dedicated more than half of my entire life to seeing my clients… and then allowing them to see themselves in the logos and visuals I’ve created for them. Because the people we work with, our beloved clients, are visionaries! Dreamers! Doers! And feelers. They are on a mission to make a difference in their world. And they can’t fulfill their purpose without connecting with the right people.
I believe that our clients’ businesses are an extension of who they are at the core—their business is a product of their purpose in life. So while other definitions site a brand as being “a person’s gut feeling about a product, service, or organization;”1 or “the intangible sum of a product’s attributes”2 (which I totally agree with in most cases) I believe an INSPIRED BRAND is one that is intentionally infused with purpose, heart and passion that attracts and connects with those its meant to impact.
And at Inspired Studio, we are focused and determined—with an open heart—ready, willing, and able to create an inspired brand that represents our client and fulfills the needs and wants of their ideal audience while giving them a memorable experience.
Are you a visionary entrepreneur in need of a brand that feels like an extension of you, that resonates with your people? Then you’re our kind of people, and I’d love to hear from you. Book a 15-minute call with me to see if we’re just what you need to get your business perfectly positioned for 2020.
🖤 Maria Conigliaro Traino
President/Creative Director
1 Marty Neumeier; 2 David Ogilvy