My Wife is a Badass
After reading several books on how to make it as an illustrator it became clear that I needed to treat my freelancing business like any business. Therefore I needed a brand identity. To translate for the non-marketing people out there, brand identity means having a Brand Identity Statement (Who are you and what do you do), a Logo, and a consistent look for your business card/letterhead package and website.
I started off by working on my BIS (Brand Identity Statement). In order to help with this I got together with my friend Scott Mizis (a talented, undiscovered writer), my sister Diana (a deaf education teacher), and my wife (a graphic design badass). We then began to brainstorm. I had to explain what made me different as an artist as well as what services I could offer. After a bit of discussion we boiled down my art to three concepts:
1. I draw in high contrast, bright lights and deep darks. The art term for this is Chiaroscuro.
2. I have a range of things I draw from funny to serious.
3. I always meet deadlines.
Once those three things had been established we worked to fit them into a BIS. In the end we came up with this:
“Art ranging from gritty darks to whimsical lights, delivered on demand.”
With the BIS out of the way I began to work on a logo and business card package. Everything I did was all wrong. No mater what I tried I found myself ending up with mental blanks. I finally came to the realization that even though I had spent the last 4 ½ years working as a graphic designer I couldn’t design for myself. I just couldn’t view “me” in an objective fashion. In the end I decided to ask for help. So I turned to the person I often do when I need help… my wife.
She agreed to help, and I was immediately relieved. She did a few sketches for some logo ideas the next day, and I loved them! We talked about her ideas and agreed on the one we both liked best. She wanted me to do a little drawing that would become the logo. We then turned it into a stamp to give it a textured look. In the end I was very pleased with the results.
Logo
After the logo was done she started work on my business card and postcard mailer. She asked to barrow my sketch book and disappeared for a week. All she would tell me is that she was working on it and that should would show me when it was ready…
Oh My Freakin’ God!!! When she came back she had the coolest freakin’ business card EVER! I loved it, and the postcard was superb. We made a couple simple changes and then ran with it. I could tell she was proud of her work, and I was floored. My Wife is truly a BADASS!
Business Card Back
Business Card Front
Postcard Front
Postcard Back
An Artist's Journey 
Why, thank you…thankyouverymuch.