branding & website designs
freelance designer for Amy Burke Counseling
challenge
Amy had been practicing for a few months but only had a small social media presence. She wanted to create a consistent brand across social media, printed materials, and a new website. Amy wanted to incorporate dandelion imagery and wanted to use this blush pink color.
process
research
I always begin by asking who the client is trying to reach. Amy does a lot of work with children, so her main clients may not be her actual patients but instead their caregivers or case workers.
After that, I look into current trends for websites in that field, including popular templates from website builders. I end up with a lot of screenshots that I can then analyze for patterns in functionality and UI elements. This helps me understand what users are expecting to see when they look for a counselor. In this case, I was also able to reference my research from a previous project.
logo design
For logos, I always start with sketching on paper. Once I get a few ideas I want to explore more, I scan the sketches so I can elaborate on them more digitally. I pull these sketches into Illustrator and use both the image trace and pen tool features to convert the pencil sketches into vector designs. I always use free fonts so my clients don't have to worry about licensing in the future, and they guarantee a consistent design between print and web materials.
mockup & build
After completing the logo design, I created a home page and subpage examples for two different website designs. Amy already had the text content she would be using, so I was able to display that in the mockups for a more realistic view than generic lorem ipsum text.
The site was originally built as a static webpage, but after the go-live Amy decided she wanted more control over the content as well as the ability to add blog posts at some point in the future. At this point, I converted the original design into a WordPress theme.
solution
This project was not only to design a mobile-friendly website but to design an entire brand identity. In addition to the web presence, I created a style guide for Amy. This included logo variations and fonts, plus the scenarios in which to use them. It also included colors with HEX, RGB, and CMYK values.
I also provided Amy with collateral to use on social media to maintain a consistent brand identity.
Amy is currently in the process of getting licensed in a new state, so her practice and this site are no longer active. As such, I've removed her image to maintain her privacy.
