Everyone starts somewhere. I started my paper journey 6 years ago with a MAC and a BFA in Graphic Design. My husband and I were married in 2009 and I knew I wanted to design my own invitations, so I went down to Michaels and picked up some wedding invitation sets, and then designed and printed my own invitations. That was followed by designing and printing my own menus, programs, and other signage. I also helped my best friend design all of her paper goods for her big day just the week after mine. I was already in love with design (hence the degree), but this is when I fell in love with the paper and wedding industry. With the encouragement of my hubby, I started Heather O’Brien Design the following year. I designed my very first logo, picked out my colors, bought a website template and designed a million “fake” wedding and event invitation and pieces to add to my portfolio.
I rocked that logo and website until 2012 when I had started to realize the type of design that I really loved, was weddings. I realized that parties and events were not my ideal focus. But I LOVED working with brides, and I slowly honed in on my design style. I knew that my “brand” didn’t reflect that new change. So in 2012 I re-designed my logo, picked all new colors, and bought yet another website template. This time I had built enough clientele and work to actually fill my portfolio with REAL projects this time. It was a huge step up from my first brand, but a part of me wasn’t 100% in love with it. They always say you are your own worse critic, right!? Don’t believe me? Check out this pretty little progression of my logo below (!)
The amazing thing was, when I launched this new brand, by business grew tremendously. I started to see my clients and projects start to shift even more towards that ideal place I wanted to be. Brides were looking at my new site and my brand and knew immediately what I did and what my style was.
But remember that nagging little voice in the back of my head saying I wasn’t 100% in love with this brand, yep, it came back in 2015. I had spent three years being so busy and growing so much I could barely keep up, but a part of me knew that I had one more leap to make. So I pulled the trigger and actually hired a PROFESSIONAL to help me rebrand my business. Someone who actually knows what they’re doing and they do it specially for creatives like myself. Megan Martin helped me focus on what I REALLY wanted out of this new brand and spent countless hours with me perfecting it. You can read more about this new brand here. Now that you’ve seen my beautiful new website, check out my first two websites below. Let’s just say my business and my brand have come a LONG way!
I hope you’ve enjoyed my journey and progression over the last 6 years!
-heather
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