Big news: Ms. Content has a new logo!
In the past, I’ve taken time to write about some “behind the scenes” business moments, such as when I revamped my website, when I tried (and failed) to film my first Skillshare course, and then when I eventually succeeded and launched my first and second Skillshare courses.
Since this is another milestone of sorts, I figured it was worth taking a moment to share a little bit about the process. I’ll cover why I decided to embark on this project, which steps it involved, and what the final product looks like.
How do you know when it’s time to invest in branding?
First off: How do you know when it’s time to invest in branding for your teeny-tiny business?
This is a big question, and it was something I’d been thinking about for a while.
Back in January 2023, I incorporated my company (this means I established an LLC rather than continuing to operate as a sole proprietor). Part of this process involved coming up with a new name. The agency that helped me through this process, Collective, recommended that I choose something that wasn’t just my first and last name. (By the way, that’s an affiliate link that will get you one month free if you decide to sign up with Collective, too!)
I landed on Ms. Content LLC because I liked the fact that it still had a personal element that related to me (my initials are MS), but it also sounds like Ms. Content is a person you could go to, your advisor and guide in all things content.
Once I had a new name for my business, I started thinking about whether it made sense to create some branding around it.
But I got stuck there. For a long time.
The problem I was facing was that I didn’t need a logo. My existing clients knew me as Melissa. It didn’t really matter to them whether I had a new logo or not. And I didn’t think a logo was necessarily going to convince prospective clients that Ms. Content was the right choice for them. Especially since the majority of my clients are referrals from people I already know rather than people who randomly find my website and reach out to me.
However, I did feel some desire to upgrade the look of my website and related assets. I was a little embarrassed by the simplicity of my website and I liked the idea of having some cohesion and intentionality behind the way I represented my brand online.
This was the place I found myself when I attended Alt Summit 2024 (a conference for women who own creative businesses of all types). One day I found myself in the lunch line next to Alison Gardner, the owner of Perspektiiv Design Company, a brand design studio for small businesses.
Our conversation started like a lot of conversations do at Alt, just getting to know each other and sharing a bit about our businesses. And, like a lot of conversations at Alt, it just felt easy and effortless. Alison seemed genuinely interested in getting to know me as a person, and it just so happened that her agency helps small businesses with their branding, so it felt quite serendipitous that we’d ended up waiting for falafel together in that precise moment.
We exchanged contact information, connected on Instagram, and stayed in touch over the next several weeks. Alison reached out via Instagram to send a link so I could find time on her calendar for a discovery call, and once I had a stretch of time when I knew I’d be home for a while, I booked our initial call.
So, how do you know when it’s time to invest in branding? In my case, it was the perfect blend of putting it off for an extended period of time and then meeting someone who felt like the right partner at the right moment.
An even trickier question: How do you know how much to invest in branding?
If you think my journey to answering the previous question was circuitous and roundabout, I’m afraid there’s just more where that came from.
I hadn’t really done extensive research on this, but I knew that some agencies charged tens of thousands of dollars for branding work.
I spoke with my fellow Boss Ladies as well as my friend Lindsey, who has a design background and helped me revamp my website a few years ago. They shared a few resources like Looka, 99Designs, Etsy, and Creative Market. These all have options on the lower end of the pricing spectrum (usually a few hundred dollars).
As I weighed my options, I knew that I wasn’t comfortable spending tens of thousands of dollars given the size and stage of my business. And while I could easily drop a few hundred dollars, many of those cheaper options had less of a personal feel. I didn’t get the sense that the designer would really get to know me or my business; it would be more of a transactional arrangement.
I realized that I was looking for a middle ground: I wanted someone to walk me through the creative process and help me understand what went into logo design.
When I booked the discovery call, Alison had shared Perspektiiv’s lookbook with their standard packages and pricing, so I knew that working with her agency would involve both doing some “homework” on my own and talking through it with a designer.
Perspectiiv’s standard packages still felt a bit more comprehensive than what I was looking for, but we were able to agree on a pared down simple logo package. It felt like a Goldilocks moment—not too big, not too small, both in terms of price and what was included. I’d finally found the logo design package that was just right.
If you’re trying to figure this out for yourself, I’d share the following takeaways:
- If price is your main consideration, there are plenty of affordable options that are either DIY or less personalized.
- If you’re willing to spend time researching different designers and agencies, you can compare and contrast different offerings. Personally, I wasn’t that interested in doing this because I’d already dragged my feet for long enough and I felt like I had some momentum so I didn’t want to get stuck again, but if you’re motivated to really explore your options, go for it!
- Finally, if you find a designer or agency you love, but their pre-existing packages don’t feel quite right, ask them if they’d be able to create a custom offer that’s aligned with your specific needs.
What is the logo design process like?
This is something that I imagine could vary a lot depending on the agency/designer you’re working with. In my case, it involved the following steps:
Step 1: Discovery call
I booked a discovery call with Alison, the owner of the agency. This gave her the opportunity to get to know more about me, my business, and my branding goals. She sent me a list of questions ahead of time, so I prepared the notes below as my answers:
What is your business’s purpose & mission?
- Creating well-written content through writing and editing
- Helping clients clarify their thoughts and get their ideas into the world
What are your business goals?
- Continue to have a profitable business that allows me the flexibility to live and travel the way I want while the work itself is interesting and fulfilling
- Continue to have clients who are easy and pleasant to work with, where it feels like a partnership based on mutual respect
- Currently hoping to gain one more ongoing retainer client to provide a little extra cushion of financial stability
Who is your target audience?
I have two main types of clients I work with: Small business owners (coaches/consultants), generally in the product world (product discovery, product leadership, transformation) and mid-size companies focused on the intersection of people & work (recruiting, onboarding, learning & development).
Will you be incorporating a tagline?
I wasn’t planning on it, but we could play with either “Writing + Editing” or “Clear, creative, and compelling copy”
Step 2: Pinterest vision board (my “homework”)
Alison started a Pinterest board for me and asked me to add things to it to help the designer get a sense of what I might like for my logo. It was my homework to complete this board before I had the creative meeting with my designer.
Step 3: A creative meeting
This was when I met with the designer, Emma. In this call, we built upon what I’d discussed with Alison during the discovery call, and we also talked a bit more about some of the design specifics. How might I represent my brand visually? What emotions or experiences was I hoping to convey with my logo? Did I have any strong preferences about styling, such as which letters were capitalized or emphasized? What were some tagline ideas that we should consider?
We also looked at my Pinterest board and discussed why I’d chosen the logos I put on there. Some of the points we discussed included the fact that I liked logos that were simple but had an interesting visual element, whether it was a drawing or a monogram. I also chose a few logos that had handwriting because I liked the idea of conveying that my work is very personalized and customized to each client I work with.
Emma took all these ideas and began working her magic. She let me know that she’d be in touch in two weeks to share some options with me based on what we’d discussed.
Step 4: Review first round of logo options
Just as promised, Emma sent me a PDF with the two logo options she’d come up with, along with some mock-ups of how I might use the logos in different places like on a business card or website. Emma also recorded a short Loom video to explain a bit about her process and why she’d chosen those particular designs.
I felt immediately drawn to the first option. I especially liked how Emma explained that the flower could be interpreted as ideas blossoming as well as the pages of a book unfolding.
Step 4: Request some additional refinement
My package included two hours of refinement, so I asked Emma for a few variations on the first logo. I wanted to see a few different options for the font text and tagline, as well as what the monogram might look like at different widths, so she prepared those and shared them with me.
Step 5: Enjoy my new logo!
I let Emma know which version of the logo was my favorite, and she packaged it up in different color variations and file types so I could easily use them in whatever ways I’d like.
Final thoughts and reflections on this process
The final version of the logo feels aligned with what I was looking for—it’s clean and simple, but it still has a little flair and elegance. I love the fact that the image looks like a flower blossoming or a book unfolding, both concepts that represent the work I do helping my clients bring their ideas to the page and the world.
I wanted to share this experience because I imagine many other small business owners go through something similar, wanting to invest in branding but not being sure about how much to spend or what to expect from the process.
I also think it’s important to note how useful it was to have other people involved. Speaking with Alison and Emma helped me think through some important questions about my business goals and how I’d like to be perceived by prospective clients. I’m also really grateful to my friend Lindsey who took the time to let me bounce ideas off her at various stages. If you start to go through this process and ever feel stuck along the way, looping in someone whose opinion you trust can be the key to moving forward with confidence.
I can imagine that this is the first step in the evolution of the Ms. Content brand, so perhaps I’ll have another update in a few years to share whatever comes next!
Main image photo by Shamblen Studios on Unsplash.