Capturing Essence: The Rebrand of Kelsey Lynne Walter Photography
In 2015, I had the pleasure of working with Kelsey Lynne Walter Photography to help launch her brand on social media. Fast forward to 2022, Kelsey reached out to me for a comprehensive rebrand that included a new web presence, social media refresh and business card designs.
BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES
Client Overview:
Kelsey Lynne Walter Photography specializes in capturing the essence of weddings and nature. Known for her emotional depth and artistic flair, Kelsey’s work attracts couples planning their special day as well as nature enthusiasts. Her portfolio is celebrated for its authentic storytelling and captivating imagery.
project goals:
Kelsey sought a comprehensive rebrand to modernize her visual identity, ensure scalability, and create a cohesive design system. The primary goals were to update the brand with a contemporary aesthetic, infuse Kelsey’s personal style and interests, and develop a professional yet approachable identity to attract new clients and stand out in a crowded market.
By achieving these goals, we aimed to create a compelling and timeless brand that accurately represents Kelsey’s unique vision and professional excellence.
The Process
Research:
We delved into Kelsey’s personal style and interests, which included her love for tarot cards and astrological imagery, her passion for animals, and her appreciation for modern poetry by RH Sin and Courtney Peppernell. We aimed to create a brand that truly reflected her unique personality and interests.
The Challenge
Upon reevaluating our previous branding work, I identified areas needing improvement: the font was not scalable, and the color palette felt monotone. The challenge was to create a visually compelling brand that encapsulated Kelsey’s personal interests and professional expertise.
Original Branding
Ideation:
With this understanding, I conceptualized a new visual identity incorporating these themes. After a round of sketching, we settled on a waxing crescent moon as the centerpiece of her logo. This symbol, a pet name I had for her, held special meaning and made her brand more personal. We also selected a color palette that reflected her style and personality – various shades of teal, her favorite color, blended into a gradient alongside black and white, creating a timeless yet personal color scheme.
Design:
To maintain a consistent brand image across all platforms, I suggested creating a small library of symbols to complement her main logo. We used images referencing her key interests, including a black cat to represent her love for animals and to add aesthetic synergy to the brand. Additionally, I designed a filled-in variation of her logo with a star, incorporating the astrology element while keeping the overall look simple and modern.
For the type treatment, Kelsey preferred a sans-serif font similar to the one used in our previous branding work but needed something with more visual weight and scalability. After researching fonts used by the poets she admired, we discovered that Galgony had the perfect combination of weight and visual interest. The various weights within the typeface's anatomy solved the scalability issue we faced before while aligning with the contemporary design style we aimed for.
We iterated designs based on Kelsey’s preferences, balancing mystical elements with approachability. Together, we created a professional and welcoming design that reflected her brand identity and values.
To infuse Kelsey's business cards with personality, we utilized the library of icons we had created. These icons were incorporated into a spot gloss pattern on the cards, adding a unique tactile element that caught potential clients' eyes. This use of icons not only gave Kelsey's cards a personal touch but also reinforced her brand identity and created a memorable impression. The result was a set of business cards that were both distinctive and professional, effectively communicating Kelsey's style and values to her target audience.
Business Cards
Social media
To bring Kelsey's brand full circle, we also developed her social media assets to be cohesive with her business card. While developing her social media assets alongside her business card, we aimed to maintain the mysterious qualities integral to her inspirations while striking a balance that would be approachable to her audience. Using the iconography we had created, we modified the original design style and blended it with the business card iconography to create a darker version suitable for social media platforms. The end result was a set of social media assets consistent with her brand identity, communicating her unique style and values to her audience.
web design
For the website design, I took the same "personal-yet-personable" approach, utilizing Kelsey's portfolio of images. To create a striking first impression, I chose a cover image of a bride with her dog from a wedding Kelsey had photographed, perfectly capturing the aesthetic she aimed for. Once her logo was applied to the website in a referential way to her business card, the entire project came into focus as a fully branded identity. We kept the website minimalist, allowing Kelsey's photographic work to speak for itself while enhancing the aesthetics with web elements. Kelsey requested two categories for her website: weddings, which she wanted to focus on expanding her business, and nature & animals, her most widely photographed subject matter. This part of the project is still being developed as her body of work grows, but a video walkthrough of her site can be seen below as it stands today.
Conclusion
Overall, working with Kelsey on the development of her brand identity, business cards, and website was a rewarding experience. Through collaborative brainstorming sessions and meticulous attention to detail, we created a visual identity that accurately represented Kelsey's style and values. By leveraging her portfolio of stunning photographs and incorporating them into the design elements of her brand, we crafted a cohesive and compelling brand that will serve her well as she grows her business. Seeing Kelsey's brand identity come to life through various design elements was exciting, and I am confident that her new brand will help her stand out in a crowded market and attract new clients who appreciate her unique style and approach to photography.