Work in Process
The Swail Studio Blog about Branding,
visual identity, magic, and the void.
![I won’t convince you that you need to rebrand.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/624b61285efb0b7550456b16/1736450748446-8V2WGMBC5EITIC6LAKQG/andrey-andreyev-s20nA2KB1N4-unsplash.jpg)
I won’t convince you that you need to rebrand.
My clients already value branding, and already have a budget for it. Their big decision is choosing the right designer or agency to make it happen.
When they find me, they often tell me that they immediately knew I would get them, and they are ready to go.
![Brand design emergencies don't exist.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/624b61285efb0b7550456b16/1732745455348-JI5A4W80MBPKYJOG5TR5/jan-antonin-kolar-74ravqutfqo-unsplash.jpg)
Brand design emergencies don't exist.
Not only will rushing the process not help anything, but you'll get the best result by designing for the future — not right now.
![So you’re done with the whole black-on-beige femme-script-font “soulpreneur” look... now what?](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/624b61285efb0b7550456b16/1732745698257-E29DOKNV399ZWNJEUCEP/bgs-proof_0003_4.png)
So you’re done with the whole black-on-beige femme-script-font “soulpreneur” look... now what?
If you’re not a traditional business owner, the traditional “branding package” won’t necessarily be a great fit for you.
These are the specific needs I identified over 10+ years helping weirdos honor their truest selves in their visual brand.
![Would you still wear retail when you can afford couture?](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/624b61285efb0b7550456b16/54d5891b-1d8c-480c-9de9-dd5abd0d5ac6/IMG_3266.jpg)
Would you still wear retail when you can afford couture?
A question for the coaches and other kinda weird business owners who “didn’t need pretty branding” to succeed:
If you’ve already mastered marketing, sales, strategy, content, copy, energetics all the way to ~$1M…
Why would you NOT want to bring the aesthetics of your business up to match them for like $10-20k?
If you can afford couture, you wouldn’t show up to a red carpet in the same thing you wore to your first ever networking event years ago. So why is sticking with your old make-do branding ok with you???
![how to strategically half-ass things](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/624b61285efb0b7550456b16/1727813376231-3WVZXF1XSOBKY3DVDTMU/bgs_0001_2.png)
how to strategically half-ass things
Dispatch from my Mars return in Cancer 🦀
Especially when it comes to business, absolutely none of the Mars in Cancer advice matches up with conventional “get shit done” motivational advice.
After 5 years of selling stuff on the internet, I understand how I have to approach business better than ever, and it’s frankly not generally recommended.
![WARM SOPHISTICATED SIMPLICITY 🏠🪴🖍️🛋️](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/624b61285efb0b7550456b16/1726773972789-3XSO15PATJQP333DA0R8/BKST_Social01.jpg)
WARM SOPHISTICATED SIMPLICITY 🏠🪴🖍️🛋️
Meet the new visual identity and website for Brooklyn Speech Therapy!
Taylor is the founder, and her unconventional approach hinges on working with clients in their own homes — so her brand needed to feel just as inviting, cozy, and clean as the home of a Brooklyn professional (given that there will always be coffee mugs out, stickers on walls, and art on the fridge).
![MEET FIREBRAND ❤️🔥](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/624b61285efb0b7550456b16/6db1efdf-10a8-4a75-a9fb-ef32ac312039/19Nx.gif)
MEET FIREBRAND ❤️🔥
FIREBRAND is the rebrand for unconventional business owners that honors your weirdness, so you can show up as your full self and call in your deepest-dream clients at a price point that truly reflects your expertise.
![I was hired based on the color of my resume paper.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/624b61285efb0b7550456b16/1724297051937-W2LKSKG26M339WG47AQP/6fddcea5-936f-4775-9730-13bb5bc6a716_text.gif)
I was hired based on the color of my resume paper.
I had no idea that this was how it went down until my art director told me the story over lunch six months later...
![SUNSHINE, FRESHNESS & FLOW 🍊 🌞 🍋 🌱 🍋🟩](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/624b61285efb0b7550456b16/215fa7b8-0114-4fda-9d47-391c7e12968a/ggm-guidebook01.jpg)
SUNSHINE, FRESHNESS & FLOW 🍊 🌞 🍋 🌱 🍋🟩
Inspired by the movement and flow of art nouveau — and the dance backgrounds shared by the members — the logo and accents incorporate varied line weights and intentionally-imperfect curves and flourishes that draw the eye through logos and patterns.
![unobstructed views](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/624b61285efb0b7550456b16/a48549cb-f057-4dbe-8750-041bcc2d9c54/IMG_2576.jpeg)
unobstructed views
I had no grasp of just how obstructed my view of the sky is in NYC until I moved away. We all know that moving somewhere new means a big PeRsPeCtIvE sHiFt. But literally… have you ever just looked at THE SKY in utter awe?