Work in Process
The Swail Studio Blog about Branding,
visual identity, magic, and the void.
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.
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 🍊 🌞 🍋 🌱 🍋🟩
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
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?
6 ways that branding = magical practice
For all the witches and occult practitioners: Have you ever wondered if your brand and “aesthetic” is important or worth investing in? Well, it’s kind of like explaining to someone why they should give a fuck about MAGIC.
Why what you’re aesthetically drawn to isn’t always FOR YOU
I am saturated, opaque, intense. I am not sheer. I am not soft. I am clear, bright, obvious. I am high-contrast. There’s no point in toning it down - it is my natural state. It is so much easier for me to embody “bright, crisp, and clear” than “muted.” No matter how much I was told or shown otherwise.
Graphic design is not my passion.
At risk of self-sabotaging, let me explain…
The truth is that I don’t, and have never, “lived and breathed” brand design. However… I'm pretty fucking good at it. I enjoy and care about it deeply enough to make a sustainable living out of it.
And it happens to make my clients a lot more money.
You need a mood board. No exceptions.
It’s the “secret” to my process. It's a translation from the verbal and energetic into the visual. It’s a mood. It’s a strategic direction. It's a peek into what is possible. It’s divination.
Steal my brand guidebook 😈
If you’ve ever asked or wondered what you tangibly get when you hire us… you’ll want to check this out. And I encourage you to envision what YOUR brand guidebook could look like as you watch.
If you do nothing else for your brand, make a playlist
Playlists are one of my favorite ways to energetically explore and develop a brand without putting pressure on the visual part of it.