Branding the Band

It has been a little over year now since Hooray For Love began. It started as just a few friends experimenting with their love for electronic pop music. It has grown into the project that we are always dying to work on. We can wait to play more shows or get back into the studio to track more songs. We released our debut EP last year (available on iTunes and NoiseTrade), and we’re getting ready to work on a series of singles over the summer.

One of the most interesting parts for me has been the opportunity to develop a brand for the band from the ground up. It has been an experiment of sorts over the last year, defining the look, logo, and promotional materials for the band. I can’t say I still love everything I’ve done, but it has been a lot of fun and a bit of a challenge.

Check out this teaser video to get a little taste of the music, then feel free to browse a little bit of my Hooray For Love design work.

And here is the work:

EP Cover

Wonderful Day single cover

T-shirt designs

Web banner

Light and dark options

Just for kicks... here are some of the drafts of the album artwork

MailChimp Makes Me Want To Design Emails

I've had some experience in the past, designing emails for email campaigns. It was always something I hated to do. The limitations of the medium can be frustrating. It was almost as bad as designing custom Myspace sites, and dealing with all the garbage code that makes that task such a joy.

Along Comes MailChimp

MailChimp gets me excited about email marketing. They have some incredible features, that you can't find anywhere else. Plus, the design team behind the site is top notch. Every time I check out the site, I get inspired to create.

I have barely even started using MailChimp, but I can already tell I'll be using it for a while. While writing this post, I've been sitting here pondering who I can convince to start an email campaign, just so I can play with some of the MC features!

Invoicing Made Easy

If you've been freelancing for a while, you've probably already heard of Fresh Books. I've been using the site for the last couple years, and it is a life saver. Tracking your time, storing client info, and invoicing doesn't have to be hard. If you haven't heard about it before, or haven't checked it out in a while, do yourself a favor. Go check out what's new at Fresh Books!

World Backup Day

I missed it this year because I found out about it a few days late, but I think World Backup Day is a great idea. As a freelance designer/developer, I've definitely learned the hard way that backing up your data is extremely important. Waiting until the day an old client calls you wanting to update their site and realizing the hard drive with their files is corrupt, is not a fun way to start a day.

Backup your data! And if you missed World Backup Day this year, don't wait until next year to backup your files.

Welcome to the New Blog

What started off as an assignment for my Marketing class at Full Sail University has developed into the realization that I might have something useful to share. It has been a while since I’ve blogged with any regularity, and when I did, there was never much of a clear focus.

Enter a New Day

Having spent the last few years as a freelancer (in music, design, and web development), I’ve learned a few things. I’ve learned a lot from other extremely talented people, who I am privileged to call my friends. I’ve also learned a lot about what NOT to do, as I’ve stumbled through the process of running my own business.

So, why the new blog?

Chances are, this will be mostly self-serving. I need a place to collect my thoughts, record my experiences, as well as, archive useful tools and sources of inspiration. That said, I have the feeling that I’m not the only one who will find it useful.

I absolutely love working with other people. I thrive on the energy that comes from getting a group of people together to tackle a problem. And what’s more, I love learning from other people. There’s something beautiful in the sharing of experiences.

My hope is that this will be a place I can share with others; whether it is something I’ve learned from someone else, a link to a site I find useful, or just something I found inspiring or got a laugh from.

In the meantime, check out just 5 of the people I am fortunate to call friends that inspire and challenge me:

• Stephen Hunton - brother / photographer / creative
• Ryan Booth - a man of many talents
• Zach Hendricks - roommate & bandmate
• Jason Stirman - uber nerd & creative guy
• Zach McNair - photographer & designer

*These are just a few of my friends who inspire me. In the future, I will definitely be sharing more and introducing you to some of the amazing creative work they are doing.