Showit Website and Brand Design for Austin Wedding Photographer Naomi Phelps
May 30, 2024
This Signature Experience (fully custom brand + Showit design) was one for the books!! ?
Naomi Phelps is a wedding + lifestyle photographer based in Austin, Texas. She’s been in the photography industry for over a dozen years, and after quite a few moves around the country, she’s finding her pace in ATX.
Naomi is an incredibly fun, vibrant, and kind human who has such a passion for love, in and of itself, as well as photography. On her Brand Development homework, she shared her story with me, and gosh if that didn’t make me want to give her the best dang design even more:
Photos are the one thing you’re left with after your wedding day, after someone passes that can be passed down with stories and memories told about that person, and a type of heirloom that can be shared with generations to come. It’s timeless. It jogs memories. It brings smile, laughter, tears, and so many emotions all at once. To me, it’s everything and to be the person trusted to tell those stories, freeze those moments, and share in the experience and memories … that’s what I am so passionate about and why I love doing what I do.
When we first got the process of working together rolling, Naomi’s business was named “Sweet Memories Photography” and as much sentimental value as that name held, after doing some pre-project market research, she realized that most people referred to her business by her name, Naomi Phelps. That turned her rebrand into a whole renaming of the business, so we got to start completely from scratch with everything!
Naomi previously had a website that a friend designed for her fifteen years ago that was based in WordPress, and with that many years of blogging, I couldn’t have been more grateful that Showit would migrate all of those blog posts to her account for us!! We definitely didn’t want to lose all of that amazing content that Google and other search engines had already indexed ??
Her photography style is very authentic and true to color, and she makes you feel like best friends instantly, so I knew immediately that we were going to get to have some fun with her design. Naomi’s goal was to start reaching more high-end couples in the Austin area (since she was still relatively new to the Austin wedding market) that love having fun and value the joyful, candid, full-of-love photos that she captures for her clients.
Something else that I noticed was extremely important to Naomi were her pets. She has 3 rescue dogs, 1 birds, and a cat. That just shows her heart for taking care of those she loves even more, so I absolutely wanted to incorporate all her fur and feather babies in her design. Perhaps my favorite part about this project was that I got to collaborate with the most talented illustrator I know, Lauren Rich, to bring these animals to life! Lauren hand-illustrated each of the pets based on photos Naomi sent us, and then I used them as standalone graphics as well in a pattern I created for her.
My mission was to appeal to the luxury market without losing her personality, and we totally did that! I selected vibrant colors that were anchored by a beautiful navy throughout her design. I selected a serif for her main font that had a romantic feel (I mean just look at those “f”s ?) and balanced it with a wide sans serif for her secondary font in her subheadings and buttons. Combining things that don’t typically go together, like luxury and bold/fun, is all about balance after all!
One last tiny detail – Naomi is a Disnerd (huge Disney fan) just like me, so I had to add some hidden mickeys to her website! There’s one hidden mickey by itself on each page of the website, and then a couple in her floral patterns in the background, pop over and see if you can find them all ?
How did you feel about your visual identity before we started working together?
I had no idea what my visual identity for my business was. I had no direction or any kind of vision. I just knew I needed someone who could take my thoughts, style, and personality, put it all together, and take it to a whole new level.
How do you feel about your brand now that our project is complete?
My brand is 100% me and my style of photography. If I could take me and put it into a brand, this would be me in a nutshell. I couldn’t have asked for a brand more true to me and my business!
How would you describe your experience working with J. Ashley Innovations?
Easy, smooth, and fun with open, quick, and honest communication! I felt completely at ease and myself with you, and trusted the process. I felt like you guided me… literally held my hand (virtually) through everything and kept me on track.
What do you love most about your new branding and/or website?
What isn’t there to love?! From the logos and colors to the custom patterns and illustrations of my fur and feather-babies, this website is a dream. It’s exactly what I didn’t know I wanted and so much more. I wanted real, genuine, authentic, and joyful that would be my forever brand and site and it is that to the T.
What would you say to a friend who was on the fence about investing in my design experience?
Why are you on the fence? If you want someone who gets you, can represent what you do and who you are, and make it so you’re not some cookie-cutter business, then you want Jordan.
Why did you ultimately choose to hire me?
It started with the feel and look of your own website. It spoke to me. Then I felt that between your “About Me,” Instagram, and our Zoom call that our personalities and likes were very much aligned. Lastly, when you told me who your ideal client is, I knew you were IT.
I couldn’t recommend Jordan with J.Ashley Innovations enough. If you want someone who gets you, can represent what you do and who you are, and make it so you’re not some cookie-cutter business, then you want Jordan. She’s worth the investment!
Are you ready to level-up your own business’ brand & website?
Whether your goal is to raise rates, book your dream clients, design rave-worthy client experiences, or build a life you’re obsessed with, we’ll craft a design you love showing off!
Hey, I'm Jordan!
BRAND AND WEBSITE DESIGNER FOR WEDDING PROS & CREATIVES
I’m a designer who’s just as comfortable talking sales psychology and pricing as I am talking color psychology and mood boards.
Because to be honest with you, pretty designs are cute and all, but you’ll go much farther and faster if your brand reflects where you want to be five, ten years from now. Just saying.
Since 2018, I’ve helped over 130 female founders through the process of crafting a luxury brand fueled by their definition of success.
Whether your goal is to raise rates, book a higher caliber of clientele, design rave-worthy client experiences, or build a more flexible lifestyle, we’ll create a newfound confidence in your business with a brand you’re proud to stand behind.
ways that we can work together
Up-level your brand, website, and vision to propel you forward.
Design exactly what your wedding business needs in 8 hours time.
The self-paced solution to breaking into the luxury wedding market.
Below you'll find a carefully curated selection of recent brands and websites I've designed. To see more detailed projects along with reviews and the reason behind specific designs, head to my portfolio.
