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Get It On Paper: A Roadmap For Creatives
May 11, 2012 Kathleen

One of the things we do here at Braid is help aspiring creative entrepreneurs who are not quite ready for a brand design pinpoint their purpose, define their dream... and get it on paper. You think it would be easy enough to be on the same page with yourself but if there is one thing we’ve learned about working with artistpreneurs is that they are not at a lack for vision. In fact, they typically have so much vision and talent they don’t know where to start and what it looks like to see a project to fruition.

We give them a roadmap of sorts. Because before you can clearly brand yourself with a look and feel you have to identify your content. You have to know where you’re going.

Rory Gordon Creative Roadmap
Rory Gordon Roadmap Detail

Rory Gordon Roadmap Detail B

This winter we worked with Rory Gordon on doing just that. Rory is a talented photographer, documentarian and color specialist making her way as a creative in LA. She hired us for some creative coaching and in exchange we hired her to document a day of Braid. She gave us a irreverent and authentic portrait of our business and in return we gave her a healthy dose of business vision.

Rory shared a little more about her Braid experience with us on her blog. (But start a few posts back - Rory tells a great story about her life and struggles as a creative entrepreneur.)

Images by Aurora Gordon.


As Seen On, Braid At Work & Play
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The Inseparability of Person And Business
April 24, 2012 Tara

A lot of you guys already know that Kathleen blogs over here at Jeremy & Kathleen. In fact a lot of you who read Braid, found your way over here from J&K.  It’s funny, because when Kathleen and I decided to start our own small business, we though “okay, how do we separate Kathleen’s brand from Braid?” You know, cause Braid is serious-business-right? Oh, silly, silly girls.  That’s the wise me talking to the silly me seven months later.  Because the obvious answer is. You don’t.

Jeremy and Kathleen Collage

Kathleen’s readers have always been drawn to her style and transparency. Sometimes having that strong of a point of view (stripes in the hallway! yikes!) or being really brutally honest (what it takes to fire a client) can be polarizing. You love it or hate it. 

When we started Braid up we knew that 1.) we wanted to specialize, have our own unique niche, so that our clients could come to us (and us to them) from anywhere, and that 2.) our creativity would always be based on methodology.  We thought our clients might spring up from our advertising past. Were we wrong. So many of our clients, like our readers, have come from Kathleen’s blog. Our niche found us. And they are the creative professionals, creative entrepreneurs and creative small business owners –  from Cleveland, Ohio to Seattle, Washington to here in Oklahoma City.

Kathleen’s Freelance Matters series and travel documentary of her Nepal trek have had the most influence on how we construct our blog over here on the Braid site.  Is it a coincidence that these two series happen to tap into the best practices behind the business side of creativity and the planning and determination it takes to get from one point to another and then turn around and weave a story around it that takes every reader right along with you? Um, that was a long question. The short answer is “yes, we thought it was a coincidence.” Now we know that personal brand and business brand are almost inseparable. You’d think sisters who are business partners would have seen this truth as clear as day. That’s okay, because now we can’t see it any other way.

A Sampling of Personal-Meets-Business J&K Posts:

• Balance vs. Alignment

• Blogging Matters

• How To Work With A Printer

• Hiring Help

• Anatomy of An Outfit Series

• Plus, The Famous Nepal Trek

• And Last But Not Least, The Infamous Striped Hallway

Braid At Work & Play
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Speaking To The Students
April 13, 2012 Kathleen

Along with speaking to our people about branding and finding your niche I’ve also been making my way around the local universities. A pattern I’m noticing across the board with senior design students is that they’re all freaking out about transitioning into the real world. Their professors are sharing horror stories about botched print jobs coming out of their paychecks, 80-hour work weeks and painful due-paying to be had. I’ve got a lot of compassion for these kids - because it wasn’t that long ago (was it really 8 years ago?!) that I was in the same boat.

Braid Speaking to Students

So here’s some advice I’ve been sharing with students lately:

1. Be nice. It’s kind of a given that students right out of school aren’t going to have the best design skills. You’re being hired based on potential and personality. So be nice.

2. Be consistent. Now as I review student work I’m not necessarily looking at the work itself but how the portfolio is put together. Are all the boards trimmed nicely? Is the work presented in a consistent manner? Are the creative rationales well designed? The way a portfolio is put together says a lot about the designer.

3. Typography. Typography. Typography. At my design school there was a heavy emphasis on typography. Before we touched a computer we spent semesters drawing type with pen and ink. I feel like many students treat type as an afterthought - rather than crafting a piece of copy it’s as if they just haphazardly hammer it out on their keyboard - and it makes me sad.

4. Don’t default to black. It’s an epidemic. I feel like every student uses the color black as a default - especially when it comes to typography (see #4). I’m not saying black is bad - but be intentional about your color palettes.

5. Design students get jobs. It was my college friends who were English, sociology and psychology majors that were waiting tables and working at record stores.

6. These days it’s not about just having great ideas. These days you have to be a triple threat. You have to be able to wear at least 3 of the following hats to be hireable: design, write, communicate, coordinate, code, craft, illustrate, and ideate.  

7. You have more to learn. Elsewhere. I remember upon graduating a lot of my classmates started talking about grad school or freelancing. But trust. You have more to learn - outside of a school setting. Get a job. Get a mentor. Work hard and keep learning.

Our part-time graphic designer Kristin shared what she learned about being a design student over on my blog here. And if you're currently a design student or wanting to learn more check out Larry Hefner's blog here for lots of practical tips.

Do you have advice to add for design students? Let us know over on our Facebook.


Braid At Work & Play
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