The Reason Behind Dragonfly Ave’s Brand Refresh

Still excited about the Dragonfly Ave website redesign and am still absolutely loving it. Desigining for yourself is HARD!! And honestly, I have a real love/hate relationship when it comes to my own brand – I mean, don’t get me wrong, I totally love it, but I also don’t ever really want to deal with it again. Now I believe there’s a right + wrong time to invest initially your brand + website. There is also a right + wrong time to invest in a brand refresh. For me, it ended up being the right time. So I wanted to share the reason behind Dragonfly Ave’s brand refresh.

Ultimately the main reason behind Dragonfly Ave’s brand refresh was due to the initial lack of clarity, strategy, personal touches + happiness and too much emphasis on perfection + originiality surrounding the brand. When I started out, I knew I loved the name but really had a tough time creating a cohesive vibe, blending my passions + making decisions. That lead to multiple design changes + brand inconsistency, which is no bueno. So I’ll break down the main reasons below as well as offer my suggestion for how to move forward if you feel that you’re in a similar position with your business.

1 | I simply wasn’t happy

Simply put, I just wasn’t happy with my brand + it was holding me back. Now, it was more than being unhappy with the colors or fonts, but more so feeling limited in what I was ‘allowed’ to share or create. With my designs in the past, my focus was first and foremost the strategy component, but in doing so, I lost the joy of creating something out of love. Combining my love for food + design was always a struggle but was something I also always wanted to do. However hard I tried to put that on the sidelines, it just wouldn’t stick. And soon enough I had a nagging feeling of unhappiness with this business I was building. I knew that I had to find some way to combine both passions. Leading with design (since it was the more prominent money making, strategic option) and making food an additional staple of what Dragonfly Ave was known for (but putting it in a passenger position rather than a backseat), made the most sense. At the end of the day, it felt right. Now, with this new re-design, I’m much happier + more excited to move forward!

2 | Need for Perfection

Perfection is a killer for businesses. It stunts your growth + breaks your confidence. Since my goal for the design side of my business was to price for higher end clients, I felt that, not only did my business need to be perfect but my life had to be as well. My reality had to be a real life version of the curated ‘Instagram Feed’ in order to be worthy of higher paying clients. That caused me to trickle down the unhappiness from my business to my life. Nothing I did or had felt good enough and that just killed my confidence. What I learned, was that you don’t need to be perfect, just do your best to have your sh*t together – especially when it comes to serving your clients. Mistakes, imperfections, failures – all happen to everyone. Since I was so concerned about needing to be perfect, I kept from sharing my story, from showing up + ultimately from being of service. Now, with this refresh, I feel that I can be more open, show up as myself, not be as self-conscious about my mistakes, failures, missteps + I feel more aligned with my business.

3 | Setting Up for the future

A refresh is simply setting yourself up for the future. Now with a lot of the foundational issues tackled + taken care of, I was ready to take on a refresh. One that wouldn’t need to change again in a few weeks. The new design really had to reflect my growth, my decisions + my vision for the brand moving forward. Sometimes taking a step back (or two) can really open your eyes and get you back on the right path. I’m really proud + happy with how my refresh turned out + excited to see where it all leads.

What to do if you’re struggling?

Like I mentioned above, there is a right time + wrong time for a brand refresh. Sometimes things are simply not working, are outdated or your business is taking a new direction. If you are struggling, I suggest taking a step back and answering the simple, foundational questions: why are you doing this, what are you doing + who do you want to serve. I’d also suggest simply asking yourself if where you are at + what you are doing is actually making you happy. If you aren’t happy, then that needs to be addressed + you need to figure out why. At the end of the day, it’s all about doing + creating a life and business you love + are happy with!

LEAVE A COMMENT!