The Birth of Artistically Intoxicated
- Sarah Jackson
- Apr 12, 2024
- 4 min read
I want to start this blog off my saying I wish so bad that I could change the font on this thing. However, This is my only option and we must deal with it.
When I first started what I would consider my "official art journey" in 2017, I knew I wanted to start selling my art. When you sell something, you typically need to have a brand. Today's blog is talking about what I've learned from 2017 to now about creating a brand.*
*Honestly, after proof-reading, I realize there is so much to a total brand -- social media presence, marketing, etc. This is really just what through my mind when creating the bones of Artistically Intoxicated
**Also, this is just my experience. I am sure there are countless successful ways to create a brand; this was just my experience with what i did.
First, let's remind ourselves of the Artistically Intoxicated roots: Alcohol Ink.
Using alcohol ink is what got me excited to create again. Sure, I've made some art here and there. I loved any activity that I could be creative. With alcohol ink, I didn't have to stress if my drawing was perfect, I didn't have to worry about straight lines, I could just create and lose myself in the drops of ink and the surprise of what would come of the glass after I put the picture frame back together again. Below, you will see my very first alcohol ink pieces I created in 2017.
The first thing I thought of was creating the name. The first "brand" name I had was "artbysjackss." That was my social username and I was only sharing my art on Instagram. It was basic and to the point.
One day it came to me: Artistically Intoxicated. Simple. To the point. Matched the fact that my art is created with alcohol ink.
The next was the color scheme. That part came easy to me. As you can see in the image above, the first colors I used were Teal, Magenta, and Yellow. I tried to find the original Tim Holtz 3-pack, however, I don't think it is sold anymore.
Brand Name: Artistically Intoxicated
Brand Colors: Teal, Magenta, Yellow
I decided to create a website because 1. I enjoy doing that and 2. It was an easier way to share my art rather than relying on Instagram. Looking back, I can tell I didn't know what I was doing or what I wanted the image of Artistically Intoxicated to be. There were so many variations of the Artistically Intoxicated website, which I shared in my previous blog post Don't Forget to Start.
At one point, I made business cards that verrrryyyyy closely looked like Kim Kardashian's SKIMS brand. I loved her use of the bold, black lettering.
What I ended up wanting is a simple brand image, while still being fun and exciting to look at. I wanted the focus to be on the art rather than the website design and colors. Sure, I could have fun animations, popups, and bright colors, but that would not support what I wanted my brand image to be! What better way to put this to action than creating my own font and using black text on white background--with a hint of the accent colors thrown in the mix.
It wasn't until late 2023 that I learned creating your own font is not too hard, and it can be free! You can have a fancy/decorative/different font, and the focus is still on the art. I use Calligraphr to create my fonts. As long as you have an iPad/digital tablet or a printer and scanner, you can create a font. I used my iPad, which made it super easy to download the PDF document directly, use my Apple Pencil to write out the font, then upload the file back onto the website to then download onto my computer.
My own font+my favorite color combination+a clean and sleek website layout=my exact goals.
LOGOS! My favorite part! Below, I will include some versions of my logo starting now going back to 2017:
Back then, my main focus before my current logo was the colors, the design, the excitement. Someone else--not me--designed the 2017 logo and I think that is apparent lol. My current logo matches the brand identity: simple and to the point.
You can even see in my previous blog posts during the 2017-2020 era that all the blog photos look the same. Now, I still want some sense of similarity, but they won't be the exact same.
I feel like I could go on-and-on about everything that goes into creating a brand, but I realize there are countless steps that I couldn't put it all into one blog post. After sharing my experience, I will leave you with this:
Don't feel like you failed if you completely change the direction of where you are going. In your personal life or professional life, things change, interests change, you learn and grow. Looking back at my old logos, I think "What the heck was I doing?!" However, back then I thought these logos were the shit and represented me and my art exactly how I wanted--besides the 2017 one, I never used that one. You never know. Never stop experimenting with your art or brand image or personal self!
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