Next month marks my official business birthday and my business baby has reached a double-digit milestone! TEN WHOLE YEARS IN BUSINESS! 

I’ve had the joy and honour of telling so many stories over the past ten years and it makes me kind of emotional to think of how many important moments I’ve documented for people over that time.  I’m so grateful every day that I get to do this!  

I wanted to celebrate this milestone in my own story and the story of Ryan’s Daughter Photography by refreshing and realigning my visual branding. 

Deciding to change

My previous logo served me well for a long time, and now it’s the right time to lovingly retire my old branding, and step into something new that embodies the creative spirit, celebration of story, and the lasting impact I want for the future. 

Deciding to refresh and realign my branding was an exciting idea but as a creative person, and as someone who has to make all the business decisions on my own (because I’m the boss), I had the challenge of both overthinking the process and being drawn towards countless creative possibilities.

Because my business is a personal brand and something that is so deeply part of my life, working with a professional designer was important to me.  Sure, I could have tinkered around and created something in Canva, but

• a) I wanted to honour my story better than that
• b) I wanted something actually good
• c) I knew a professional would have more depth of understanding about everything than I do,
• d) celebrating through an experience like this helped me to really feel and be present in the celebration of this milestone. 

I’m thrilled to have worked with the team at Inkdrop Design Co to create something truly unique for me. 

I’ve never been someone who’s fit in with what’s trending (like, ever, much to my disappointment as a young teenager, trying to make everything at Glassons work for me – being trendy has never quite been me!!). So it was my specific and probably strange request to stay away from trendy looks in the design. With everything that I create, it comes from a deep reflection of who I am.

The Inkdrop team were nothing short of incredible. With their in-depth discovery process, they were able to pull out the key essence of my brand, my messaging and the direction I wanted to move in for the future. Their willingness to collaborate and integrate all the elements I wanted shows just how dedicated and experienced they are in their ability to translate ‘creative brain juice’ into a gorgeous design. If you are looking to do the same for your business, I can’t recommend them highly enough.

Introducing the new era of Ryan’s Daughter Photography:

Of course, it wouldn’t be a ‘Ryan’s Daughter’ thing if there wasn’t a story behind every decision.

The new brand colours are centred around my love of jewel tones, which comes from my fascination with the natural world. Yeah, I’m your friend that collects pretty rocks, stops to investigate interesting moss and regularly has a new insect fact to share.

The main feature colour is deep emerald green (my favourite colour!) supported by dark sapphire and rich citrine and of course, classic black and white. 

The typeface has a kind of storybook feeling to it, which I love, because – as you’ll know by now- storytelling is kind of my thing. The combination of the thin and thick lines gives me a sense of history and it reminds me of the calligraphy seen in old books with illuminated letters. I love bringing that feeling of awe, depth, history and art into my brand. 

And finally, the new monogram icon – possibly my favourite part – which draws everything together. 

The monogram itself brings in some of the vibes from my original logo with the swooping letter formations. It’s surrounded by fine linework inspired by a beautiful leadlight window in the bedroom of my art deco home. The linework also represents the way that light bounces and reflects through the elements of a camera lens to bring an image into focus.  I love the idea of having an icon that acts as a seal of authenticity for my work too. 

The Inkdrop team have done the most incredible job of translating my creative brain juice and all my requests into something not only cohesive but totally beautiful.

I adore my new branding and I hope you do too.