Branding Session, Artist Statement, Content Audit and Wireframes
Wildlife Artist, Ronelle Reid
I met Ronelle at my ‘Blogging for Business’ session, held at Logan North Library in March 2020.
She’d just been made redundant from her job in animal welfare, and had thrown herself into her building a career as a wildlife artist.
She wasn’t new to art. She’d exhibited before, and had been building her portfolio around her job for many years.
But now it was time to learn how to build a successful art business.
Details
- March-May 2020
- Branding Session
- Artist Statement
Categories
- Website Content Audit
- Website Wireframes
The Challenge
Being new to her creative business, Ronelle wanted:
- to learn how to build her brand and promote it so it connected with her collectors
- guidance and feedback on her website, to make sure it was clear, easy to use and compelling.
I gave Ronelle some feedback on her arts grant application for the Regional Arts Development Fund (RADF), and this is when she realised she needed to write about her artwork in a meaningful way.
Ronelle didn’t feel confident in her writing skills, and she wanted to share her art’s impact, and the environmental message in the clearest way possible.
This was a unique challenge because she needed her art to stand out amongst all the other wildlife artists.
The Process
STAGE 1:
I began by:
- Researching everything about Ronelle’s art, her goals, her processes and the messages she wanted to share
- Defining her values, personality, and vision
From there we sat down together to go through her brand piece by piece in a Branding Strategy Session. In this session we:
- Reviewed her brand, her audience and the path her collectors were taking to find her
- Reviewed her digital tools and sales funnel to match her business goals
- Created a strategy to promote her arts practice that aligned with her brand
STAGE 2:
Once Ronelle was clear on her branding, messaging and strategy, I conducted a Content Audit of her website. As part of this I:
- Presented my recommendations via video
- Created wireframes (aka visual representations) for 7 core pages on her site
- Provided Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) guidance for each page as I went.
Ronelle loved these wireframes!
STAGE 3:
Now Ronelle was clear on her branding and website, I moved on to write her Artist Statement to share her quirky, yet thought-provoking style.
She loved it so much that after the First Draft, she wrote:
“Love it, I can’t add anything to change. You get me!”
The Copy
Working with Ronelle was amazing. She was was responsive, friendly and gave clear directions. I fell for her artwork and even commissioned a piece as a gift for my sister!
Artist Statement
“Inspired by her love of animals, artist Ronelle Reid uses ink, oils and watercolours to create detailed, visual narratives that explore the relationships between animals and their habitats.
Her style is a combination of colourful, naturalist work with quirky compositions that pair species who don’t coexist or share habitats. She invites viewers to ask why the rules of land, air and sea no longer apply, and wonder why fish happily swim through the antlers of a bongo antelope and butterflies flutter around a moray eel.
As a dedicated artist, Ronelle spent countless hours studying animals in museums, using the taxidermic displays to understand and convey their forms. It wasn’t until she started work with RSPCA that her experience with animal welfare gave her a new perspective…”
Read more on Ronelle’s website.
The Results
Because of the work we’d done to define her branding and help her communicate her message clearly, Ronelle found the confidence to apply for funding, exhibitions, programs, residencies and more.
One of her successful grant applications, was with Regional Arts Fund (facilitated by Flying Arts Alliance). She completed a residency at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, which has led to further opportunities and greater audience exposure.
The press release I wrote for this generated press across various media including Channel 7, the Courier Mail, Jimboomba Times, Our Logan Magazine, Queensland Wildlife Artists Society Inc (QWASI) and more!
It’s been such a pleasure getting to know Ronelle, and throughout the year, I sent her info about funding available, and reviewed and supported her through those grants. I watched her knuckle down, grow and achieve her goals. She’s shown incredible tenacity and willingness to learn, and I know she’ll achieve amazing things!
Ali has not only given me many great tools and resources for my creative business, she’s also given me confidence to speak about what I’m passionate about in a way that will see results.
Working with Ali has been so easy, her friendly and creative style makes figuring out even the most complicated project rewarding.
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