While applying for a marketing job last week, I decided to manifest an idea that I had been contemplating for some time. I wanted to create a personal brand that reflected my multi-dimensional professional life. My ideal design incorporated a basic image of a woman surrounded by her life's work and passions. |
Once I decided that a cameo was effective as a simple and elegant representation of a woman, I set about devising a way to create a cameo of my own profile. I found a suitable photo and edited it through Microsoft Word and Paint applications until I achieved the desired result. Here is the original unedited photo alongside the edited cameo:
Using the Paint application, I created a frame using the circle/oval drawing tool. I wanted the frame to subtly
integrate symbols representing my various disciplines. Ideally, a viewer would recognize only the cameo design at first glance, and the disciplines would reveal themselves within the filigree of the frame, clearly visible only upon closer inspection.
Once the frame had been drawn, I cut-and-pasted simple silhouette symbols from public domain clip art. Clockwise from top, the symbols are: a stack of books to represent my background in historical research and library work, an artist's palette to depict my photography business and my involvement in gallery exhibits, a pen to signify my skill in writing, editing, and tutoring, and a harp, which is a universal emblem denoting music and musicianship.
integrate symbols representing my various disciplines. Ideally, a viewer would recognize only the cameo design at first glance, and the disciplines would reveal themselves within the filigree of the frame, clearly visible only upon closer inspection.
Once the frame had been drawn, I cut-and-pasted simple silhouette symbols from public domain clip art. Clockwise from top, the symbols are: a stack of books to represent my background in historical research and library work, an artist's palette to depict my photography business and my involvement in gallery exhibits, a pen to signify my skill in writing, editing, and tutoring, and a harp, which is a universal emblem denoting music and musicianship.
The clear advantage of this design lies in its versatility: it is simple enough to be reproduced in miniature as a logo for a letterhead, but complex enough to appear on a larger scale in a variety of arenas: on a website, or a poster, or any number of marketing materials.
I'm happy to have found a design that represents my professional identity, and hope that it will catch eyes and start conversations, particularly at the interview table!