The phrase Artist Brand is currently applied
in marketing circles as a known entity, an idea now as commonplace as social media
itself. Experts say you need to know your Artist Brand straight out of the
cradle. The pressure is on, patrons are buying You the Artist, your Brand, so
one must create their own unique Brand in order to have a long and successful
career. Artists everywhere are panicking, grasping away at this fleeting, intangible
concept, trying desperately to burn their mark into history. OMG! My Brand! I
need one or I'll fade out of existence. But do we really even know what the
Artist Brand is? To me it is the Artist's entire package, who you are, what you
create, why you create it and how you do it. It's your personal philosophy, personality
and your story. The Artist Brand is what makes you, you, those elusive qualities
combined in a way that makes the viewer recognize your art, as your art. It is your
voice, the soul, the essence of the work, the way your art makes someone else
feel. Other aspects of the Artist Brand might include a recognizable Artist signature,
style, logo, color palette, as well as a level of consistency and quality. Your
brand might include specific subject matter or location. But really, your Artist
Brand is a magical undefined thing that makes you stand out from all of the
other artists doing exactly what you do. My personal Artist Brand has evolved
over the decades and become more or less defined depending on my direction and motivation
of the time. One aspect of my Artist Brand that I designed in 2004 was this
AEF Logo:
I continue to incorporate a variation of this AEF logo into my works in place of a traditional artist signature today. I still feel strongly about its power to aid in my personal Artist Brand recognition, keeping in mind that it is always included as a conscious part of each design, unlike many artist’s signatures that are splattered like after thoughts or simply just not included. My art matters to me, my authorship matters, because after all, the patrons are not only buying the art, but also You the Artist. This AEF signature was designed when I first started marketing the Exalted Beauty Medallions. Back then, before the prevalence of social media, I belonged to a small online community of artists whose advice and grasp of the Artist Brand were way ahead of its time. So in my way, I am paying it forward, by sharing my experiences on this blog. Here is a look at my business card from the same time period:
With the evolution of my work focusing more toward the Exalted Beauty Medallions, I redesigned the AEFraser.com website to match. You may want a refresher of the first version seen here in “Self As Web Icon”. That’s what the experts call Re-Branding ladies and gentleman. It will happen to you as well, I’m sure. So while you are absolutely allowed to grow and change as an artist, stay true to yourself. "Be Authentic". Identify your message, meaning and intent and execute it. And most commonly recommended (although not followed by me personally) is, find your niche. Please research the concept of Artist Brand further on your own as I certainly am not an expert. I might add that even the experts have difficulty defining exactly what an Artist Brand is. It is definitely more than a logo design. The Artist Brand is a whole entity that needs deep contemplation and consideration, because by defining it, you are on many levels, defining yourself. There are countless articles on the Artist Brand topic and I highly recommend combining the set of "branding instructions" that work best for you. Or not, you could be anti-brand and there are plenty of articles available on that topic as well. Best of luck to you in all of your Art Marketing endeavors!
I continue to incorporate a variation of this AEF logo into my works in place of a traditional artist signature today. I still feel strongly about its power to aid in my personal Artist Brand recognition, keeping in mind that it is always included as a conscious part of each design, unlike many artist’s signatures that are splattered like after thoughts or simply just not included. My art matters to me, my authorship matters, because after all, the patrons are not only buying the art, but also You the Artist. This AEF signature was designed when I first started marketing the Exalted Beauty Medallions. Back then, before the prevalence of social media, I belonged to a small online community of artists whose advice and grasp of the Artist Brand were way ahead of its time. So in my way, I am paying it forward, by sharing my experiences on this blog. Here is a look at my business card from the same time period:
With the evolution of my work focusing more toward the Exalted Beauty Medallions, I redesigned the AEFraser.com website to match. You may want a refresher of the first version seen here in “Self As Web Icon”. That’s what the experts call Re-Branding ladies and gentleman. It will happen to you as well, I’m sure. So while you are absolutely allowed to grow and change as an artist, stay true to yourself. "Be Authentic". Identify your message, meaning and intent and execute it. And most commonly recommended (although not followed by me personally) is, find your niche. Please research the concept of Artist Brand further on your own as I certainly am not an expert. I might add that even the experts have difficulty defining exactly what an Artist Brand is. It is definitely more than a logo design. The Artist Brand is a whole entity that needs deep contemplation and consideration, because by defining it, you are on many levels, defining yourself. There are countless articles on the Artist Brand topic and I highly recommend combining the set of "branding instructions" that work best for you. Or not, you could be anti-brand and there are plenty of articles available on that topic as well. Best of luck to you in all of your Art Marketing endeavors!
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