By “the new Demi Bang”, I’m not talking about a new year new me, kind of a thing. I’m talking about a rebranding! As I’m getting older and going through different phases in my life, my blog is too.

My Social Media Journey

Some of you may already know this, but I started my social media journey when I was 12 years old. I discovered makeup tutorials on YouTube and became obsessed. My mom said I was too young to wear makeup, so I wasn’t allowed to buy any. However, I noticed that beauty YouTubers were getting makeup sent to them for free in exchange for a vtyd3ideo review.

As a determined 12-year-old makeup lover, I made YouTube videos using my mom’s makeup and eventually started pitching to cosmetic companies. I landed my first sponsored video when I was 13 years old.

Now, looking back, it’s crazy to think that I was only 13 years old when I started pitching to companies. I was just a little girl that loved makeup so much, haha. From there, I learned how to pitch to companies and build relationships with brands while, of course, trying to figure out this whole realm of social media.

I stopped making YouTube videos because I didn’t have the best living situations (read about how I moved 4 times in one year during college).

In 2016, during my first year at Arizona State University, I started my blog. Before Instagram had the carousel feature, I mainly used my blog as a photo dump for my modeling photos. It wasn’t until a clothing company reached out to me that I saw potential in my blog.

My blog shifted from being essentially a photo gallery to a college lifestyle blog. Now that I have graduated from college, it’s time to reevaluate my blog. Towards the end of my undergrad, I struggled to figure out the next steps in my blog.

Will I be just a lifestyle blogger? Do I have any specialties? What’s my niche? 

I was having a quarter-life crisis, haha, and I told myself that it was okay! My blog is basically my public journal, and I don’t need to categorize myself. Whenever someone asks me what my blog is about, I tell them, “My blog is for recent college graduates entering adulthood.” That’s technically who and what I am!

Branding Myself

I always found branding myself very difficult. Let’s take a trip down memory lane of my personal brand history.

2016

I started my blog in 2016. My blog was first introduced on WordPress.com (demibang.wordpress.com). I decided to do free web hosting because I was a broke college student. I told myself that if I could get at least 200 views a month for at least 2 months, I would commit financially and make a website instead of using a free web hosting platform.

Old brand guidelines that I made back in 2016/2017 but never used.

2017

After three months, I migrated from WordPress.com to WordPress.org. Oh, the headaches of switching platforms! I wish I had the money back then and hired someone to do it for me. I remember being up all night trying to figure it out, haha.

When I made the transition, I wanted a cleaner logo, so I decided to remove the drop shadow and add colors – you can kind of see the pink on my website. I also changed my blog theme from Hipster Theme’s Fixie to Bella Creative’s Scarlett.

2019

After nearly 2 years of having my previous logo, I wanted something a little bit more clean and modern. Introducing my new logo for 2019! I used Montserrat as my main font and Tiffany Script as the subscript. As for my pink, I went with a deeper nude pink color than the previous one.

Click on the image to view my complete 2019 brand guidelines.

2020

As we’re approaching 2020, I wanted to make my blog look more sophisticated, so I removed the Tiffany Script. Additionally, I changed my blog theme from Bella Creative’s Scarlett to Underline Designs’ Alt. This was my attempt at another rebranding but I did not want to go all out or change drastically. You might have seen a few changes here and there on my blog but it wasn’t anything that seemed unusual.

After a few weeks, I wasn’t in love with my logo or my color palette – something was missing. It felt outdated. However, I was still in school, working at my day job, and focusing on sponsored campaigns that I didn’t have time to think about a rebrand.

Why I Decided to Do a New Personal Rebranding

Besides feeling unhappy with my current branding, I felt like it was time to do a personal rebrand. The firm that I work at did a company rebrand and I learned so much about how to rebrand successfully and the process that goes behind it. After seeing the things that go into the rebranding strategy, I felt like it was time. As I approach a new chapter in my life – no longer a college student, I needed a new identity and a new brand.

Rebranding

Doing a rebranding can seem scary (especially a personal rebranding) – in fact, I was nervous! I read a post on when it’s time to rebrand, and here’s what I learned:

• Differentiate from the competition – there’s really no competition in blogging, in my opinion!
• Give new life to outdated branding
• Outgrow poor reputation
• Rebrand when business evolves

Entrepreneur has a rebranding section that is super helpful if you’re looking to see if rebranding is a good strategy for you and your company!

Rebranding is more than new logos, new font selections, new colors, etc. It’s a brand identity! It’s about a new feel and how you want your customers (or readers in my case) to feel when they first see your brand! I thought long and hard about what I should do. One thing I knew was if I were to rebrand myself, I don’t think I would have been satisfied.

I knew I needed to get a branding expert to help with my personal rebranding!

Rouse Creative

I met Tessa through the firm that I work at. She did the company’s branding (and rebranding)! I love how elegant and sleek her work is. I first inquired about her pricing back in June, but after thinking about it and talking to Tyler, I wasn’t quite ready. My blog is so personal to me that I was scared and terrified!

There were so many thoughts going through my mind. I’m such a people pleaser, what if I don’t like the branding? I honestly wouldn’t even know what to say if I didn’t like my rebranding. After I expressed my concerns to Tessa, she reassured me that it’s quite common! Phew, I’m not crazy, haha. I felt like I was ready to go through a personal rebranding.

Tessa and I hopped on a call to discuss my current branding and the new direction of my blog. I told her my goals for my blog as well as my personal goals (i.e. hopefully, attend grad school for an MBA someday). I wanted a more mature look for my blog. Tessa had me put together a Pinterest board with some branding inspirations.

A personal rebranding can be hard but Tessa put me at ease throughout the whole process.

Introducing My New Personal Rebrand

Tessa walked me through the whole rebranding process. First, she sent the horizontal and icon logo for feedback, which I didn’t have besides the fact that I loved it! I also sent it to Tyler and my sister for thoughts, and they both agreed with me. After that, Tessa sent over more items for feedback (colors, business card design, and fonts) – you can view the PDF document here.

I literally had no words for Tessa except for the fact that I LOVED IT. Tessa broke down everything and explain why she chose certain fonts and colors. It felt like she took the time to think about my new branding.

My New Logos

This is my new horizontal logo! I love how elegant, modern, and feminine it is. This is definitely how I want to portray myself.

This is my new icon or mark logo!

Tessa also created a brand guide and mood board which you can see below –

I’m just so in love with my new branding. It’s definitely one that I won’t get sick of looking at. Thank you to everyone that reads and supports my blog. Thank you to all the companies I’ve worked with. I’m so thankful and appreciative of this whole journey.

For more information on Rouse Creative:

View their website at RouseCreative.co or check out their Instagram page @rousecreative. You can also email Tessa at tessa@rousecreative.co