Y’all. OMG! So yesterday I reached out to a company (basically a one-woman show) I’ve worked with on another project to freshen up the logo here on JLL. I sent her the current logo, totally admitting to it’s cheese factor. I created that logo the first time I ever played with AI (Adobe Illustrator for the non artsy fartsy followers). I knew it wasn’t where it needed to be but I loved the concept of it and really just wanted it given that professional touch. It was the Monday before Thanksgiving so I would have been cool with waiting until next week for a reply. If my youngest hadn’t gotten deployed at the last minute (#GoNavy) I would have had the whole family here and taken off the whole week too so I am all for taking your down time. Anyhoo, she replied all gungho (is that a word?) having seen the logo of my mediocre creation in the original email. I was excited. Ok she had a few questions which I quickly answered. This morning I saw her creations and just about shit a brick. OMG y’all it was soooo wrong. It was so wrong I literally almost cried and I’m not a crier… cryer… (wtf spellcheck which is it?).

I took a little time to process rather than responding right away. I even enlisted my husband’s objective input. He completely disliked her three options however he also pointed out some things he disliked about my original concept. I took some more time to process before replying to her. I felt the need to be brutally honest. I mean we’ve worked together very successfully before. Get to the point so we can move forward successfully on this project right??? Oh honey. Ya it didn’t go down that way. I literally ended my response after some constructive criticism with “I hope this helps and gets us closer on the next round. I trust that between us we can come up with something awesome.”

Honey – she fired me. Seriously y’all. She freaking fired me. She said and I quote “I understand your point of view but your initial concept was not good. Everything about it. I will have to pass on this project because I can’t create a logo like you want. It goes against my 56 years of expertise in art.”

Um…. WTF? I gotta back it on up here and let y’all know. My initial email was all full of hey there hope biz is going super awesome yadda yadda to which she complained that biz was super slow… “Business is slower than ever unfortunately, and I see design jobs posted online from Malaysia that pay $1 per hour and American designers are actually bidding on them!  Unreal what has happened to the graphic design world thanks to the double edged sword of the internet.”

Um ok so let me get this straight. You can’t make a living and you shoot down a customer happy to pay you?!?!

Never fear though. I decided I could force myself to figure this out and finish up my original concept in a way that would work. Ya, well then things took a right? or um left? turn. Well things turned drastically anyhoo. I was busily opening AI and dragging and dropping text and separating it from the graphics for reworking when I started to hear my husband’s constructive input in my head and felt it flowing out of me. Before I knew it I had totally changed the original concept and love my new design that I did all by my badass self. Is it perfect? No. But it’s mine and I created it. So suck it lady who couldn’t take a little constructive input. I’m actually most proud having heard my husband’s input, really heard it. I’m growing.

Ok so now that you’ve suffered through that whole saga I know you’re dying to see mine, her’s and the new one so here you go…

My original concept was a stick figure jumping joyously into life. It still has a special place in my heart but my hubs input indicated it had a “Florida vibe” and we don’t still live in Florida. I reluctantly agreed that it did have that feel and should be more reflective of my authentic self which is so much more than that Florida gal…

Here’s her version. What is that first one doing? Surfing? WTF? And what is she wearing? Are those feety pajamas?  Is she um.. plump or is it just me? Why purple? I said clearly that the site’s colors were neon green, hot pink, black and white. Ya the purple might be “complementary” but it’s not my color. Is that second one riding a hover board? Last time I checked we still don’t actually have hover boards. And lord have mercy even if we did I can’t see me riding one. And the third one? Is she about to whip someone with that J? Or is she a high school band flag dancer?  The font for the Jen is fine but those Ls Oh how I HATE those Ls. It’s a gutteral thing. If you’re not hating on the Ls like I am I get it. I see my mom’s signature on my sick notes when I see that L. I worked so hard to perfect that L back in high school so I could skip school. (wait, I didn’t do that. oh ya, ya I did. It was a different time.)

Ok and so y’all have surely seen the new logo at top of my page but here it is again. I went with the hot pink for less of a beach vibe. Swapped the “jumping for joy gal” for a daisy. A wildflower is sooo much more appropriate for me as I’m a grow where you’re planted kinda gal. I drew that daisy y’all. With my finger. Right on my touch screen laptop. Why I hadn’t done the daisy in the first place is beyond me. Anyone who knows me totally is shaking their head like omg ya duh that’s so you.

Bottom line. Be flexible. Flexibility is great to a point. BUT you DO NOT have to bend to the will of someone who DOES NOT get you. Be you. Be your authentic you. Demand that your vision reflect the authentic you. You have, I have every right to demand that.

And, because I truly believe this. Bless her heart. I hope she was just having a bad day, week, time in her life and it just went south for us. Maybe something was lost in translation? Maybe it was the upcoming holiday? Whatever the case. I wish her the best. I thank her (and my hubs) for pushing me out of my comfort zone.  For me, it all worked out for the best. I hope she finds a positive from this too.

If you made it all the way to the end of this post you deserve a glass of wine. What? You were already drinking one? Good for you. And if you weren’t go pour yourself one… unless you’re at work or about to drive or something.

Let me know what you think of the new logo.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!!