Briana Summers is the owner and designer behind Brighten Made. Brighten Made came to life during her evenings and weekends while working in the corporate world. She knew she wanted something more for her creative career than working her way up at my 9-5, so she took the leap hasn't looked back since.

Brighten Made specializes in modern, artful branding and web design for lifestyle and wellness brands. She loves incorporating a deeper purpose into her design work with strategy and meaning behind each concept. She's known best for her artistic patterns, playful color palettes, and refined typography.

Here's what we cover during episode 053:

• How she fell in love with graphic design while she was in high school
• The story behind her college internships and her first job as a designer at a national publication
• How she started her first business doing wedding invitations while working full-time
• How her passion for branding helped her start her new design business
• How her internship in Los Angeles was a big growing and learning experience
• The story behind how she started her first business with a friend who was a copywriter, and how paper goods became their sweet spot
• How they got their first clients using Instagram before the algorithm change
• Why starting her first business helped her get where she is today
• Tips for starting a business partnership with a friend
• How she started her new business and within 6 months decided to leave her job
• What made her realize early on that learning how to manage her time is one of the most important things she needed to do
• Instagram strategies she and her business partner used in the beginning with her paper goods company to help get clients, and what they did when the algorithm changed
• What works when it comes to using Instagram today
• Why she specializes in branding, and doesn't do one-off logos
• What she charged when she first started offering branding packages and logos
• What she charges now for the full Brighten Made branding experience
• Why it's important to share the value of what you're offering - because branding will help your clients make money
• How she builds her client's websites - and what platforms she uses
• Examples of branded collateral she creates for her clients to help enhance the brand experience
• How she helps her client with website content and get their photos ready for their new website
• Why we both believe that photography is an important element of websites - because stock photography can only do so much
• How she adds photography styling to her client projects for an add-on service
• How she decides what platform to use for each web project she works on
• Tips for using Pinterest to market your design business
• Tips for design business owners in confidence, using contracts, and being yourself
• Why she thinks you should be you and not try to fit in with everyone else
• The story behind Bri's Instagram Template shop

Links mentioned: Bri's WebsiteBri's Instagram AccountBri's Instagram Template Shop

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