What makes a good brand?

Hello there…

Strong brands don't need a rebrand every other year just because trends have changed; hence why I've had to re-design mine all over again...

I finally listened to what I've preaching to all my clients looking to rebrand over this past few years. For what feels almost forever, I've wanted to get the personal brand to a level that reflects the type of projects and quality of output I've been producing. Like most designers, I quickly outgrew and got fed-up with my existing site. It was time for change. There's a few key factors to why I've rebranded, but first, let me reintroduce myself.

I'm Luke…

A designer from just outside of Birmingham, UK (In a average town called Stourbridge). I class myself as a multidisciplinary designer, with a key focus in brand design and motion, but really I'll work on anything and everything if the project sounds awesome.

I'm currently working as a Midweight designer at OxiWorks, a UX specialist studio primarily working within sports, betting and gaming. I've been there for over 5 years, leading on all things brand and creative.

Around the full-time role, I dabble in the world of freelance, working with businesses large and small, often looking for my expertise in brand to help them reposition and rebirth themselves!

Outside of work, I'm an avid Football fan (West Bromwich Albion :/), a big Star Wars and Pokémon nerd, a husband-to-be as well as a doggo-dad to my Cocker Spaniel Peach.

Now let's get back to the design talk.

UX/UI

Over the course of this last year or so, UX/UI has become a huge part of my day-to-day. Working with OxiWorks, who are primarily focussed on UX and product, I've had to incorporate it into my creative process, bridging the gap between brand and UI. Defining UI styles or even setting up a brand for a design system is something I've thoroughly enjoyed, but has meant my UX/UI ball knowledge has increased drastically, meaning I'm scrutinising my own site more than ever before.

Freelance + Growth

For far too long I've neglected my personal brand. Website, social media and my processes. I go through a phase of getting the brand back on track, before leaving it another two years. However, with the growth in my freelance as well my further understanding of the industry, that can't be happening again.

I want to create systems that allow the brand to grow, rather than bottleneck after a few months. I want to (more of a need to) venture into the world of social media video content and grow my personal brand even more. I want to set-up LM©️ in a way that feels like a studio practice, rather than just another 'portfolio'. These are all key factors in the decision to rebrand and the new direction of my personal brand.

What's Next?

Rather than just publish my site and neglect it for another two years before ripping it all up and starting over again, I've built it in a way that means we're not going to have to go through all of that anytime soon (Love you Framer).
I plan on writing a lot more. Using this space to talk about things I find interesting, such as rebrands or design trends, documenting my journey, both agency and freelance, as well as just using this as a space to chat some utter shite that no one will probably ever read!
I also plan on keeping the case studies updated. I've learnt all about CMS, so no more manually duplicating pages and lining up assets with my eye in readymag. There's plenty of work in the pipeline that I want to share to the world, rather than keeping it in my dropbox collecting pixel-dust for the next year or so.

So.. this time, I will be seeing you in the next one! x