Happiness is not something you postpone for the future; it is something you design for the present. - Jim Rohn

Ah, that's so true. Today is the canvas of tomorrow. Alright, let's stop getting so deep! With so much going on, and my incoming rent being due soon, I've been sprinting on my projects like no tomorrow... Well sprinting as fast as I can without coming up with crappy designs. Even now, I'm alternating between writing this post, and designing @melaimomagwork's freebie logo at the same time.

I've been working closely with @Ausbitbank to produce a brand solution, or at least a head start on a brand image. The project that I worked on was surprising large spanning. I had came up with an initial logo design for his product, then an icon for that logo, with some variations. Then I designed a booklet for printing so that he has direction when it comes to designing his website or outsourcing any work.

Now, this design is a little bit different than my other projects. It's not a fancy illustration or traditional style of logo. It's a collection of guidelines. I'll try my best to walk you guys through it and show off what I came up with.

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The client

So working with @Ausbitbank has been just absolutely stress-free. I mean @ausbitbank is the first true whale I've ever really worked with, and immediately I can tell that there is something completely different from him then other whales I've talked to.

When you talk to a whale, you can sense they don't really have an interest in talking to you like.. "Hey that's cool.." You can totally tell that they are probably talking to 20 people at once. Or that they really just don't care about what you have to say.

No diss intended to any of you whales out there!

I know you guys are way too busy to cater to every minnow that spams you!

But you know, talking to @ausbitbank is like talking to a buddy. And that just sort of translated over into the back and forths of coming up with the designs.

And @Ausbitbank has a long history of making contributions to the steemit community. If you guys haven't voted for him as a witness, go vote for him right now! Seriously!

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The brief

So considering this was a donation project and not a commission, the briefing was very informal.

However, it was very clear what steemvids needed as it had absolutely no direction in terms of design.

• Come up with a logo
• Simplistic, Professional, Easy to remember at first glance
• Like youtube, but not really
• Steem related
• Brand direction

So, with these guidelines set, I took off to sketching.

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The Design

Now what ended up being really liked, and I mean, really liked by @ausbitbank was this design.

Seriously, once he saw this one, he decided that was the one. The chain link reminds us that steem is based on blockchain technology. The shape reminds us of youtube, and when put together, it looks kind of like a film, and it looks like a ticket and the chains resemble tickets.

I'll be honest, I didn't really like it as much as @ausbitbank did, but after working more and more with it, it grew on me, and I started to understand what he loved so much about it. I mean, it really takes a close look at it, but when you think about it, it all of it really illustrates what his project is about. Steemvids, a place to upload and watch videos based on blockchain technology and rewards.

The style-guide. Now, this is sort of a hybrid of a branding strategy and a style-guide. I do go in detail as to how things should be handled when it comes to designing, and from these instructions, could be a good framework for a branding strategy. Like having this is a huge advantage especially at the stage that steemvids is at (Development of course).

This is actually pretty good stuff mate. Like, I really did show up for this project.

So yeah, designed a book that's ready to print filled with information on how steemvids should approach it's design. Feels good man, feels good. I mean, not to rant but, you guys have no idea how awesome the feeling is to bring all these different things together into one CLEAN and consistent package!

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Final Thoughts

There are a few things that nag at me, and I know I'm going to be sending @ausbitbank updates to things I will eventually discover, but all and all, I did meet the requirements and goals that were set.

@Ausbit was pretty happy with the work, and that makes me happy. I definitely want to get more projects in with him, and I'm sure in the future we will be working together again. I definitely look forward to it!

I really like doing these style guides too. Dipping my fingers in brand designing as well as my traditional logo design.

For this project, I've worked on it for 90+ hours give or take. There was a sketching phase I did not include here because I can't find the photos on my camera.

What would have been was to do some typography design in there. But writing and designing the style/brand guide took a lot of time.

Considering the amount of time, revenue potential, and scope of the project, this is something I would have charged 1,000 - 3,000 for. The gap is between that pricing is because I would have had a down payment for it, and there may have been more content and a lot more drafts.

More importantly, this wasn't just a logo design, this was pure direction and guidelines manifested. Every growing company needs this, as it keeps everything in line and consistent and not just a bundle of different things and experiences. And it's also an investment.

Lucky for me, @ausbitbank is awesome and has sent me some compensation, even though it wasn't required. I really thank him for that, and I thank you for the chance of being on his radar. I only wish that we had more people like @ausbitbank and @someguy123 on the top. People like this, actually help make steemit a rewarding platform. And trust me when I say, these are some real good guy gregs.

I hope that other whales and top witnesses can learn from their example and together, we can make steemit more rewarding and grow it's potential.

Anyway guys, thanks for checking my post out. And don't forget to vote for @ausbitbank's Witness , he is truly a great individual and steemit could really grow with more people like him at the top. I'm serious, Drop everything right now and vote for him!

Haha, I <3 Steemit!