Now I get it. It sucks eggs when you lose out on work, to then see a competitor has seemingly picked it up with ease..
But without your competitors, there’s no one to stick out from… (are you hearing me?!).
🔥 The journey that got you here is genuinely unique.
🔥 Your vibe & the way you operate your business is distinct to you.
🔥 You don’t do things the same way as everyone else in your industry.
(Unless they’re doing slimy steal-your-client tactics… then I retract my statement. But that’s on them. 🤢)
When we zoom in on your business & all the intricacies that make it unique, there’s SO much to make your business stand out from the crowd. I’ll create you a brand that stands out for all the right reasons – one that attracts your ideal people for what YOU bring to the table, without any hullabaloo..
(+ maybe even gets other industry-peeps watching on with awe & a lil bit of healthy frustration)
and at the start of my design-life, I declined an awesome role that promised to ‘skyrocket my career’ because I didn’t want to wear corporate clothes, get paid monthly… and GOD FORBID use their purple & orange branding day after day 😆. Best decision I made!
over and smashed it out of the park (if I do say so myself)… but as an Aussie in an all-NZ competition, they gave the gold medal to second place in public 🥈and gave me my recognition in secret behind the stage
so me-time looks like not taking things too seriously and often being a little fast & loose (for real I just put hot water in my ice tray because I couldn’t be bothered waiting for it to cool down). I know it’s not practical but it waaaaaaas more efficient.
From the toilet, to sitting trackside at the V8 supercars, in the subway (sandwich) queue, or an hour into a bush 4x4 track. I guess the common theme is any time I’m intentionally not working 🚗
I don’t know the guy, but I sure as hell know we've had an unspoken-fight over who comes up on google for many years.
if it’s not in my inbox or calendar it’s long gone into the abyss. (Never fear: my ability to put things in my to-do list or calendar is not garbage).
(unless i’m genuinely off in our 4x4 in the bush, but that’s different) and that’s how barge got its name. Punchy. Memorable. Fluff-free. I only second guessed myself at the 5 year mark when my uncle kindly told me of the phrase ‘barge arse’ which cracks me up.
so me-time looks like not taking things too seriously and often being a little fast & loose (for real I just put hot water in my ice tray because I couldn’t be bothered waiting for it to cool down). I know it’s not practical but it waaaaaaas more efficient.
& it makes a scrapey noise I may not look at our relationship the same again. You’ve been warned or I'm telling MuuUummm (IYKYK).
8 years ago when I created Barge, I didn’t set out to be just another coffee-obsessed design studio (you know the coffee-is-my-personality type?). I didn’t want to design feminine wedding invitations, spend never ending project timelines coming up with the *most creative* ideas for someone to knock them down or change their mind.
To put it simply, I just didn’t wanna fuss about.
I wanted to provide fluff-free design that got the job done, for people who it actually made a difference for. And I wanted to do it in a way that allowed business owners the option to hand over their design-hat so they could get back to why they started their business in the first place – they’re already spinning so many plates, and design really didn’t need to be one of them.
Of course I didn’t have the words for this at the time.
- I’m proud of the unique journey that’s got us here.
- The way we operate our business that’s distinctly ‘barge’
- The things we do differently to the industry-norm
I guess that’s our secret sauce.
These are the things that make Barge stand out, and because of this… we use this same ideology to create unique brands so you too can stand out in the sea of sameness that is your industry – one that is representative of your business journey, your unique spin, your point of view + YOU.
No unnecessary brand-strategy fluff. Just you.
(*for real though – when do you feel like an adult?!)
You need a brand designer that dives deep into the YOU behind your business to create a brand that’s representative of your unique flavour, your expert offering & reminiscent of the journey that got you here (not just looking at what everyone else is doing for inspiration).
(wherever ‘there’ is for you…)