The Brand Story

After doing some product research on Etsy, I realized that the market is quite saturated. However, I do have a competitive advantage - I can illustrate very well. All of the shops selling similar products use cheap and often bland Ai generated images. Consumers are starting to wise up to Ai art and reject it based on either quality or values. Papercraft designers who make products using this generated art are also missing out on a big marketing asset - they can’t create any content of them making the artwork.

I decided to open my shop and market my products on social media such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube with a strong focus on my unique and high quality illustrations as the differentiator.

To start with, I chose the name “Fantasy Art Journal” because it says exactly what it is and is easy to spell and remember. I created a “mini brand” to get launched.

Intentional Branding

I didn’t want to spend too much time on branding. When starting from scratch, I like to put things out in the world, observe the response, and iterate from there. I knew this brand would change over time and as I got to know my market and my business more. However, I had some good starting points:

Target Audience/Tone of Brand

Before I started my company, I did some research. I started a TikTok account for papercrafting and followed and engaged with many papercrafting enthusiasts. I identified the demographic, traits, and lifestyle of my target audience. I learned that most paper crafting customers who buy papers, including digital downloads from Etsy have things in common. Mostly female, aged around 30-60, they typically have families with children and pets, and are highly engaged with them. They are sensitive, compassionate, welcoming, and love creativity, home decor, aesthetics, and popular culture. I knew I would need to keep my voice and messaging friendly, approachable, uncontroversial, and down to earth.

Colors

I chose shades of purple as my main brand color for 2 reasons. First, I would be the face of this brand. I would be visible on social media doing the creating. I would speak from a strong perspective and voice as the artist and the driver of the aesthetic. Purple is my second favorite color, so this would be authentic to me and my personality. And second, purple as a color is associated with magic and mysticism, so it would be an easy tie-in to my aesthetic and voice. My target customer would be drawn to it naturally.

Visual Cues

The art for my brand is center stage. However, for my supporting visuals and props, I decided to use natural, homey, and craft-inspired elements such as linen and unbleached fabrics, lace, threads and crafting supplies, flowers and dried plants, books, candles, and wood textures. These elements nod towards a warm and welcoming home, an art studio, a crafting table, and other simple, cheerful, and relaxing cozy activites. Brand muses would be Belle from Beauty and the Beast, or a female poet or librarian. I incorporated these vibes into my mockups and my social content.

Etsy Shop

I intended to bootstrap this business - keep expenses low and my marketing strategy focused. I use Etsy to sell my products. I use a content marketing strategy with TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, and YouTube being my distribution sources. My current goals are to launch a blog for evergreen content and SEO, and to build my email list and my YouTube channel.

Etsy Product Images

I created the product images as mockups in Photoshop. Each one is built with Smart Objects so that I can swap out the artwork of the same product type. This allows me to be quicker, but it also creates visual consistency. The images also contain text with important information that a buyer would want to know to make a purchase. This means my buyers don’t need to click into the description to find out details, which provides a better user experience and quicker decision making to purchase.

Website & Mailing List

I use Squarespace to host a simple website that allows me to maintain an email list. I created a high value lead magnet to attract subscribers - a beautiful and detailed paper craft project to download for free. There is a full tutorial on YouTube as well. Subscribers to my list receive a smaller freebie once a week on Fridays. This allows me to update them on new products in my shop, without spamming them. Everyone is happy to open an email with a fun freebie inside!

My favorite part about my website is that I coded the Etsy Shop button in the nav to roll over to Etsy’s brand orange hex color.

TikTok

Creating content for TikTok allows me to show my products using rich visuals. I can showcase the size, quality and colors, demonstrate how to use my designs in a craft project, and connect with the community in a very authentic way. I can also ask my following about new product ideas, which is the most direct market research a person could get.

Design Elements

YouTube Thumbnails

Art & Product Design

I create a variety of different downloadable products from simple art papers to cards, folios, and bookmarks. Each product consists of artwork and layout design. First, I create a series of digital illustrations in Procreate based on a theme. For instance, here is the series of illustrations I made for my winter themed products.

For the layout design, I often start with a simple sketch on paper for how the finished project might look. Then, depending on how complex the project is, I will create the entire design in Illustrator to scale. This CAD style design allows me to ensure all of the various parts and pieces fit together correctly. I can also experiment with different shapes and styles. Then I will print a test version to assemble. This is critical, as I often find that I need to rework or resize pieces to create a perfect design.

After the design has been tested, I create a new file in Photoshop. This file is set up to be a multi-page document than can be printed by the end user on standard 8.5x11 cardstock on a home printer. I convert each individual object into a Smart Object, which is where I add the art and design. I combine my illustrations with type, clip art, painting, and textures to make very rich and detailed designs.

Next, I print and assemble the finished product. I film this process to use as social media and marketing content. Then I take styled photographs as well.