“All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” —Walt Disney
I have always been slow to embrace change. It’s not so much being stuck in my ways as it is that I know I am good at what I do in the way that I do it, and that is what my clients want from me. So jumping into a completely unknown field or software or skillset generally has not appealed to me. But sometimes the industry changes, and you have to change with it.
A year ago I had the opportunity to join a software startup company founded by one of my best friends, Jenny Howard-Maxwell and her business partner Josh Walker. I had previously developed the corporate brand identity for her event planning company Occasionally Fabulous Events, and we had also collaborated to publish an entertaining/cookbook called Entertaining with Purpose. Both endeavors were among the most fun projects I’ve ever worked on.
So when Jenny asked me to develop the brand identity for her new company Layout Diva that would be a software-as-a-service management platform for event planners, I said “of course!” And then after the first concept sheet, I came back and asked, “But why not Planning Diva?” Her response was “You’re a f***ing genius” and Planning Diva Co was born.
Together, we crafted the Planning Diva brand to show the quality of products and services reflective not only the company identity, but more importantly the identity of its clients: clear and concise, fun yet sophisticated, and above all, in charge. A diva. And what is a diva without a tiara? Boom, we had the logo.
After the logo came the Brand Style Guide. And then the investor pitch decks. And then we started crafting the idea for the software. Jenny wanted a management platform, but a beautiful one. A truly all-in-one, start-to-finish software for event planners that was intuitive and a pleasure to use. So I started the mockups.
CEO Jenny Howard-Maxwell gave me free reign to research functionality and design everything as I saw fit, using her outline of what needed to be included. I had never tackled UX/UI design in my life, and I was thoroughly intimidated. But the software engineer team led by CTO Josh Walker made me feel comfortable as I had a crash course in Figma and started learning on the fly. And together, we all crafted an incredible software platform package!
Next, Jenny put on her Marketing Director hat and instructed me to curate and populate Planning Diva’s social media channels. This was another leap for me, full of trial and error as to what worked or didn’t, what landed with viewers or didn’t. You can follow yourself here on Instagram, Facebook, and the Planning Diva website. And then there was the Launch Party… event promotion materials and signage and videos and swag galore!
I’m always looking for projects that challenge my creative abilities and improve my skillset. My year at Planning Diva Co was the best of both worlds. Now that I’ve made the leap to social media and software design, I have even more to offer future clients. Let’s create something together.