Changing brands // IRL & on the internet
I've been at this for a good couple of weeks. It's something that's been nagging at the back of my head from time to time the last year or so (who's counting?) and now I've finally made the decision to change my instagram handle - in other words; a little re-branding is on it's way.
I've learned some things in the process of asking around, listening to people's feedback and opinions.. I even made some polls on my instagram stories (if you're as big of a fan of polls as me, you should check out my stories now & then). And even though I appreciated all the positive feedback I got from my followers, I also have to think of the bigger picture.
You can't please everyone.
When I asked around to get some feedback on wether or not they thought @colourline was a misrepresentation of my instagram grid, the response was very split.
Some thought it was misleading, others didn't. Some thought it was creative others said they were confused or felt like they missed something.
When I asked why, again the feedback was split..
Some said my feed was misleading because dark and muted. Others said they could easy see the colours, and some even thought muted colours were better then bright colours.
So I'm gonna make some happy, and some.. not so happy.
Either way, I can't make everyone happy, so I might as well do what makes me happy..
So I thought.. but then.. what the heck do I want? What makes me happy?
I also learned that some people think they can give orders, when you ask for feedback. No dear, it's still my choice. I think it's important to remember who's in charge of not only yourself, but your brand and your choices.
I was met with a lot of interesting opinions, advices & feedback. I've been given it a lot of thought, and I'd like to share a little about what I learned in the process. If you're thinking of some changing yourself, this might even help.
_underscores_ and dots.. looks unprofessional
Well, I think this is debatable, I personally don't think it have to look unprofessional. As a matter of fact, I know some pretty professional, respectable & creative people, just to mention the lovely @me_and_orla who uses underscores. She has +177k followers + a blue tick. So neither instagram nor her big following finds that too unprofessional. That being said, I don't think I would ever use it myself, but that's personal taste, I don't necessarily think it looks unprofessional.
A Wildflowers Home is a very long username and might look too long or crowded in a post.
Well, I agree it's a rather long username, but not thaaaat long. ;) I don't recall ever thinking any username looking over crowded in a post, but I thought, I'll do some research.
Two of the new handles I've been considering is; 'A Wildflowers Home' & 'A Wildflowers Journey'. Without spaces they're 16 and 19 characters.
I scrolled down my home feed to see how long people's usernames is, and see if there were any pros & cons to be aware of. My "biggest fear" would be if the name was so long that Instagram would only showcase half the name followed up with some dots, but what I found was that even the charming Grace behind @gracewithabookinherface, with 23 characters was still readable and did not look over crowded. Long? maybe a little. Overcrowded? nah. Interesting. She has a +46k following, so her followers doesn't seem to have a problem with her handle either.
So I don't see what a longer or shorter username should be better or worse for, but I thought it was interesting to see that many had 15-20 characters.
So I don't think it's the length that scared away people.
Okay, so here are my personal thoughts behind the name-changing.
I have a whole history with the name @colourline, so no doubt I had nostalgia & feelings attached to it (I tell the story a little longer down), but I'm gonna try to tell it from a more objective perspective.
While I think the wordplay was fun, with my name in it, it was creative, easy to prnounce and recognisable.. all the stuff that I like.
I also recognised that it had less to do with my future plans and dreams.
I didn't necessarily have a problem with the colour in my name. While some people think of "colour" as bright rainbow colours, not all do. Colours come in all tones and moods, which I love.
I've been testing out quite a few different themes (before the one I've got now), someone mentioned; because of all the different themes it had a colourline through it all. Again, people have so many perspectives, there will always be some that loooves it, and there will always be someone who just doesn't get it. And that's okay.
Who do we make this for. Ourselves? Who do we wanna share it with? Our audience.
Let's not try to impress those who'll never be impressed or care anyway. Waste of precious time, man!
I was given an interesting perspective that got me thinking; having too many different names on the internet, can be a bit confusing. Not only for people trying to find you (or recognise you), but also for yourself. Juggling between lots of usernames, (that's not your own name) might be too many balls in the air at ones.
I had 'Colourline' on all my social medias and my blog name 'A Wildflowers Home'.
I've been thinking a lot.
For me, Colourline was my name on the internet. I didn't use my personal name much. A Wildflowers Home is my blogs name, that I also have other dreams and visions for making a physical place in the future (you can read more about my dreams here), so that name stays.
The story behind Colourline
Colourline has been with me since I was 6. I moved from Denmark to Norway at that time, an the ferry we travelled with had the brilliant name; Color Line. I was thrilled, to say it the least.
When you’re 6, seeing your name in big fat letters on a ginormous boat, it’s probably one of the coolest things in the world. We travelled with it every summer & I still got that merchandise keyholder with the magic name somewhere in my room.
Funfact: I’ve been tagged twice by people thinking I was that ferry.
When Instagram came along, Colorline was already claimed by another dude. I was a little bummed, but I quickly found out that you can spell Colourline more than one way.
So that's the reason for the british "u".
Since that day, it’s been my username + an old mail address (I was a teen!).. pretty much everywhere!
But now, I'm thinking it might be a time for a bit of change.
In my early teenage years I started developing a more playful & colourful style. Imagine mix matched socks, lots of jewellery mostly DIY'd + colourful oversized T-shirts with fun logos. I even added my own touches.
I was very shy at the time + just changed school (again), so being this bold in my appearance was a pretty big step for me. I was even known as hippie Line for a little while
(btw it’s pronounced “Lee-neh” for those of you who don't know).
So you can say Colourline wasn’t only a good ferry childhood memory, but became a description of who I was, at that time in my life.
As I’ve grown older, I’ve still got the hippie in me & the colours here and there, but the tones have changed & the feel is more moody & I’ve (finally) dared to let my inner rock chick out.
I was terrified of not being the playful & colourful girl anymore (you can imagine the identity crisis, hah), but I learned to embrace the growth & changes in my real life, & now I feel like it’s time to embrace the changes in my internet life too.
This might seem superficial & dramatic to some, but for a creative girl with big dreams, visions & a need to express myself, this goes a lot deeper than what I wear or a name on the internet.
Okay, so to the last part. I consider my instagram as a journey, a quest, an adventure, my path through life.. but what to choose?
I found this brilliant description on Pinterest, that helped me made up my mind:
a QUEST is a trip to accomplish a task.
an ADVENTURE is a trip without a destination.
a JOURNEY is when the trip is more important than the destination
Therefore, may I represent you, my new handle:
A Wildflowers Journey
With all that being said, I think there's only one last thing to say:
Goodbye Colourline,
Hello A Wildflowers Journey
