Old Fashioned
drum roll, please!
your brand cocktail is an
Smooth, seamless, dynamic, and deep, your brand is strong and powerful — what you see is what you get. Your power to connect with the hearts and minds of your perfect prospects resides in confidence, clarity, and execution. We're guessing you're damn good at what you do, and your clients know it.
But in today's marketplace, sometimes a strong, confident cocktail can get lost in all of the pink umbrellas. How do you stand out for more than just your work?
Sophisticated, classic, and edgy enough to keep things interesting. Your brand cocktail comes with a timeless, badass vibe and a clear message to match.
As reliable genius Seth Godin says, "People don't buy goods and services — they buy relations, stories and magic." You've gotta do more these days than just throw your best work online and hope it sticks where it needs to. That "take me or leave me" approach is confident, but it won't build you an empire. You've gotta learn to woo your dream clients (and maybe say "WOO!" occasionally, when the occasion really demands it).
Read on for our best advice, and a few sweet freebies....
01
PARTs
PORTFOLIO
02
GARNISH WITH
A splash of your secret sauce. (More on that in a minute.)
Let's Mix Your Brand Cocktail
PART PERSONALITY
Your Dream Clients. Like, a lot of them.
SERVES:
Jen Olmstead
Jeff Shipley
Meet Your Site Mixologists
Platonic design soulmates and the team behind Tonic's collection of customizable websites, we’re longtime brand + website designers trusted by clients like Jenna Kutcher, Beth Kirby of Local Milk, Natalie Franke, Katelyn James, Ashlyn Carter, Amy & Jordan, Jillian Harris, Hope Taylor, Wit & Delight, The Everygirl, and more ... But we're also cocktail lovers on a mission to hook up creatives who give a damn with website designs as awesome as they are.
A designer by accident, a writer by training, and a lifelong fan of a great story.
You'll rarely find me wearing a color, I eat gluten so you don't have to, and my love language is witty banter. I hate pens that don't write, public whistling, and birds that don't fly (ask me about life on a 242-acre ostrich farm).
A Seattle-based designer who specializes in crafting identities and webspaces for creatives.
I take a nap nearly every day, preferably on the sofa under my giant Restoration Hardware fur throw, have an obsession with cheese & charcuterie boards, and quite the collection of various ship related decor around my house (because #shipleystyle).
designer, copywriter
DESIGNER, IMAGE CURATOR
MIXING DIRECTIONS
01
Curate, Curate, Curate
If your brand relies on your work, which we think it might, you've gotta reach for the good stuff. Go through your website with a fine bourbon on the rocks and be ruthless. If it doesn't fit the vibe you're looking to create, get that cheap whiskey off your website / portfolio / Instagram. And if you don't have work you love, you need to create more of it.
03
People Like People.
It’s cool to be cool, but don’t forget to show your audience how excited you are to help them and how you're going to do that (and do it better than anyone else). It's easy to get caught up in the "art" of things, but there's nothing wrong with a little enthusiasm every now and then. It's contagious.
02
Get Yourself Some Bitters
Bourbon on the rocks isn't the same as an old fashioned (which can woo even the non-whiskey fan). You might never be a super personal brand, but you've gotta thread some connection points with your ideal client through your brand narrative. Share what you love. Tell a story. Give them a reason to work with you.
You might like these site designs from our collection:
if you're an Old Fashioned
Jack Rose
LONDON FOG
charleston
Ready to switch whiskeys + elevate your brand cocktail (and increase your connection in the process?). Our site designs have already done the heavy lifting for you. So, throw out everything you know about templates. These are cocktail-inspired, completely customizable websites designed for people who give a damn. No code; no tears; no limits. Your old website is already jealous.
To see the rest of your website options, click here
SIPS & SOUNDS
Have a drink on us, and listen to some on-brand tunes while you dial in your site strategy.
DOWNLOAD THE RECIPE
LISTEN TO YOUR PLAYLIST
At Tonic, we’re not big fans of the word “audit." It’s like the opposite of happy hour, right? But sometimes, you've gotta figure out what whiskey you're serving the online marketplace. So, here's our favorite tool to do just that.
IF YOU JUST DO ONE THING, DO THIS:
download your brand interview guide
AND BEFORE WE say cheers for now, HERE ARE A FEW OTHER HELPFUL RESOURCES
5 Changes to Make Your Website Better Right Now
Listen to Jen on the Goal Digger Podcast
Listen to Jen & Jeff on the Bokeh Podcast
Secrets to a Top-Shelf About Section
Jen Olmstead
Jeff Shipley
Meet Your Site Mixologists
Platonic design soulmates and the team behind Tonic's collection of customizable websites, we’re longtime brand + website designers trusted by clients like Jenna Kutcher, Beth Kirby of Local Milk, Natalie Franke, Katelyn James, Ashlyn Carter, Amy & Jordan, Jillian Harris, Hope Taylor, Wit & Delight, The Everygirl, and more ... But we're also cocktail lovers on a mission to hook up creatives who give a damn with website designs as awesome as they are.
A designer by accident, a writer by training, and a lifelong fan of a great story.
You'll rarely find me wearing a color, I eat gluten so you don't have to, and my love language is witty banter. I hate pens that don't write, public whistling, and birds that don't fly (ask me about life on a 242-acre ostrich farm).
A Seattle-based designer who specializes in crafting identities and webspaces for creatives.
I take a nap nearly every day, preferably on the sofa under my giant Restoration Hardware fur throw, have an obsession with cheese & charcuterie boards, and quite the collection of various ship related decor around my house (because #shipleystyle).