Ash Lune, a hair & makeup artist (HMUA) with 10+ years experience, had previously only operated in shared studios or as a part of a larger entity. Desert Sage is her independent business, and she wanted the brand and clientele to be very specific.

Straying from the glitz and glam of your standard wedding-focused HMUA business, Ash wanted to cater to anyone wanting hair & makeup services for their desert event, whatever the event may be. Brides who wed barefoot and can’t wait to get their dress dirty. Hikers bringing their dogs for their engagement photo shoots. Even product photographers wanting their products and models to look nice — just not TOO nice. Basically, she wanted to serve and connect with people like herself.

Desert Sage’s brand needed to reflect the unique vibe of the desert as well as call to the people who are also drawn to it, without screaming “weddings only.” She needed a website, branding, business cards, and pretty much a whole small business setup.

Ash had a preliminary logo and brand identity mocked up professionally, but the brand didn’t quite match what she wanted. When I used the existing brand guidelines to put together a preliminary website and business card, it came off clunky and mismatched. We sat down together and laid out a new brand identity — logos, colors, words, voice, everything — that better matched her vision and her art, and that left her smiling and proud.

Once the brand identity was solid, everything came together like a breeze. I was contracted to build and maintain a website, set up and verify the business with Google, create marketing collateral, and more. Through multiple excited brainstorming sessions we built a full brand experience, mapping the full customer journey and including nice extras like a canvas tote (with the Desert Sage logo on it, of course) containing sample-size makeup and hairspray, custom matched to the client’s look, so they can do touch-ups through their event as needed.

The website, Instagram integration, snappy logo, online form, and business cards have increased Ash’s HMUA-related revenue by 1250% over its first 6 months (as compared to revenue from shared-studio bookings the year prior). As word spreads and the brand further develops, this is predicted to steadily grow until she meets capacity as an independent artist.

To help establish the brand early in its development, I created a business strategy board on Milanote. This included how to use the logo, ideas for active and passive advertising, competition, user personas, and a site map for the website.

I built desertsagehmua.com utilizing Squarespace and a lot of customizations, and we collaboratively perfected the content. We have plans for including an interactive lookbook as she obtains more images of her independent work.

Further development continues on the website, online advertising, and ways to connect with local businesses and vendors.