I’ve spent the majority of this year rebranding my business. It’s been a big ol’ job, and honestly, has felt like a never-ending task at times. But it’s something I’ve known I needed to do for a long time, and I’m so glad I finally committed the time to doing it.
I’ve been documenting the process through my “Rebrand Diaries” series on Instagram and TikTok, so it felt right that the first blog post on my new website properly explained the story behind the change.
How JG Illustrations started...
First of all, let’s take a little look back at how it all started for some context (I’ll go into more detail in future blog posts).
I started JG Illustrations in 2019 after leaving a job that made me super anxious.
At the time, I got a part-time retail job, bought an iPad, and started sharing illustrations online simply because it was something that helped me get my creative spark back after feeling quite low.
There was absolutely no business plan. I was just drawing things I enjoyed and posting them on Instagram.
Over time, that slowly turned into commissions… then an Etsy shop… then products, markets, wholesale orders, events, and eventually a business that has become a huge part of my life throughout my 20s so far.
JG Illustrations has actually given me so much confidence. When I think about what I was like at my very first market compared to now, I genuinely can’t believe the difference.
I built something completely from scratch, and I’ll always be incredibly proud of that.
But now, I feel like it’s time for a change.
Why I decided to rebrand...
For a long time, I treated JG Illustrations like my “small business” or my “side project”, even as it continued to grow. And over the past couple of years, I started to feel a bit stuck.
Not because I didn’t love what I had built, but because I realised the branding no longer reflected where I was heading. I had outgrown it.
And not in a negative way… more in the sense that I knew it could become something bigger, more intentional, and more aligned with the kind of brand I wanted to create.
When I first designed my branding all those years ago, I thought all I really needed was a logo. But over time, I realised it’s so much more than that.
So I started rethinking everything:
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Who I actually want to create for
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What I want the brand to feel like
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How I want people to experience it
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What kind of work I want to put out into the world
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How I want the business to grow
One of the biggest things I realised during this process was how limiting my old branding had started to feel.
I struggled when it came to things like packaging, marketing materials, website design, and creating a consistent visual identity.
I knew what I wanted the brand to feel like, but I didn’t know how to communicate it.
The more I worked on the rebrand, the more I realised that branding is so much more than a logo, a font, and a couple of colours. Especially as a creative business.
And once I understood that, so many things started to click into place.
Why I changed the name...
Changing the name felt like one of the biggest decisions.
JG Illustrations had been with me since the beginning, and there was a big part of me that didn’t want to let go of that, as I have built a loyal customer base with that name.
But the word “Illustrations” started to feel too limiting. Because what I’m building now is more than just illustrations. It is also a bit of a long and awkward word to work with, to be honest.
I wanted something that felt simpler, more memorable, and more versatile.
That’s where Studio JG came from.
I kept the “JG” because it still feels like me and still represents everything I’ve spent years building.
But “Studio” feels much more aligned with the direction I’m moving in. And I always refer to my garden office as “my little studio”, so it felt fitting.
I also feel like it gives me room to grow.
What's different...
The Visual Identity
I wanted the new branding to feel:
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More intentional
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More confident
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More playful
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More refined
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More like me
I kept elements that still felt connected to JG Illustrations, particularly pink and green within the colour palette, but evolved them into something bolder and more versatile.
I also designed my own font after spending far too long trying to find one that felt right. Nothing I found fully reflected the personality of the brand, so I decided to create something custom instead.
That ended up becoming one of the most important parts of the whole process because it instantly made everything feel more personal and cohesive.
The Messaging
One of the biggest shifts has been getting clearer on who the brand is actually for.
For a long time, I think I tried to appeal to everyone. But as part of this rebrand, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about:
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Who I want to create for
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What kind of brands and people I align with
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What kind of work I want Studio JG to become known for
That clarity has changed everything - It’s made decisions easier, and it’s made the brand feel more intentional.
What's staying the same...
Although a lot is changing, the heart of the business really isn’t.
I still care about creativity, colour, personality, thoughtful design, and creating things that make people feel something.
Studio JG is not about leaving JG Illustrations behind. It’s about building on everything it already was.
The creativity, the story, the personality, and the journey are all still there. This is simply the next version of it.
What's next...
After spending so much time working on this rebrand behind the scenes, it feels really exciting to finally share it properly.
Launching Studio JG and my new website feels like the start of a whole new chapter for the business.
There are still lots of ideas I want to explore, products I want to create, and parts of the brand that will continue to evolve over time. But for the first time in a long time, everything feels like it’s moving in the same direction.
Thank you so much for being here and supporting this next chapter. I honestly can’t wait to share more.
