Top Branding Books

As a branding expert I always love to find books that can inspire me along my journey. I always used to get told, if you aren’t learning and reading then what are you doing? I love to sit back and get inspired so that I can potentially grow my business and self. In fact, lots of people always come to me looking for advice, or the best design books, so I thought I would share some of my favorites.

Here are the top Branding Books:

  1. Branding on the Eastern Front Branding on the Eastern Front is both a testimony of how Western-born approaches must adapt to emerging economies, and a crash course in branding for entrepreneurs, marketers, and contemporary consumers of any kind.

  2. Building a StoryBrand: Clarify Your Message So Customers Will Listen Whether you are the marketing director of a multibillion-dollar company, the owner of a small business, a politician running for office, or the lead singer of a rock band, Building a StoryBrand will forever transform the way you talk about who you are, what you do, and the unique value you bring to your customers.

  3. Designing Brand Identity: An Essential Guide for the Whole Branding Team Whether you’re the project manager for your company’s rebrand, or you need to educate your staff or your students about brand fundamentals, Designing Brand Identity is the quintessential resource. From research to brand strategy to design execution, launch, and governance, Designing Brand Identity is a compendium of tools for branding success and best practices for inspiration.

  4. Brand Identity Breakthrough: How to Craft Your Company’s Unique Story to Make Your Products Irresistible Does your business have a story to tell? It should! From the moment you first opened your doors, you began crafting it. With every new product you release, you carve out an even more unique niche in your industry. This all builds up to one thing—brand identity. Does yours stand out from the crowd?

  5. Branding: In Five and a Half Steps Michael Johnson is one of the world’s leading graphic designers and brand consultants. His studio, johnson banks, is responsible for the rebranding of many notable clients, including Virgin Atlantic, Think London, BFI, Christian Aid, and MORE TH>N, and he has garnered a plethora of awards in the process.

  6. Badass Your Brand: The Impatient Entrepreneur’s Guide to Turning Expertise into Profit Forget everything you think you know about branding and “starting a business,” and throw out your “how to write a business plan” workbook. It’s never been easier to capitalize on the knowledge and expertise you already have, and with a few simple steps you can start making more doing what you love like the Badass that you are.

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Top 10 Photography Books

I grew up loving art, dance and photography. All of these things made me have a creative gene in me. I love every moment of being creative in any capacity. I love how photography can be such an interesting challenge and topic. There seems to always be something to learn and gain from it. However, I have learned the best way to grow with photography is to read and implement. Even though I am a visual learner I still prefer books over youtube when it comes to this.

Here are my top 10 Photography Books:

  1. Advancing Your Photography: Secrets to Amazing Photos from the Masters Take your photography to a whole new level. Advancing Your Photography is an easy to use handbook packed with tips from some of the world’s best photographers. Now you can apply their secrets for capturing amazing photos.

  2. The Beginner’s Photography Guide: The Ultimate Step-by-Step Manual for Getting the Most from Your Digital Camera The Beginner’s Photography Guide, 2nd Edition is DK’s bestselling manual for any novice photographer who wants to unlock the potential of their new digital camera. Assuming no prior knowledge, this guide’s easy-to-follow, step-by-step layout makes it accessible as it takes you through every technique you need to create stunning images, from exposure to flash to image enhancement.

  3. Understanding Exposure, Fourth Edition: How to Shoot Great Photographs with Any Camera Understanding Exposure has taught generations of photographers how to shoot the images they want by demystifying the complex concepts of exposure in photography. In this newly updated edition, veteran photographer Bryan Peterson explains the fundamentals of light, aperture, and shutter speed and how they interact with and influence one another.

  4. Mastering Digital Cameras: An Illustrated Guidebook for Absolute Beginners (Digital Photography 101 Are you tired of learning photography by trial and error?If you understand how a camera works, everything else about photography will make more sense. What if you understood why certain Aperture and Shutter settings work so well and had a mental image of how these settings affect the light entering the camera?

  5. The Landscape Photography Book: The step-by-step techniques you need to capture breathtaking landscape photos like the pros Have you ever dreamed of taking such incredible landscape photos that your friends and family say, “Wait a minute, this is your photo?! You took this?” Well, you’re in luck. Right here, in this book, pro photographer and award-winning author Scott Kelby teaches you how to shoot and edit jaw-dropping landscape photographs.

  6. The Art of Photography: A Personal Approach to Artistic Expression This is an updated and newly revised edition of the classic book The Art of Photography: An Approach to Personal Expression. Originally published in 1994 and first revised in 2010, The Art of Photography has sold well over 100,000 copies and has firmly established itself as the most readable, understandable, and complete textbook on photography.

  7. DSLR Photography for Beginners: Take 10 Times Better Pictures in 48 Hours or Less! If you want to stand out from the crowd and capture all those magic moments for posterity, you have come to the right place. Most guides to Digital SLR photography will overwhelm you with jargon, but you and I both know that’s not what photography is all about.

  8. Mastering Portrait Photography No more formal, corporate-style poses—this book offers a modern, vibrant approach, capturing a moment in the subject’s lifestyle. It discusses technical aspects from equipment to exposure, aperture, metering, shutter speed, depth of field and white balance settings, in addition to how natural light, color and movement affect an image.

  9. Photography for Real Estate Interiors: How to take and create impressive interior photos (Real Estate Photography) From gear to editing, composition, lighting, settings, techniques and more, real estate photographer Nathan Cool provides a comprehensive guide for shooting high-quality interior real estate photography from start to finish.

  10. Basics of Photography: 2 in 1 Learn to Capture and Edit images

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What is Success?

“What does success mean to you?” Someone asked me this the other day, and it got me thinking. What does success really mean? Furthermore, what does it really mean to me?

Most people think being happy and having a lot of money is key, but it is not. There is much more than having a luxurious life and money.

Some might define success as not having to work more than 40 hours per week, and another person defines success as having a million dollars in the bank account. I’m somewhere in between, I’d say.


BUT…

I also know that success is meeting MY goals. Success is closing those sales. Success is keeping clients happy and content. Success is providing for my son. Success seeing my son happy and working with him.

I think most can relate to the fact that when you start a business, you come in knowing you want to make six figures plus. My goal was to make what I was making in my corporate job. LAME. I made it in no time. Then what?

Some people want to make millions or billions and that equals success to them. But for me, it’s giving the results that my clients want. It is providing for my son in the way that he needs. It is following through and having full creativity with client work.

YES, money is a great part of success, but think outside of the box. You have to set goals; if you do not set goals, then you can’t ever really define your success. Agree?

Whenever I feel down and out, I make a list of people I admire both professionally and personally. This action helps me to understand success and goals for the future.

So tell me, what does success mean to you? Does it mean having money or having a good job? Or something else? Know that you are successful, and set those goals so that you know you are successful.

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Automatically Schedule Your Instagram Posts

Do you hate having to be on instagram, coming up with content, and then publishing it?  I know I do especially when it is on my phone and seems like I am on there wasting time just to write the perfect caption and hash tags. The good news is that now many third party social media platforms allow you to schedule, post, and share right from your desktop. There is NO need to push notifications from your account out to your instagram account. This is a BRAND NEW FEATURE and is a lifesaver!

The time has come… where you can now schedule them on a desktop computer and it AUTOMATICALLY POSTS. This is mega news y’all.

It’s super easy with Tailwind (an app for Pinterest and Instagram), you just set it and forget it, and say good-bye to push notifications telling you it’s time to post – for good!!!! Take back your nights and weekends, and let Tailwind post at the perfect times for you! Save that time where your business needs you!!

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Psssst! We’ve heard that other tools don’t support hashtags – and that reduces the reach of your posts. So, Tailwind was careful to build out  auto-post feature in such a way that your posts get the full advantage of each hashtag! How awesome, right?

We’re really excited about this development and would love for you to sign up on Tailwind!! It’s super easy just follow my Link, sign up, and get publishing n those instagram pages!!

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TRANSFORM YOUR HOME INTO A COZY WINTER OASIS WITH COST PLUS WORLD MARKET

 

You’ll be walking in a winter wonderland with Cost Plus World Market’s wide selection of home decor pieces. Here are a few of our favorite picks to warm up your home.

Oversized Ivory Mongolian Fur Lumbar Pillow

This lush faux Mongolian sheepskin pillow brings luxury to any couch or chair. Scatter a few of these around the room to add instant warmth and coziness.

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White Glitter Winter Garland With Pinecones

This beautiful garland lends a fresh winter feel to tabletops, mantels, and doorways. Even if you live in a warm climate, this piece makes you feel like you’re in a charming country cottage in the mountains.

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White Birch Micro LED Operated Tree

These tabletop trees shine all season long with LED lights and frosted tips. It’s like bringing the beauty of winter right inside your home, minus the cold.

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It’s a SPARKLE Life..

Every female LOVES jewelry. I mean seriously.. I can’t ever have enough of it!! I love getting jewelry that will match my outfit and my style. I like to step outside of the box a little bit and mix things up.  I love neutral colors such as nude, tan, creme, browns, etc. It fits my personality so well! When I saw this earrings and necklaces set I knew that I had to get it!!

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I was so happy when I found Paparazzi, the best part abut this company is that it is all $5, you heard me FIVE DOLLARS. you can get so much jewelry for the cost of one item at any retail store..

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As a working at home mama I hardly ever step outside the house, but I have made a promise to myself that I would take care of myself and allow myself to look and feel good. I love some dangling earrings, like aren’t these the freaking cutest?!!?!

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Okay, wait check them out again.. I LOVE them and they go with this brand new necklace I purchased from Leslie too!!

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I just love earrings and ones that dangle.. So these are a must. I LOVE black its so casual and can go with just about any color or pattern. All of these items are perfect for the upcoming events in your lives.

I always love wearing my gold jewelry, but every now and then I need to accessory and change things up a lot so this is perfect for those times.

Make sure to check out the links listed below because you will want to get your shopping on for FIVE DOLLARS!!!

You can also set up a facebook party that last about an hour. Leslie also has opportunities for women to start their own business too if you are interested in learning more about that send her a Facebook message!!!

IG – @itsasparklelife

Pinterest @itsasparklelife

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