We were lucky to catch up with Emma Rodger recently and have shared our conversation below.
Emma, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. One of the things we most admire about small businesses is their ability to diverge from the corporate/industry standard. Is there something that you or your brand do that differs from the industry standard? We’d love to hear about it as well as any stories you might have that illustrate how or why this difference matters.
As a brand strategist and designer, I talk with many business owners who want to feel set apart in their industry. And rightly so — as entrepreneurs, we’re constantly keeping up with technology, the latest trends, or our competitors, and it can feel like everyone’s swimming in a sea of same-ness. In today’s fast-paced digital world, I’ve noticed that the standard is having branding or a website that simply looks nice. But that just isn’t cutting it anymore, because almost every business has that. Brands need to find ways to go from mundane to memorable in order to captivate their audience.
My way of crafting that individuality is by taking a more artful and story-led approach. All businesses have a “why” or purpose behind their existence, but I believe a brand’s *identity* is the art of telling that story in a visual way. Every project I work on starts by chatting about strategy — I want to really go deep with a client to understand their business goals, their audience’s pain points and desires, what led them to start their company, etc. Then, it’s all about infusing the strategy into a visual identity. There’s something really special about custom logos, patterns, textures, icons, etc. that stem from story. I’m able to intertwine symbolism throughout a whole design system. I love pulling out my iPad to hand-draw pieces for my clients to use, especially because that means no two custom elements will ever be the same. I also make lots of unique textures for my clients. These are sort of like patterns, but they have a more collaged, organic feel, and work well on websites, business cards, or in social media posts. They’re authentic and different, but people’s eyes always gravitate towards what’s dissimilar. So, these creations really help communicate a business’ personality and spark curiosity.
There’s a quote from one of my favorite branding books, The Brand Gap, that pretty much sums this up. It says, “A charismatic brand includes a dedication to aesthetics. Why? Because it’s the language of feeling, and in a society that’s information-rich and time-poor, people value feeling more than information.” My goal is to capture and ignite that connection between a business and it’s customers through design.
Emma, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Absolutely!
I’ve been a creative at heart for as long as I can remember. When I was a toddler, what started as my parents taking me to a trial dance and gymnastics class turned into a full-fledged career as a professional ballerina. I fell in love with movement, performing, wearing hand-crafted tutus, balancing on my toes, and the challenging athleticism that ballet demanded of me. I’ve always felt like dance is a universal language, and from a young age, I was intrigued by the idea of communicating stories to an audience without using words — it’s magical!
Throughout my eight-year professional career, I danced and taught for several companies across the country. Early on, I got curious about the marketing side of things. As dancers, we were part of all kinds of photo shoots and social media campaigns to help promote our performances and tours. Over time, I started helping out by capturing behind-the-scenes footage, designing event posters, or creating content strategies for social media. Around the same time, I also took a part-time job at lululemon, where I learned about the importance of brand strategy and messaging while helping with the store’s marketing and events. It was great hands-on education! Eventually, I began freelancing for small businesses, including a local Physical Therapy studio, gym, and several ballet studios. After ending my dance career, I made the switch from freelance to full-time as a marketing manager for a tech company out of D.C., and in March of 2022, I started Saltd Studio!
Saltd Studio primarily works with service providers (like photographers, executive coaches, florists, interior designers, hair stylists, financial advisors, nonprofits, event planners/vendors, etc.) throughout the States and Europe. I feel honored to serve such a vast variety of clients with brand strategy, marketing strategy, brand design, and website design! My goal is to help businesses come alive through through compelling and transformational design. When a client who initially feels lost, frustrated, or overwhelmed ends our project feeling kick-ass and empowered with clarity and memorability in their business, I know I have done a good job.
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
Oh gosh, there are several that come to mind. I think the biggest lesson thus far is unlearning perfectionism. Dance taught me that everything should look perfect. Everything was noticed, from a rogue flyaway that escaped a bobby pin to how you hold your arms or sew ribbons on your pointe shoes. Being so detail-oriented has served me well as a business owner. I care a lot about my client process, double-checking design files, and how I market my studio. Every business owner can probably relate when I say the pressure to be on your game, in all aspects of your brand, at all times, is a lot to juggle. And it absolutely crushes me when things just don’t go according to plan.
But I’ve learned that there’s a big difference between being detail-oriented and being a perfectionist. As business owners, there’s so much chatter and to-do lists running through our brains at all times. But we only have capacity for so much, and we’re bound to make mistakes. There’s no way I can be an expert at everything so I’ve learned to lean into this and leverage it, instead of beat myself up. For example, it’s become a running joke that nearly every Saltd Studio newsletter I send out has some sort of spelling or grammatical error. It gives me serious palm-to-face syndrome every time, especially because I proofread *everything*. So, I decided to launch a subscriber-only game where I send a coffee shop gift card to the first two readers who email me to point out my mistakes after a newsletter goes out. I figure it helps my marketing (I know for a fact that people are reading my emails), and it gives a couple of busy biz owners the gift of coffee or tea. It’s fun!
Another way I embrace imperfection is with design. Taking an artful approach often means icons, logos, textures, etc. aren’t symmetrical or exact, especially if they’re hand-drawn. In that, there’s no way for another business to duplicate these designs identically, so ultimately, my clients know that they’re getting branding or a website that will really help them stand out.
Do you have multiple revenue streams – if so, can you talk to us about those streams and how your developed them?
Yes! Something that’s really important to me is making sure professional and high-quality design (whether it’s branding or websites) is accessible for business owners at any stage. Clients don’t need a big budget in order to work with with Saltd Studio. One side of my business is the custom, higher-ticket services. And the other is my shop, where entrepreneurs can purchase a website template, semi-custom brand, or strategy workbooks at a fraction of the cost of full-on custom projects.
These products are made as a bridge between completely DIY-ing something you know you’re not great at (like if you’ve never built a website before) and investing in fully custom work. My website templates are pre-designed and built sites that are ready to launch. All someone needs to do is swap out the text, colors, and images for their own. The semi-custom brands are also pre-made, but my customers still get the experience of working with me because I’ll jump in and customize their brand kit for them. They get to share their business purpose, goals, and any design preferences. I then tweak the colors, logo details, and even create a new brand texture or icon to align with their industry. Within a week, they get a whole brand suite and brand guide back. I also only sell two of each semi-custom brand, so business owners that purchase them maintain a level of creative exclusivity. I’m constantly working on new semi-custom brands, website templates, and workbooks for my shop – I love it!
Being able to develop these two different sides of Saltd Studio has also helped me find a solid revenue stream. The passive income is beneficial for balancing work and family life, and takes the pressure off needing to sign high-ticket custom clients in order to make money. I’m all about finding ways to avoid burnout and prioritize fun, creativity and motivation when it comes to work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://saltdstudio.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saltdstudio/
- Other: Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/saltdstudio/ Saltd Shop: https://shop.saltdstudio.com/
Image Credits
Headshots by Cassandra Cooper