Building a Uniquely 'You' Brand with Designer Evie Kemp

Ever since she was a little kid, New Zealand-based maximalist artist and interior design consultant Evie Kemp loved art and design. “I was always drawing, redesigning my dollhouse, or watching room makeovers on TV.” Then, during her teenage years, Evie says, “I became really insecure about being ‘different’ and would do almost anything to avoid standing out.” 

That urge to fit in led her to law school, but while studying law, “my mental health became bad,” Evie says, “and I took six months off. In that time, as I got well again, I focused on working out what I really did enjoy, and decided to apply to study graphic design instead.” Returning to her early passion for art was life-altering. “It was through that degree that I started to really discover my own voice—and embrace all the quirks I’d pushed down for a long time.”

In the 15 years since making that decision to focus on developing her skills in a career she’s passionate about, Evie’s confidence and artistic voice have helped her to build her own business. “I find more and more that I’m bolder and more colorful and creative than ever,” she says. “It’s a bit like the old ‘Which came first, the chicken or the egg?’ thing: I don’t know if I get more confident and comfortable with myself the more my work is more exuberant, or if it’s the other way around. I’d never say my style is ‘developed’ though—it’s definitely still developing.” 

Evie’s style shines through in her bold aesthetic that’s filled with bright colors and mixed patterns. Read on for Evie’s tips for building an online brand that reflects your voice, developing an audience-driven content strategy, and using Squarespace to manage multiple income streams with ease. 

Creating a uniquely “you” website

Where and how to show up online is pivotal to the success of any creator or entrepreneur. As Evie puts it: “For me, my website and social media are my ‘face.’ In a digital world, it’s my website that represents me and has to charm and convince people of my expertise.” 

Creating a branded website that uniquely represents you and what you offer isn’t just important because a distinct brand will help you stand out from the competition. It’s also important to accurately represent your style, and attract the kinds of clients, customers, or audience who’d best connect with you. 

“When people choose to work with me, they’re actually working with just me,” Evie says, “so it’s really important that both my website and social media presence shares my personality. I want them to feel like ‘me’—that as you move through them you get a real sense for who I am and how I work, because that determines if I’m a good fit!” 

Although it can be useful to check out what other people are doing to design their websites, Evie also cautions against adopting design trends that don’t match your true aesthetic. “It wouldn’t make sense, or be very helpful if my website was a slick, minimalist number with black and white photography,” Evie points out, “because that’s just not me. I think sometimes we can look at a beautiful website or a social media platform and become a bit fixated on making our own look like that. In reality, these things have to be so much more personal.” 

To start establishing your own branding, Evie shares this advice: “I found a good way to think of it is: If I was a website, what would it be like? Does it look like you? Feel like you? Sound like you? If it doesn’t, you need to take another look.” 

Make a website as functional as it is eye-catching

Evie recently redesigned her Squarespace website to even more closely match the look, feel, and functionality of her brand. Her philosophy about web design reflects her philosophy about interior design: that it’s “as practical as it is good-looking.” 

For Evie’s website, templated image galleries are a key piece of the puzzle. “This means that I can absolutely fill my site with images of my work, and they slot neatly into the template and look great across desktop and mobile,” Evie says. “It also means that I can really quickly add in new images as I need to, without having to redesign the whole page, so my portfolio can be kept up to date—no excuses.” 

Another Squarespace must-have for Evie is the announcement bar that greets visitors at the top of every page of her site. “My website features a lot of content, so it’s really good to instantly draw attention to certain things!” 

She appreciates that these features only “take me a minute to update, but keep my site current and functioning as best as it can.” 

Developing a branded content strategy

Producing high-quality content—whether as an engagement tactic or as an income stream itself—should be a key strategy for any growing brand. But for many creators, it can be difficult to find a balance between producing enough content and being too ambitious with content creation. It helps to create an underlying strategy that informs every content decision you make. 

For Evie, that decision-making process is largely driven by what resonates with her audience. “My content strategy is really led by what I find my audience engages with, as well as what I’m really interested in at any given time. I let my audience decide whether they like something or not, rather than making an editorial decision that something is outside of my niche,” Evie says. 

Evie uses a variety of content types to connect with her audience and scale her brand: from her recently redesigned website, to her social media channels; from her website’s blog that’s full of interior design trends and tips, to her newsletter. Her audience-driven philosophy helps her discover which content types and themes are most worth her time and energy. “Often it can be the most random seeming content that can resonate with people the most, or start off a whole new thread of exploration.” 

That said, Evie also recognizes that her audience is not a monolith: different segments of followers engage with her content for a variety of reasons. “I’m conscious about balancing across the main content pillars of interiors, art, DIY/craft, and fashion—and keeping an even spread! By maintaining that balance, it naturally weaves and links them all together, while offering a fair representation of what you can expect from me.”  

A great example of it all coming together is Evie’s Studio Shop: her website’s art gallery masquerading as an online store (and vice versa), where she sells affordable art prints and periodically drops new art collections.

“I wanted to re-think the idea of an online store as another stream of creativity that could transform into my own online gallery show,” says Evie. Each new art collection drop is “a great source of content, too: In the lead up to the collection, I share lots about the works involved and the process.” 

Managing multiple income streams with Squarespace

Evie has built her business around multiple income streams, including her Studio Shop, consultations, brand collaborations, and ebook sales. It can be a lot to balance, but there are some key Squarespace features that help Evie to automate and streamline the inevitable admin that goes into being self-employed. 

“Channeling as much as possible through my website is a big one for me in terms of keeping track of all the different things I do and income streams I have,” says Evie. She prioritizes making her Squarespace website automate as much “admin and pre-admin” work as possible. For example, Evie says, she ensures that her website “has the answers to common queries, clearly describes work processes, and invites people to learn more before they get in touch.” 

Evie also emphasizes the importance of creating a variety of automated emails and utilizing forms wherever it makes sense. “Spending time creating automated emails that are sent when I make a sale in my shop, or when someone signs up to my newsletter, means I keep on top of things—even when I’m not!” Automation like this might mean a little more frontloaded work, but a lot more freedom down the line: Emails like the types Evie automates helps her to stay professional and connected when her audience engages with her, even when she’s focusing her time on actually creating. 

Similarly, including strategic forms on her Squarespace site helps Evie to save time at the point of contact. “If someone books an interiors consultation with me, they fill in a short questionnaire that immediately gives me a good idea of what they’re looking for. Similarly, for commercial clients, having the functionality to be able to get a few key details of a project means that I can reply quickly and appropriately. I love this Squarespace feature—it’s so easy to customize and really improves communication.” 

Balancing business goals vs. artistic expression

Like many creatives who make a living from their art, Evie is no stranger to the tension between driving business goals and honoring her authentic artistic expression. 

“I think a lot of artists struggle with this: we’ve grown up with the ‘starving artist’ myth, and the idea that to be truly committed to your art, you can’t possibly make money or work with brands or do other work,” Evie confides. “We’re made to feel ashamed of wanting financial success or freedom—which is just unfair!” 

To other creative professionals who are trying to stay authentic to themselves as artists, while also striving to grow their businesses, Evie imparts this reminder: “You’re allowed to enjoy your work and have business ambitions.”

“I’m not a snob—I believe art is for everyone,” she adds, “and the same opportunities that often provide me with the best income, also help to get my art into the everyday lives of people (through brand collaborations, packaging design, etc). And that is worthy of both success and respect.” 

“It’s only been as I redesigned my Squarespace site recently that I had this revelation: that I can ‘art’ in my own way, and ‘business’ in my own way, too—both are valid and both can work together. Is that not the magic of being an independent creative?!”

Inspired by Evie’s story? Start building your own brand on Squarespace.