A logo is a visual representation of your brand. It can be simple, it can be intricate, it can be clever, it can be witty, it can be anything you want it to be, as long as it’s clear and it’s you.

Consistency is key

Whether you’re a blogger, designer, writer, or an individual establishing your personal brand, it’s important to develop a mark that you can use consistently. It can be confusing to your audience if your site bears one logo, your cards bear another, and your products yet another! Imagine if one of your favorite brands did that: they’d look disorganized and unprofessional, even if their product was still great.

Please take heed: your site, your business cards, your labels, and your products should all bear the mark that represents your brand.

Simple is good

A logo doesn’t have to have a lot of bells and whistles to be great–as a matter of fact, simpler is often better. Think about your favorite international fashion brands!

If you don’t have design experience, a simple text logo will more than suffice. Creating a logo can be as simple as choosing an appropriate font, using a vector graphics program to create the image, and saving the file. You can follow these step-by-step instructions on how to design a simple text logo.

Looks are important

Fashion lovers know that aesthetics matter. And while substance is important–great content, incredible products, beautiful photos, etc.–how you present your brand is the first step to getting noticed.

With the Vogue dream in mind and the glitz and glamor that surround the industry, it is no wonder a career in fashion journalism is so sought after. But along with the celeb mingling and backstage passes comes a high reliance on luck, contacts and your ability to shine in order to break into the
business.

More media = more opportunities

Fashion journalism is no longer centered on writing features  for magazines and newspapers, but now includes a variety of possibilities. In addition to writing and editing, you are open to photo shoot styling, public relations work, researching, interviewing and designing. The numbers of media outlets have also increased beyond just writing for print, to online magazines, websites, television and blogs.

Even with the additional options, fashion journalism remains an increasingly competitive career to enter and takes a lot of preparation. But
if you’re ready to put in the hours, hard work, and a little free labor, you can certainly make your way to the top. Here’s how:

Know the trade

It’s not absolutely essential to have a journalism degree–you can work your way up through gaining work experience and building contacts. But whichever path you take, it is vital to know the trade. Study the ins and outs of design houses, brands, and current trends so you can shine when your time comes.

Read, read, and read!

You can never do too much reading. Any spare time you have, pick up your favorite fashion bible or a history of fashion book, and ensure you read the newspaper daily. Browse different publications, including men’s magazines like GQ or Esquire, as reading different sources and styles is key.

Organize placements and internships

During a placement at Closer, I asked the fashion editor how to succeed in the industry and she replied, “Work experience, work experience, work experience!” You have to expect long hours, expensive travel costs, and no wages, but it is crucial in order to succeed in fashion journalism. Read
the secrets of how to become an intern here.

Build contacts

Contribute to as many publications as you can. Find out who the editor is, pitch an idea and get your articles published. Writing for different publications will give you insight into the industry and help you build your portfolio. There are hundreds of sites looking for guest writers, but be prepared to do so for free.

Showcase yourself and your work

Create a source whereby potential employers can view your work. When you apply to write for publications, they will ask to see samples or your website. Blogging is a popular and social alternative to display your writing style and interests, and it’s a great tool for networking.

Two not-so-pretty things seen often:

1. The Blogger navbar, which resides at the top of the page and can get in the way. It takes away from the blog design, a definite no-no for people who love style!
2. The double-line border that encloses header text and images in the default Minima template–which often winds up off-center or with the photo overlapping if the header isn’t the right size.

Here’s how to do away with both:

Hide the Blogger navbar:

1.Go to Design>Edit HTML

2. Search (control + F) for the following line of code:

]]></b:skin>

3. Right before that line, paste the following:

#navbar-iframe {display:none !important;}

Ta-da!

Remove the header border

There are two ways to do this:

1. Change the border color to transparent, or
2. Edit the HTML code and change the border size to zero so it “disappears”.

To change the border color, go to Blogger Template Designer > Advanced > Border color. Click the arrow on the dropdown menu, then click “Transparent” (the gray and white checked box) at the bottom.

To edit the HTML, go to Design > Edit HTML
Search (CTRL+F) for #header-wrapper in the HTML code.

Change the border size to 0px under #header-wrapper and #header

Et voila!

What is a badge?

As noted in How to Create a Badge for Your Blog, a badge is like a mini-advertisement for your blog. It’s usually an image link, and can be posted in the sidebar of another site to drive traffic your site. Fashion bloggers exchange links all the time, and badges are just another (prettier!) way to do this.

Here’s ours:

And here’s the code to copy and paste into your sidebar:

If you don’t have Photoshop, here’s a good article with resources for free image editing sites and creating animated gifs.

Make a badge, take a badge!

Once you’ve created your badge, post the code in the comments here and we’ll add it to the sidebar on this site!

The code should look like this:

<a href=”http://YOURBLOG.com“><img border=”0″ src=”http://THELOCATIONOFYOURBADGE.jpg“></a>

UPDATE: Disqus doesn’t seem to play well with code, so just post a link to your badge’s image and your site’s URL. For example:

http://bit.ly/ssm125.jpg

http://stylesamplemag.com

Hopefully, this works…

Get creative and show off your badge!

*Please note: We are accepting graphics from fashion, style, and beauty bloggers only. All designs are subject to review and we have the right to refuse if a badge is deemed inappropriate.

While you could achieve these effects using expensive photography equipment or by making multiple adjustments in Photoshop, there’s an easier way: Phixr. It’s free, it’s fast, and the results look pretty good!

Original photo

Upload your photo at Phixr.com. You don’t have to register–just click the green “Get started” arrow and start your upload from your computer or via a link to a photo online.

Once your photo is uploaded, select the Color Effects button, then choose Cross Process. Check the preview and adjust brightness, contrast and opacity as needed. Click Execute when it looks the way you want.

To add the Lomo effect, select Camera and Lens Effects from the left-hand menu, then choose Lomo effect. Adjust the intensity, saturation, brightness, and opacity until it looks the way you want, then click Execute.

How very Mad Men!

When you’re finished, just download your stylized picture et voila! Let us know if you try it!

An online portfolio boosts your Google-ability, raises credibility with editors, and makes it easy to share and organize writing clips. Instead of sending huge, space-consuming files via email (most editors don’t appreciate that–ahem), send a link to your organized, well-thought-out site!

What to include

Your portfolio should contain three to seven writing samples demonstrating a range of styles. Include:

• a how-to article
• a review
• an interview
• a personal experience essay
• an article based on research
• an article that demonstrates your knowledge in your area of expertise.

Organize your clips and samples

Make sure you have permission to post published clips, and organize your clips by subject or type of publication (i.e. magazine, website, custom publication, etc.).

Show off your ancillary skills

Take a few lines to explain your contribution to each sample (editing, writing, layout), and the tools and software you used to create them (Microsoft Word, Adobe Acrobat, Adobe InDesign, HTML).

Post the clip in context

Allow editors to see the clip in the context it was published. You can do this by linking to the site on which the clip appeared, or by the scanning the hard copy. If you choose to scan, save the clips as PDFs instead of JPEGs–you can always include a link to the PDF on your site, or upload it to a site like Scribd, DocStoc, or issuu if you wish to embed it directly into the page.

Keep your clips updated

Sometimes links change once an article gets archived, so check them frequently. If you’re concerned about a website removing your article, take a screenshot and save it for your portfolio. Searching Google’s cached pages is another way to retrieve “dead” articles.

Creating the portfolio

Now that you’ve gathered everything you need, it’s time to set up your portfolio. Some options include:

Writer’s Residence

For $8.99/month, Writers Residence helps you create your own website and easily edit pages, add writing samples, and create a writing resume/CV–all with no need for HTML.

Big Black Bag

With Big Black Bag, you get a free domain name, multiple templates to choose from, Paypal integration for sending invoices, an e-commerce feature, and custom form creation for $8.99/month.

MediaBistro Profile

Your MediaBistro profile features a customized display of your professional background and experiences, provides you with disk space to upload your work samples and writing clips, and is searchable by the 100,000+ editors and managers in mediabistro.com’s member database for $21/month or $145/year.

Book style

Set up a “clip book” by inserting  your clips into a document or page layout program, then creating a PDF to upload to a site like issuu or Yudu. If you need PDF creation software, you can do it online at Adobe.com, or try a free PDF creator like CutePDF.

Your Blog

If you blog about more than your writing (and really, who doesn’t?), create a separate page for your writing portfolio. Develop categories for the major writing areas or topics you cover, and tag them for greater refinement. Add a link to your sidebar or main navigation to take visitors to a page dedicated to your work.