I set up the shop in November 2010 and now, in April 2011 we already went through a makeover. I described a bit in the About that initially I created a website to showcase the work and then came the Etsy shop.

First Banner/Avatar
The first try at creating and setting up a banner/avatar was by using bits and pieces from the website. A part of that banner was created by a friend of mine, Enrico who is creative and likes to draw. He took the time to design a banner for the website which was used for almost a year.

Second Banner/Avatar
In the first couple of months I was busying trying to get a rhythm going so I didn’t really spend too much time fine tuning the banner according to the Etsy requirements which are “banner image is 760 pixels wide and 100 pixels high ” and “use .jpg, .gif or .png files no larger than 2MB”. But what I had did not fit very well and looked choppy. Luckily I have Photoshop and a bit of experience using it and I started creating a new banner from scratch. After tens of versions and opinions I decided to create a nice and clean banner which included some parts of the existing knitwear and the name of the shop which was thought of as “Pusha’s World”. Now Enrico enters stage left again and tweaks the writing to allow me to fit Etsy requirements. Here are some of the versions, the second one was used:

Then I reached design of the avatar and I hit more problems. I had ideas but as soon as I tried to put them on paper I couldn’t draw them as I wanted. Finally I decided on this simple version:

I cant say I was happy with it but I wasn’t unhappy with it either. I didn’t feel the two pieces were connected in any way but they looked better than the first version. There was no urgency to change it so I was content for now.

Third Banner/Avatar
As it turns out I do end up being spoiled by life and universe. My partner and I have been taking French classes since November 2010 and aside from starting to learn French we are lucky to meet very nice and interesting people. Currently we are taking a conversation class and in it there is a former classmate from another course. Anyway after a year of knowing her I had no clear idea what was her profession. Well thanks to Facebook I found out what she does and it is beautiful illustrations and design work. Finally some use for Facebook. Her name is Mary Lundquist and as soon as I saw her work I wanted her to design the banner/avatar for the shop. I couldn’t wait to meet with her before French class to ask if I can afford her. Luckily I still can and she was quite happy to design something. And here is the result:

So my advice if you are starting to design your shop’s banner and avatar? Start with designing something simple and easy to look at. Admit to yourself what you can and can’t do. I mean I felt I had good ideas but I was getting frustrated with myself for not being able to translate them well visually. Then keep your eyes and ears open for people you meet who are talented and can do design work. Art/Design students will probably be happy to do such work. I mean I am not dismissing my and Enrico’s work it was cute but this current version is beautiful and I feel there is a connection between the banner and avatar and it just feels right and on top I feel very happy that they are designed by a friend and someone I know. And having a beautiful quality banner and avatar matters I mean it makes me feel more confident in the look of the shop. And if I like it then I hope who comes to visit will like it too.

Happy Etsying !!!