Giddy Gratitude: Meet the folks who made hillaryweiss.com possible

When I first started dreaming up my rebrand back in January, I had three ideas:

1) I wanted something fresh
2) I wanted something different
3) And I wanted something that felt like me.

Naturally, these are the three most borderline-generic desires of any rebrand. So I needed to phone in some pros to give me a hand, and make my vague vision a killer concrete reality.

So I want to take a minute to introduce the people who helped me make this site happen.

Photos: Jeff Weller

I can’t say enough about just how brilliant this photographer is.

First off: I am INCREDIBLY awkward in front of a camera, and it makes my face do bizarre things. Yet, somehow, he managed to take my inspiration pinboard full of stark Terry Richardson portraits and shots of Cara DeLevigne’s eyebrows and turn them into a shoot that truly represented the spirit of who I wanted to grow into as a brand.

A true artist captures more than a face in the frame – but an attitude, a vibe, and a connection with whoever sees it. It’s a rare gift to have – and Jeff has it in spades.

Though I forsook the traditional ‘laughing in the coffee shop’ copywriter website shots, and basically refused to be laughing for no reason on a street corner, I feel as if these photos are infinitely more me. Straight-on, simple backgrounds, and honest urban environments. I wasn’t going for glam, I was going for edge – and he really nailed that for me. You can learn more about him and the projects he likes to do right here.

THANK YOU JEFF YOU ARE GOD DAMN AMAZING!

Design: Vanessa Gonzalez of Noirve

WOW WOULD YOU GET A LOOK AT THIS PLACE?! All Vanessa’s brainchild, I’m thrilled to say.

As a creative myself, I was crazy sensitive about wanting to be the perfect client, and get my own ideas heard while also leaving space for hey to do her expert thing. And do her expert thing she did!

She took my ‘Nastygal goes to Brooklyn’ photoshoot vibe, and channelled it into the super fresh space you see today. White space with plenty of bright colors. It feels like pop art with a solopreneur vibe, and I am freakin’ obsessed.

Even more than that though, at every step in the design process, she made it so evident that she really understood what I was after. If you’re not with the right person, designing a site can feel like a damn root canal. But this? This was like a brain party, firing ideas back and forth like confetti until suddenly, one bright morning, it was ready for dev.

Thank you so much Vanessa! Check out more of her stuff here.

Aaaand speaking of dev…

Development: Lindsay Pruitt of Hello Monday

HUGE thank you hugs to my amazing code magi Lindsay. This woman is THE BOMB, and the entire flow of the project was absolutely seamless. She gets the job done right the first time, and is so fantastically receptive to feedback and my wheedling last minute adjustments.

She made Vanessa’s gorgeous design come to life without a hitch, and is also a phenomenal teacher. Armed with her how-to guide I can now tinker with every slice of the site, AND she came through at the 11th hour when I, grimy from a day of moving, sent her a panicked 6 PM email.

Support

Shout out to my amazing best bear Nikki (for holding my hand at basically every turning point in my life.)
My awesome boyfriend Zach (for tolerating my midnight ramblings about this tweak and that, and the annoying nature of self-crafting my own content with patience and grace)
My fabulous roommate Corinna (for understanding why I was hunched at my laptop over around carcasses of delivery sushi at the end of every day for a few weeks.)
Aaaand my oh so wonderful former YBS partner Cassie, for lovin’ up this next venture of mine, and rocking out on her own work in the most incredible ways.

And, of course, thank YOU for being here, for paying attention, and for cheering me on just by reading through these happy pages. :)

Welcome to this next phase.

Here we go!