One of the things that I’ve been wanting to do or have here on JaypeeOnline was a blog mascot. The reason why I wanted to have one is because a blog mascot is one good way of branding a blog, making a blog stand out from the crowd and easier to identify for readers and visitors. A mascot is also good for marketing a blog. It works the same way as companies use their corporate logos, while others have both – a logo and a mascot.
When I decided that I wanted/needed a mascot for my blog, I started to look around for someone who can create it for me. I tried contacting and requesting quotes from different sites/designers but unfortunately, most of their fees were too expensive for my budget. I searched high and low, left and right but to no avail. I also asked the help of friends to find someone who can do this type of job for me. It took me a long time before I was able to find someone. I accidentally came across Dan Bailey while looking for stock illustrations from iStockphoto.
Dan Bailey is a freelance graphic artist/designer who creates royalty-free illustrations on his free time and sells them at iStockphoto. After checking out his portfolio and sample work, I immediately contacted him via email and told him what I needed. Unfortunately at that time, he was busy with several projects and told me that he can’t accept the job but told me to check back a couple months later when he’s no longer busy. To make the long story short, I contacted him again a couple months later and he was available, so we started working on the blog mascot.
Here are some of the rough sketches Dan made:
Dan would work on a sketch and send it to me for approval, then I would send it back to him with the changes that I wanted to be done. That continued for several days until I finally liked how the mascot looked like and asked Dan to make the final copy. The mascot was already done by May and has been lying around during my 2 month hiatus. I’m glad that I had the time to do it and finish it yesterday. Some of you might have already seen it on my blog header as I’ve added since yesterday, but I wanted to do an official introduction so that you guys would know about it, how it was made and also an invitation to my RSS subscribers, those of you who are reading my posts from different RSS aggregators to stop by and check out JaypeeOnline’s blog mascot. The one in the blog header is a bit too small so I provide a larger version of the finished product below.
[I've added some watermarks just as a precautionary measure to deter image pirates or thieves]
If you might notice, the mascot closely resembles my profile pic in my About page. I’ll also be implementing/incorporating the blog mascot into my RSS feed and also on my Twitter account. I’m not really that good in graphic design so its taking me a while and I’m still working on the Twitter background. But do expect it soon.
Dan Bailey is a very good designer to work with. I feel very fortunate to have met him and happy that I chose him to create this blog mascot for me. He’s honest, very patient, does his work on schedule and that’s why I highly recommend him to anyone who would want to have a blog mascot or any other illustrations done for personal use, their blog/website or company. You can visit his website at danbaileyonline.co.uk or his blog and if you want to contact him via email, you can ask me and I’ll provide you his email address.
Btw, aside from incorporating the blog mascot to the header section, I’ve also changed the banner design by changing the font type/style .
What do you guys think about JaypeeOnline’s blog mascot? Well, I hope you guys like it. Feel free to leave your comments, reactions or suggestions regarding the mascot and the changes I’ve made to the banner.
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August 11th, 2009 at 7:11 am
That is a really nice blogging mascot. With it being created from scratch it sure is unique, and a big step towards building your own personal brand. The change in typeface also works, it is bolder and more easy to read. Good luck with your new look, may it prove to be successful for you.
August 10th, 2009 at 7:40 pm
@Tyrone – Thank you! Hmm..the first thing that comes to mind is a mascot that has piles of money around him and maybe some bling-bling. Hehe :D
August 10th, 2009 at 7:35 am
Nice mascot! A mascot is a trademark for a blog. What would be possible mascot for millionaireacts? :)
Tyrone | Millionaire Acts´s last blog ..3 Types of Income on Taxes
August 9th, 2009 at 7:20 pm
@Ade – Good to know that you love it too. About the mascot facing that way, I don’t know how to explain it but I like it better that way than facing left. Maybe because the photo it was copied from is also facing the same way? We’ll see, if I have the time I’ll try to flip it and make it face right. Thanks for the suggestion. :)
August 9th, 2009 at 7:16 am
I love the blog mascot concept. Maybe flip him around on the header so he’d face right? It kinda looks weird making him face the end of the page, but that’s just me.
Ade´s last blog ..Ade And The Salad: An Epic Battle Between Good And Evil
August 8th, 2009 at 12:40 am
@aldrin – Thanks pare! :D
August 8th, 2009 at 12:35 am
wow. that’s very cool…
a.cantos´s last blog ..Moblin to come pre-installed to future Asus Netbooks
August 8th, 2009 at 12:30 am
@Vincent – Thank you! :D
August 8th, 2009 at 12:29 am
Looks good :)
Vincent´s last blog ..Free Norton AntiVirus & Internet Security 2010 Download
August 7th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
@Mike – Thanks for the compliments! If you can make one yourself, that would be great. You don’t have to hire somebody else to do it for you. I wish I had the skills to do it but I don’t, that’s why I had to hire someone. :D
Let us know when you’ve created a blog mascot for your blog, ok? Btw, thanks for dropping by. :)
August 7th, 2009 at 8:36 pm
the mascot really looks nice and unique, it complements your blog perfectly. i think i’ll make one too for my blog, hehe..
Mike´s last blog ..Logos Showcase
August 7th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
@jong – Hehe..I know what you mean man coz the first time I uploaded the new header image and banner style, the blog looked totally different even to me. Thanks for the compliments! :D
August 7th, 2009 at 8:05 pm
Hey Jaypee,
the very first time i saw the mascot, i thought you redesigned the whole layout. haha very impressive, thanks to dan.
Cheers
jong´s last blog ..PhotoHunt: Protect(ion)
August 7th, 2009 at 10:00 am
@Michael – I didn’t change the theme. I only added a blog mascot into the header and changed the banner font style. :D
August 7th, 2009 at 9:55 am
I like you new theme man.
August 7th, 2009 at 8:35 am
@Kelvin – Thanks! You want one too? Sure, why not? You can also hire a professional designer or if you have friends who are Fine Arts grads or into Graphics Design, you can just ask them to do it for you for free or maybe lunch or dinner? Hehe
Yes, a blog mascot helps in branding and marketing a blog or any type of product. :)
August 7th, 2009 at 8:33 am
ganda ng mascot, I want that too. Tama ka po, magandang idea nga ang mascot sa blog branding and marketing… :)
Kelvin Servigon´s last blog ..Download Free Useful Photoshop Brushes
August 7th, 2009 at 8:20 am
@PC – Thank you! Dan sure did a great job with it and I’m fortunate to have had him design the mascot for me. Thanks for taking the time to stop by my blog. :D
August 7th, 2009 at 8:16 am
It is indeed an amazing mascot and Dan has done a great job. Excellent branding for your site.
PC ´s last blog ..13 Best Windows Mobile Apps
August 7th, 2009 at 4:35 am
@Jhay – Thanks! Yeah, I do. You’re the first one to see the mascot even when it was still during the design stages, right? ;)
T-shirt? Great idea and definitely a good prize for a contest. :D
August 7th, 2009 at 4:30 am
Nice touch on the mascot. Though you know all of my thoughts on the design. ;)
This would look cool on t-shirt. (Oops! Another idea for a prize, which means another contest. lol)
August 7th, 2009 at 3:20 am
@Surender – Thanks for the compliments! :D
August 7th, 2009 at 3:18 am
JP Logo,header all things are great.
It is the identity of the brand.
Surender Sharma´s last blog ..Indian Independence day Dreamhost web hosting offer
August 6th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
@Loy – Thank you! I’ve already made changes and have incorporated the blog mascot into the header so that its viewable on a 1024×768 resolution.
You still use a 800×600 resolution? Hehe..1024×768 is the new standard or default size for display resolutions. :D
August 6th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
Woah! Nice blog mascot, Jaypee. However, I recommend that you style your logo and header to accommodate lower screen resolutions. I have 800×600 screen resolution because my monitor is small, and I can’t see the entire mascot..hehe…
August 6th, 2009 at 7:15 pm
@Raju – Thanks man! I’m happy that you guys love it. Yes, I’m thinking about doing that in the near future. For now, I’m working on implementing the mascot on my Twitter background and on my RSS feeds.
Regarding the price, I’ll just email you about it coz I’m not sure if I can discuss it here. :)
August 6th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
Awesome… plain awesome… I just love the mascot. May be now you can think about having the mascot at different places within the blog as well with some minor variations. If you don’t mind can you tell me how much did it cost for the mascot?
August 6th, 2009 at 6:15 pm
@K – Glad to know that you love it. Btw, you said it looks “funny”? Is that a bad thing or a good thing? Hehe If you want one, you can hire Dan Bailey and I can give you his email address if you want. Just let me know.
Thanks for the compliments regarding the banner. I was implementing the blog mascot when I realized that the old banner needed some improvement. So I decided to do create a new one that would fit with the blog mascot. I’m happy that it turned out good and that you guys like it. :D
August 6th, 2009 at 6:11 pm
Ohnoes, I LV it. I want one for myself, something like a caricature of my face. Yours looks funny tho’, haha medyo matanda kang tingan sa mascot mo.
Your banner looks neat, super SEO ang dating and that’s one of the feature of this blog that I like, a good banner makes a good image to a blog.
K.noizki´s last blog ..Goodbye buddy
August 6th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
@joie – Thanks bai! Haha, the “kilay” is the one feature that stands out for you huh? Name? I haven’t thought about that. Thanks for the idea. I might just give it a name one of these days. :D
August 6th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
great mascot bai. I love the “kilay”. Does your mascot have a name?
joie´s last blog ..Demo: Concept Attainment Strategy