New Site, New Me.
Barry Lai
Life is all about manifesting destiny. This is a story about the journey I took to manifest DJGWREX.COM. The idea came to me after my DJ set at one of my private events while I was packing up my equipment. A majority of my clients would leave the party wanting to refer me to their colleagues, friends, and family. I would simply say "thank you" give them a hug and hand them my business card. Although business cards are effective tools, I wanted to give my clients more. Hence the birth of this online destination.
I needed a place where my clients can get to know, see, and hear me. In order to make this happen, I knew I had to collaborate with the right creative. First on my list was Barry Lai at Design Rehab. Barry is a rare talent. His keen sense of what the consumer wants in addition to his sense of style and detail is something that I was looking for in the creative direction, branding, and designs.
The site and rebrand took about three months to complete. Constant emails and phone calls between Barry and I became a ritual. We spoke about the look of my new logo, the direction of my brand, and what my website needed to convey. Constant iterations and critiques made us obsess over each others work. Once things came to an agreement between Barry and I, the next step was to take photos.
With the new rebrand, I needed someone to help capture me in my purest moments as a DJ - a person with a set of eyes that understood what needed to be accomplished through photo composition. Barry understood my vision and was able to prescribe some Salt as the solution. I can explain, this man goes by the name of "Salt". I've seen his work on Instagram (@shotbysalt) and easily agreed with the direction. His photos leave you with a sense of wonder and mystery. Something I exactly needed through the shots.
What an adventure! I never knew how much work went into taking photos. I literally had to go on a hike, climb mini mountains and boulders for my photos, but it was worth every single dangerous moment. What I loved most was learning the elements it took to take a great photo. Salt definitely knows what he's doing and I'm truly honored to have him shoot my site profile shots.
Lastly, Goldenchyld (who Barry also rebranded), brought his honest view points when it came to my site aesthetics and functionally as well as my new mix, Carpe Diem.
A single idea gave birth to creativity, friendship and experiences. I've learned about what it takes to build a website, rebrand a artist, how much light is needed in a photo and how to filter the low end in a mix, but most importantly, I learned about myself and manifesting destiny through hunger. I learned that if you really focus on something weather it be 20 minutes or 4 hours things will begin to reveal themselves. Life is all about your thoughts and what you do with it everyday. In the motto of 99u life is "1% idea 99% perspiration".
G-WREX