For this new What’s in a Brand? interview, I’m speaking with Tina Duarte, the owner of Boreal Translations. Tina is an English and French to Portuguese translator, working in a number of different fields. Tina and I e-met after she sent me an email, and we quickly started discussing about our websites – it became quite clear that her views needed a whole interview to themselves!
Hello, Tina. It’s very nice to have you on the series. Before we delve into your branding secrets, can you tell our readers a bit more about yourself and your business?
Hello, Emeline. First of all, let me tell you how honored I feel with the invitation to be part of your “What’s in a Brand?” series. Thank you so much. I’ve been following your blog for some time and I’ve always considered this series as extremely interesting. Now, about me: I am a native Portuguese translator and I work from English and French to Portuguese, as a freelancer, since 2006. I specialize in Business, Legal, International Affairs, Marketing and Tourism. In fact, before starting my university studies in Translation, I was already professionally linked to languages, as I had been working for several years in the export department of a company where I was in charge of all the contacts with clients from very different places (Saudi Arabia, UAE, United States, Canada, Singapore, Japan, China and some countries in Europe). That experience strengthened my passion about what I believe is the essence of translation: to bridge the gap between two cultures, two people.
One thing that particularly struck me when I was visiting your website for the first time is how straight to the point it is. Having had the chance to discuss all things website with you, I know you are a firm believer in brevity. Can you explain this thought process and why it works for you?
I consider that the thought process for building my website was a bit hard although rewarding at the end. I wanted it to be as clean as possible, straightforward, with nothing more than the information I believe the potential clients would look for, and to also be a reflection of my professional attitude.
In my opinion, in general, people that are looking for our services (direct clients or translation companies) will not spend much time reading and analyzing every single detail of our academic background and professional experience, they tend to just “pick” the main parts. So, I’ve tried to convey the information in a simple and clear way and I think that this brevity rather than underestimate my value or my capacities as a professional, actually helps me to standout among my peers.
Boreal Translations – surely that’s not a common name for an into Portuguese translator. Why did you choose this name and not something more reminiscent of your native country?
The thought process leading to the name “Boreal” was indeed not linear. My goal was to find a name that would be understandable in the languages I work with. The original idea was to choose a Latin name connected to translation but I realized that it is something already done by a lot of companies in our area so I gave up on that line of thinking. Later, I figured that rather than limit the choice to the linguistic area, I could try a word describing a nature condition. I mean, what can be more universal than Nature itself? Apart from that conclusion and because I live in a little village and always felt deeply connected to nature and to its amazing surprises, I came across “Boreal” (from “aurora boreal” in Portuguese) that is similar to English (aurora borealis) and French (aurore boréale).
One aspect I really like about your brand is the colors and general feel to it. You really managed to capture the atmosphere of an aurora. How did you come up with it?
Let me tell you something: my favorite color is blue. So, after having decided the name and concept for the brand, I tried to match that personal touch with the image and the magnificent colors of the aurora borealis. I had the precious help of the programmer / web designer that was very supportive during this whole creative process.
And now for the traditional questions! We all know that branding is more than a name and a logo. If you had to choose three words to represent your brand, which ones would they be?
I would say “dedicated”, “straightforward” and “reliable”.
Finally, how do you manage to convey these aspects to your customers?
- Dedicated – whenever I have a project to be done, my attention becomes 100% focused. It’s not an option, it’s my working method, as I believe that it is the best way to deliver the most accurate final work.
- Straightforward – I consider it as an efficient and important tool for good time management. It’s important to adopt a personalized and straightforward way of communicating with the clients.
- Reliable – it’s essential to keep the customer happy and by sticking to its instructions and needs we are strengthening that basis. Most of all, it’s a matter of respect.
These three and a couple more represent the professional attitude that I daily strive for.
Thanks a lot for sharing your views with us, Tina!
[…] For this new What’s in a Brand? interview, I’m speaking with Tina Duarte, the owner of Boreal Translations. Tina is an English and French to Portuguese translator, working in a number of different fields. […]