Building a DIY Brand
Very carefully, create your own brand...
...and be careful, because it's your BRAND. Your businesses personality you're designing here. Don't mess it up...
It's not that scary, I promise. I love geeking out on brand identities, so let's talk about how you can create your own brand if you don't have the ability to collaborate with a very talented and amazing designer in the midwest, specifically Iowa.
First, we research.
Skipping the research phase is like making a cake without a recipe or an understanding of how different ingredients work. Then, you end up with a really flat cake because you didn't use baking powder, and it has no flavor because you used too much flour and not enough vanilla and cocoa powder. Ew.
When you research for your brand, you have to think of EVERYTHING.
BUT, that doesn't have to be overwhelming even though it is.
Start with your industry and your business name. Write it down. Type it out. Paint it on a canvas. Just get the information down in a way you can revisit it later.
Let's use culinary arts as an example because my mind is on a nice, fluffy cake.
We are going to open our own bakery. Yippee!!!
Our industry is culinary arts; Specifically, baking.
Our business name? I'm not sure. Let's run with: Cakes & Coffee.
Now that we have that down, let's look at the industry. We are going to look at other local bakeries and see what they sell, who their customers are, what branding they have, what their website looks like, what their social media looks like, what their team looks like...
We are going to write down what we observe. Do they tend to use the same imagery in their marketing? Do their logos look similar? Different? Common icons and imagery with their branding? Color palettes: are there commonly used colors for bakeries in the area? What sets each of them apart? What are they doing that is unique?
What do I offer as a bakery that makes me unique? What would make my customer drive an extra ten minutes to shop at my bakery, rather than visit my competition?
Write, type, paint those notes down.
Once you have answered all of these questions, it's time to start the process of creating your brand, or creating the visual identity of your business. All of the elements of this identity need to vibe together. They need to be purposeful.
We don't want to just pick elements to OUR OWN BUSINESSES BRAND just because it's a current trend, or we liked what we saw from another bakery. We can take notes on things we like and don't like, but we are going to put elements together that showcase exactly who our brand is.
Let's.... for a lack of better wording.... get in the mood.
We are going to go online, to Pinterest, Google, Behance, wherever you like to gain inspiration, and gather images of typography, pictures, colors, styles, products... literally anything you see that you think resonates with who your business is. We are going to gather everything and throw it onto a mood board.
It's like when we would cut out pictures and words from magazines and glue it onto a piece of paper... except we are doing it for our business and it's on our computer.
When you're gathering all of this inspo, keep in mind... who is your business?
Is your business silly? Serious? Super professional? Feminine? Bold? Bright? Maximalist? Minimalist? Quirky? Trusting? Calm?
I can list many more adjectives. I went to the city spelling bee in 6th grade so I'm pretty good at spelling. But I'm getting side tracked...
Figure out who your business is and keep this in mind when creating your mood board. Doing the research first will help you stay focused and move forward. Jumping right in without a plan will leave you frustrated, confused, and the process will take so much longer.
Logos and Typography!
I understand not everyone has access to Adobe Illustrator, which is the program I work most in when designing for clients.
If you're on a budget and need a logo, I would search free alternatives to creating a logo online, and create something that meets all of the requirements to your brands personality you have been keeping track of so far. Logos are not your entire brand, but your logo is an identifying piece of your brand's identity, so take your time on this step.
There's nothing wrong with starting with a word mark, or a logo that is mostly created using typography. These logos may have an image or icon included, but it may be easiest to start with typography you love and run with it.
When choosing your typography, or fonts, choose at least two that are different. These should work well together, represent your business, and they should be used consistently.
Using a bunch of different fonts in your marketing will confuse your customers, and decrease your brands strength.
It's like using way too much oil in your cake. The excessive oil prevents your cake from rising properly, and you're left with a heavy, greasy, and flat cake. GROSS.
We want to use the same typography consistently, and use them always
Colors; So many colors!
Going through a lesson on the psychology of color would take forever, so here are a few tips to help you pick your color palette:
Color is so powerful. Warmer colors like red, orange, yellow and pink can invoke feelings of warmth, love, anger, playfulness, safety, energy, and more...
Cool colors like blue, green, and purple can represent safety, sadness, responsibility, youthfulness, calmness, trust, and so on...
Find two to three colors that you think would represent who your business is and just like with our typography, we are going to stick by their side like a best friend. Use these colors consistently, and don't confuse your audience with introducing new colors. Brand recognition is so important. When people look at something like social media, billboards, a storefront, etc... they should be able to recognize who is communicating to them without seeing a name or logo. That is a strong brand identity!
If you can pick out these key elements to your brand, and as long as your use them consistently, you will soon develop brand awareness and recognition with your customers & clients.
There's so much that goes into a brand, and so much more that goes into using your brand in your marketing and advertising.
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It's a non-stop thrill ride of design, photography, and crafting stuff.
And if you would like help with your own brand design and/or marketing, I would be so honored to help you.
