Breaking Down Branding

As the dust is settling on the holidays and we’re in full-on goal planning and resolution-setting mode, we thought what better way to kick off the new year than with a look at branding? Why branding, you ask? This time of year is all about laying the foundation of the year ahead - what’s it going to look and feel like, what are you going to do, and who do you want to be when it’s over? What are you about?! That’s exactly what your “brand” as a business is! 

Whether you’re making (breaking, changing, regretting) new year’s resolutions, getting into new routines or just glad the holidays are over, who doesn’t love the energy that comes with a fresh start?

Did you know that the average business rebrands every 7-10 years? CRAZY. Or is it?

So first things first - what is your “brand”? 

Your business's brand, from a design perspective, is the set of colors, phrases, font choices, icons, patterns, and even logo variations that customers will see and instinctively associate with your business.

“Just do it.”

Or how about the distinctive golden arches of America’s fast food favorite?

Know who i’m talking about? Of course you do… and THAT’s the power of branding!

Past the visual representation of your business, your brand is a statement to your customer about who you are. 

Without knowing anything else about what they do as a company or the kind of products they sell, Disney’s whimsical, playful logo lets you know that their brand is light-hearted and fun. Take note, though… that this doesn’t mean “unprofessional” or unpolished! Disney is arguably one of the biggest companies in the entire world, but they are still able to have fun and convey a very clear (and intentional) message with their branding suite.

A well-developed and thoughtful brand suite can attract new customers and breathe new life into your business, but so many business owners rush past this critical step or just let a family member who has Photoshop create their “logo”. DO NOT LET THIS BE YOU. It’s a modern. day. tragedy! 

So, what’s a brand suite you might ask and why is it so important? Think of your branding suite as your visual “tool kit.” Inside of your tool kit is all of your logo variations, font choices, colors, icons, patterns and textures that you can easily pull out at any time whenever you need to cohesively and effortlessly communicate with your clients, customers or partners.

Branding is fun and you can get really creative with the different branding elements for your small business, but remember that every decision you make plays an important role in defining who your business is and how you are seen by your potential customers. Whenever I get the chance to partner with a small business to help develop their branding, I always like to start off by digging into the who, what, how and WHY behind what they are doing. Unless they have a puppy… in which case, I ALWAYS start 15 minutes later and soak in puppy snuggles!

Back to the important small business branding questions!

Why should people trust you?

What motivates you to do what you do?

What makes you different from your competitors?

Who is your ideal customer? (MUCH more on this in a later blog post)

What message(s) do you want your business to convey? 

The answers to these questions are ultimately used as the building blocks of inspiration to begin developing your businesses identity. Just like an old house can tell a story through worn floorboards and layers of vintage wallpaper, so can your brand suite! Looking at you, Joanna Gaines. 

Spoiler Alert: this is the part where I begin researching! I brew a big ‘ol pot of coffee (j.k...Keurig life, y’all) and inevitably blast some worship music – Jesus (and coffee) is always the answer. This process can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days, depending on how many cups of said coffee I have running through my veins and where exactly the inspiration takes me, but it’s one of my favorite parts of the branding process. Making sure your business is unique from your competitors is a HUGE priority of mine – not only for the sake of originality but also because you are YOU! There’s no other business or business owner that is uniquely you and yours, and I want to make sure that your brand is just that… yours!

Jumping back to that precious family member with Photoshop… at this point, a lot of businesses are bright eyed and brimming with new business excitement. They have nothing but good intentions, have a great product, and are eager to jump right in, set up a Facebook page and create their own logo so they can get to selling their prized pies, candles, and t-shirts. I get it, I do. I love small businesses and all of their handmade, DIY goodness too… but not everything needs or even should be DIY! I digress...

When thinking through the customer experience and how they will perceive and interact with your brand, it’s helpful to think about your business from the outside, as someone who’s never seen or heard your name. 

What does your business say and how do you say it? Are you quirky and trendy; or serious and reverent? More importantly, perhaps, than what you want to convey is sometimes what you need to portray as a brand. Do you want your bank or life insurance company coming across as loose and playful? What about your doctor? 

Are you attracting men or women with your brand’s color palette? 

What IS your color palette? 

Is the voice of your brand skewing to an older crowd while your product is leaning more towards a younger audience? 

Figuring out the answer to these and so many other important questions will help shape and define your business’s identity. This is why going through the branding process is so important and why you shouldn’t  can’t just stop at creating a fun logo!

SO, in conclusion… what are the 3 must-have tools for your brand “tool kit” we mentioned above?

Font suite

I like to recommend anywhere between 2-5 fonts for your branding suite. Choose them carefully and choose a single font for each of the primary uses you’ll have: titles/headings, copy/content, and emphasis.

1 primary font for your titles/headers/main text,

1 optional secondary option (think a bold version of your primary, for instance),

1 easy-to-read font for large amounts of copy, and…

1 script font for adding that little something extra when you need it!

Color palette

Your color palette sets the mood for your brand! Are you pastel and vintage? Saturated, bright and bold? Are you subdued and earth-toned with a splash of funky thrown in? There aren’t a lot of hard and fast rules when it comes to number of colors, but I like to recommend anywhere from 3-6 color options in a cohesive, complementary palette. 

1 light, 1 medium, 1 dark color; 1-2 optional accent colors with shades and hues. 

Icons/Design Elements

Icons and unique design elements can be a powerful visual cues to a customer about what exactly your brand is or does. Calling your restaurant “Fairhope Grille” may be a fine name, but if your logo incorporates a fish icon, for instance, the customer will immediately know your restaurant likely specializes in seafood. What if I wanted a burger? Good to know! Icons can also be used as smaller versions of your logo in order to watermark an image or graphic, as well as be used for fleshing out things like social media and review site profiles!

Now, of course, a lot more goes into building your brand than just these 3 elements, but these will be the essential elements you need in your tool kit to help shape and define everything else you do! When you have your font choices, color palette, and unique icons/design elements determined, you can easily reach into your branding tool kit anytime when you need to create a quick social media ad, flyer, or ad stress-free! 

What one way can you refresh your brand this decade? (crazy!) Let us know!

And if you’re a business owner looking for a fresh start with your brand in 2020 or maybe you’re brand new and looking to establish the right look and feel for your business before you launch, we would love to talk to you! Seriously! In keeping with the “20’s”, we’re currently offering a FREE 20-minute branding consultation to help answer any questions you may have about positioning yourself and your business for your biggest year ever.