Branding is one of the most important things you can do for your business. And whether you’re doing branding for yourself or if you’re a graphic designer creating branding for a client, there are some important steps that you need to consider before you even pick up a pencil and make that first logo sketch.
I’m Ash Francis; I’ve been working in web and online marketing for over 15 years and developed several brands along the way, and here are the things I’ve learned over the years.
- Don’t sketch right away. It can be really tempting to pick up your pencil and start designing logos straight out of the gate, but every time I’ve done this, I’ve found myself pushed down a path where I form the brand around the logo rather than the other way round. Remember, the logo signifies the brand, not the other way around.
- Outline who you are and what you represent early on. What is “it” about? Where does it position itself in the market? How should people feel when they see this or hear it mentioned? That’s what your brand is. Do the cheesy corporate thing and come up with your keywords and buzzwords, maybe a core of 3 to 5, with some satellite words around that if you can. That’s the foundation of your brand and everything needs to be built upon this.
- Colours are important. What are your colours looking like? There’s a lot of information out there on colour theory, colour psychology, contrast and visibility; build a solid colour palette (as well as white and black replacements)
- Establish your type. Getting your font right is important; it’s going to follow the brand everywhere. Makes sure the body font is a legible one so you’re not chopping and changing trying to meet web guidelines for your site. Get it right early and save yourself the headache down the line.
- Now you can draw. Now you’ve got everything in place, you can start designing! Remember when you design your logo, you’re designing for everywhere it can show up, not just on a white background! Remember to design for dark, black and white and even on products and billboards. There are plenty of mockups for that if you need help picturing how it’s going to look.
I’ve created a free document that can help you with your brand design process, linked here, or if you want to hire a professional, contact me and let’s get your brand design underway!