Every entrepreneur starts with a dream. This “dream” is part of our journey and story. The evolution of our story and how we tell it to others visually and verbally becomes the magical “brand” that we all want to achieve. If we capture our story in the right light and deliver it to our audience, we will grab their attention and leave them anticipating what's to come!
Let me start by saying that there is no one size fits all when it comes to branding. Every designer is different in the way they approach a client – and equally every client is a special, unique chance for us designers to channel our creativity and help capture the story and hearts of our clients audience. Every client has a deep rooted connection to their trade and we have to work together to bring this to life.
So you think this might be the best time to rebrand? Let’s take a look at the importance of developing a meaningful brand for YOUR business.
Know the importance of YOUR Brand. Every business is extremely unique and special in their own way – that makes us who we are! Before you start this process – you need to have a “why.” What drives you? What are you offering to your clients that is unlike any other? What keeps you up at night as you pace and think about all of the possibilities? Without this “why”, there is no substantial ground to start from. Dig deep, know your reasons and keep moving forward.
Find YOUR Voice. The way you represent your brand is going to develop its own personality. Your voice will be so important – it’s how you will represent yourself, it’s the type of verbiage you’ll use in your articles, blog posts, social media content and printed collateral. You want it to be bold and confident, yet still represent you, who you are and what your story means. Your voice may evolve over time, but you want to stay true and consistent with your roots and your overall mission.
Create an Experience. Once you have had some mini therapy sessions with yourself and have dove deep into the reasons your dream and story are so important to you, it’s time to get to work! This is where the visuals start coming to life. Building your visual brand – your logo design, key coordinating elements, your color palate, choosing typefaces and backgrounds and textures…
Consistency is Key. Once you have decided on the direction you’d like to take your branding from a visual and tonal perspective, you need to stay true to what you’ve developed thus-far and continue on in the path you have created. Say you have established your new logo design and have created a business card to compliment it. You then need to stay the path and continue on with the rest of your potential collateral in that same overall branded look. The consistency of your brand should be considered in every decision you make moving forward. Does the tone of the article you have written for your business align with your ideals and echo your voice? Does the social media, blog content and visuals you are showing the world follow through with the same “why.” Not only are your printed and web collateral important, but also your physical space, if you have an actual location that clients can visit. You want your clients to know you, to understand your "why" and to follow you on a journey.
Have a Plan. What does your brand blueprint look like? What is it that you want to achieve with this new look and where do you want it to take you. This plan will evolve over time as your business takes so many different forms and ends up meaning so many different things to different people. Stay true to yourself, true to the brand you have created, stay consistent and confident and you can take your business wherever you want to go!
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