We are in the final stages of working through our first 5 brand kit clients that we picked for the free design, as we introduce this new service at mint & poppy – so having 'all things brand' on our mind is an understatement.
We got so many amazing responses to receive a free brant kit, that it was so hard to choose just 5! Reading through everyone’s questionnaires was a really great way to learn more about you all but also see one common trend that everyone seems to struggle with… *drumroll please*
Creating a cohesive brand identity but also identifying what their current brand personality looks like…
So for those of you who may be feeling this way, you are definitely NOT alone! It’s normal really… you’ve started a business based off a service or product you’re passionate about – that doesn’t mean you should be an expert in every other field such as accounting, administrative, sales and in this case, design and marketing!
Let’s go back to the basics and talk about 5 ways you can determine if you have a strong brand identity and what your current brand looks like.
Font
Choosing a font may seem minuscule in the grand scheme of things, but honestly – it’s a huge part of your brands identity. When you think of your website for example, a huge part of that is the copy on each page. It’s important that your typography represents your brand well and isn’t just a generic font preselected for you.
If you have a more professional audience and business, you shouldn’t have a font like the good ‘ol comic sans we all used to love growing up. It represents a more playful and fun vibe versus a more structure one.
Colours
This is a big one because a lot of people end up picking their favourite colour as their brand colours versus doing some research and identifying colours that resonate with their audience. As soon as you land on a website (or social platform, marketing material etc…) you should be able to identify a feeling or emotion on this business based off the colour.
For example, if you are a business that sells natural skin care products that portray a calming, soothing and relaxing message – your colours shouldn’t be a bold red. Ask yourself what type of mood do you want people to be in when they are using your products or services? Always make sure your brand colours fit the brand personality in its entirety and use those colours throughout your platforms to stay consistent.
Pictures
This is a hard one because it can get expensive to consistently hire a professional photographer to take your photos up a level (or several levels haha) – so we get it! But the thing is, the photos you share whether it be on your social platforms, marketing materials or on your website NEED to be profeshhh. When someone lands on your space, they need to see high quality, clear, crisp images that represent your business – otherwise they are likely going to hop off and shop somewhere else.
If you want people to see you at the high-level business that you are (or want to be) than you have to be showcasing yourself at that level. There are tons of tips and tricks online you can do to up your photo-taking game without having to pay top dollar for a professional photographer (to get started).
Website
Every. Single. Business. Should. Have. A. Website. That’s our stance and we’re sticking to it. Maybe there are a fewwwwww situations where it’s not needed – but we always tell our audience that if you are running a business, you should have a space online that YOU own – that’s not to say Instagram isn’t a great place for your business, but at the end of the day it’s not a platform that you own so what happens if something changed tomorrow (rip IG). The other thing is that if someone searches you on social media, they are usually going to your website for more information – so you have to make sure this space perfectly represents your business.
Do you have a clean layout? Do you have too much text making things hard to read? Do you have endless amounts of pages, causing the user to get lost? Are your images consistent and on brand? These are all questions you should ask yourself when it comes to your website but think of it as if you were checking out your website for the first time – do you get there and say ‘hell yes, that is ME and that is my business’ or do you question the brands personality?
Logo
Getting a logo designed can be a pretty daunting experience – first, it can be expensive but also it’s SO hard determining one single logo that will represent your business (…forever!?) so a lot of the time, we just make one up quick and use it in the interim. The problem with this, is that people start to identify your logo as part of your business. It’s important to have a logo that is strong, confident and clearly identifies your brand.
It might be an investment, but it’s definitely worth it if you’re happy with the outcome and your logo will be a huge identifier when it comes to your business.
Having a strong brand identity is so important for your business and overall growth as a company. It’s going to be the key part of how you attract your audience and therefore the level of success as a whole.
We are so excited to finally offer branding kits as part of our services and can’t wait to show the work we’ve been doing behind the scenes with a few businesses. We’re going to be offering this service on our website as of April 1 (no joke… LOL #aprilfools) so send us a DM or email us with your information if you want to be the first to know when the news hits!
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