The mistakes people make by jumping into their brand visuals, mistakes that are detrimental in building a successful brand. When it comes to the branding design process many business owners jump in head-first. Such businesses solely focus on the visuals, without really thinking about the Who, What, Why and How.
Branding is so much more than showcasing your brand’s purpose and service offering or product offering. It’s all about the why behind the brand, why your brand exists and how it intends to serve.
The visuals of any brand are important. A strong brand identity can help to create brand awareness, brand recognition and define your brand in a competitive marketplace. People don’t just need to connect with your brand visuals, they need to be able to connect with a brand before making a large investment.
Therefore, setting the foundations is an integral part of the branding process, in fact possibly the most important factor! The foundations will not only influence your brand style but also help determine and decide what your visuals should be and how these are created and designed.
Any business can create something ‘pretty’. A pretty logo, business card, website, or email template. But this prettiness needs to resonate with your ideal clients, your dream audience. Will this pretty branding actually connect with your ideal clients? Pretty still needs to have a purpose. Therefore, it’s inevitable to review your Who, What, Why and How.
Who are you targeting and who really is your ideal audience, dig deep and do as much research here as possible. What are your business goals, what are your branding goals? Why are these your goals and why are these goals so important to you on a business and personal level? And lastly, how are you going to achieve these goals?
With all these questions in mind, you will be sure to not overlook any aspect of your branding visuals.
I had the pleasure of working with Amal Mansor from Amalina Bakes who had an impressive wedding and celebration cake business in London. Amal felt her branding was “pretty” but felt a large disconnect between her actual clients vs dream clients. The old branding was very generic and it didn’t represent Amal or mean very much at all. The overall brand image certainly didn’t reflect Amal’s ideal clients.
“Sarah has designed a branding that I’m very proud to call my own – sleek and elegant with a modern twist. Sarah managed to translate my brief perfectly and exceeded my expectations. To anyone looking to elevate their brand, it’s a great investment – Sarah will bring her creative eye, experience and attention to the tiniest of details to ensure you have truly special branding and visual identity”. Amal Mansor, Amalina Bakes.
Amal was ready to take her business to the next level, attracting luxury high-end clients with more of an edgy and alternative style, a style of clientele that the current branding wasn’t attracting. We started working together on a rebrand project to transform and elevate her business.
We dug into the brand foundations – the mission, the meaning, the message. We defined and dove into the ideal clients, understanding them and I created a strategy to convey all of this to the right people.
Amalina Bakes was re-born with a beautiful new look, a new colour palette and new plan to help attract Amal’s dream customers. The new branding was something very special with a modern, chic, unique, and edgy approach, Amalina Bakes was soon attracting more suitable clients.
“Without your branding expertise, I wouldn’t have secured clients with amazing wedding venues like The Shard and the Saville Club.” Amal Mansor, Amalina Bakes.
To preview more of this chic, modern and edgy branding style, check out the full design brand board here.