Analysis of your brand
Before you start anything, it is essential to take a moment to analyze your products, your business, and your target audience. How are they different from the competition? What are their strengths, weaknesses, and values? What do you want the people to feel when they see your logo or one of your ads? These are all questions that can help you create your brand image. The more you will have a clear vision of your business or products, the easier it will be to create a representative and memorable branding. Do not hesitate to write down all of the ideas that come to mind in a notebook if needed. Do not forget that you must create a brand image for your products and not the ones of a competitor. One of the most common branding mistakes is to create something too generic.
Remember that your brand image is one of the most important communication tools of your business. Indeed, the chosen elements will be used everywhere to represent the values of your project. Therefore, you must not randomly select your brand's elements: they must be well thought and planned. If needed, during your searches, you can use a mood board to capture and share what you have in mind.
Choose a color palette
Whether for a website, a logo, or your social media posts, one of the most critical elements of your branding is the colors. If you always use the same nuances, they will represent your business. For example, you only have to think about Starbuck’s green or McDonalds’ red and yellow combination. Thus, how can you choose the perfect color palette for your brand image?
Since you have already analyzed your business and your products, you might now have an idea of the tone and values that could be relevant. Keep in mind that colors have meaning; they can help you send a message or promote specific elements of your brand. For example, orange is associated with youthfulness and entertainment, whereas purple is often used to represent spirituality or luxury. Moreover, you will need more than one nuance to create your brand image. Color palette can then help. You can start the process by choosing the main color and then secondary colors (they could be either lighter or darker tones) that will answer different needs. We recommend having between three and five colors associated with your brand. To help you create a color palette, we suggest trying Coolors. It is a free tool that allows you to look for color palettes made by experts or create your own. Do not forget to note down the color codes always to use the same nuance, whatever the medium.
Choose a font
After finding the color palette, it is time to choose the main font or at least a type of font. As is the case with colors, fonts can help you share a specific tone or message. Fonts can also be used on your website, logo, and social media content.
To help you find the right font for your brand image, we separated them into two categories (they are officially more than two categories regarding fonts): serif and sans serif fonts. First, serif fonts have small lines at the end of the letters, which ease readability. They have been used for a long time for printed documents, and they have a more traditional, professional, or serious tone. On the other hand, sans serif fonts do not have these small lines. They are mainly used for the web and are known to be more modern or accessible. We recommend you choose which of these two types of fonts would be better for your brand image since it will ease your research. Moreover, it is not suggested to use more than two main fonts for your branding.
Create your first logo
Let’s now talk about the logo. We all know that the logo is often the most important element of your branding. It is then critical to have a professional-looking logo. Regarding this, you have many options: you can work with an agency, a freelancer, or do it yourself. Many platforms can help you create your logo, and we suggest you take a look at our partner FreeLogoDesign. This logo maker allows you to create a free logo from their hundreds of templates.
If you decide to make your logo yourself, keep in mind the values and message of your brand image. It would help if you also used the color palette and fonts you chose for your branding. You will have to determine which type of logo is best for your business (lettermark, wordmark, combination mark, emblem, badge). Do not hesitate to create different versions of your logo and get your imagination running!
Note down everything in a brand guide
Once you have created or found all the main elements of your brand image, you must add them to your brand guide. In sum, a brand guide is an official document where you can keep all the elements related to your branding (values, mood boards, all the versions of your logo, color palettes, fonts, the usage rules). These tools are handy because you will always know the right font or color code to use. Your brand guide will help you have a strong brand image since it will always be easy to use the same elements.
In conclusion, it is possible to create your own brand image on a small budget. The important thing to remember is understanding your business and products since it will help you stand out from your competitors. Moreover, nothing prevents you from making modifications to your brand with time. For example, if you want to update your website, you can learn how to redesign your site in just 6 easy steps!