February 27, 2022

Branding a business can be a daunting task to those just starting out. Creating a brand takes more than just a simple logo and some nice words on social media platforms to bring in clients. A Brand should consist of many layers that give it a successful voice. Just like a good recipe has to be followed correctly with the correct ingredients to have a successful cake or outcome. You have to dig deep and research how your business is going to sound and look like, what your target audience is, what your business message is conveying, and most importantly, what is your business' story or core.   


I. Story Time | The Core 

First thing is first and most important; what is the story behind the brand | business? Is it about finding truth within yourself? Is it something on how you fell in love with whatever you love doing? Is it you love helping people? Did something happen that ignited a flame; a thought? This is an important question to ask yourself before you can even come up with a name, a slogan, or anything really. It is the called "The Why". Some folks that have started a business encountered a problem or issue in their daily life that led them to create a solution for a problem or they wanted to extend their hobby into a business, but there is always a "Why." For example, a person could find that they didn't have enough photos of their grandparents and found out that alot folks wait until its too late to have family photos done, so a family photographer was born. Better yet let's go back a few hundred years to a time when the world had horse drawn carriages and it was alittle slow getting to and from places. Someone saw a problem and created the automobile as the solution or when Morse code was invented because someone's wife passed away and was buried before they could get the message. 

There is always a solution to a problem. 

II. Conveying the Right Message | Target Audience 

Once you have your core story, it is time to figure out who your target audience is suppose to be and the message you want to send out as part of the brand voice. What is my business and its purpose? What is my business' voice? Your business voice should be cohesive with the core story. The voice is alittle of everything including color, typeface, and the verbiage. Verbiage is a strong point; it helps people, thru written word, understand if you are a fun loving business, very straight-forward, or somewhere in-between. Another way to help determine what your message should be is to name three words that best describe your business? Those three words should be part of the business' core beliefs. Integrity, Strength, Community are some examples.

Now you have your backstory | core, three words that describe your business, your message and tone of voice; the behind the curtain stuff. It is time for the visuals, which in this day and age is becoming more and more important.    


III. Colors & Typeface

The Visuals are next. You have to figure out what your business is going to look like and be able to tell your basic story thru this three second visual. Why three seconds? Three seconds is the average attention span of most consumers; you have to make an impact for them to stay longer. Which leads to colors. What are the colors that will represent your brand\business. Two rules of thumb are never go with trends and use three colors; four if you must. Then ask yourself, is your business alittle more woodsy or beachy feeling, is it light and airy or dark and moody? The colors that are chosen for a brand | business sometimes can be the ones that you like, but when it comes to your business ask yourself "why" that particular color and will it convey, to the target audience, the same message you have chosen for your business. For instance, your business is selling seashells by the seashore, what colors first come to mind when you think of that sentence. Lighter color toned versions of tan, blue and pinks, right? But just because those are the first colors that come to mind doesn't mean those are the ones that set the tone for the business. Maybe your seashells are painted black with iron spikes along the edges. Those light beach tones are not going to play well with that dark themed product unless you choose darker tones with one light tone to pull the idea together. I.e. dark greys or black with a light blue or pink tone. Another layer of visuals to consider, other than color, is the typeface or lettering of the business name and across public written word. This all comes down to your voice or message. If your business is alittle more professional like lawyers or etc. then you'll want to do straight edged letters. If the business is something that deals with fast movement, you would want the letters to be slighted indicating movement or have an arrow in the name pointing forward. There are some business in the world that have colors and typeface that represent their core values and there are some that indicate to the consumer the direct meaning of their business. There are many ways that you can convey your message thru color and typeface, but which one is right for yours is up to you. 

After you have gotten all the ingredients | answers for your cake, now it is time to put them together in harmony to create a long lasting impression on the world. Using the answers to these questions you can create a custom brand voice, logo, and many possibilities that is unique to your business alone that can help it stand out in the see of the other businesses. In conclusion, you have to have the correct ingredients to make your business brand successful. 

Ask yourself these following questions:

1. What is your core | story? Is it something that inspired you? A problem that can be solved? or Is it a passion that can solve a problem? 

2. What are three words that best describe my business?

3. Who is your target audience? Is it the lonely hearts? The broken hearted? A field that needs a boost? or a group of people?

4. How is my messaged being conveyed? Is your message about hope? Is your message about strength? or Is it about the betterment of something?

5. Where do I see myself in 2, 5, 10 years? 

6. What colors are best to help convey that message and bring a ring of harmony around everything?