Branding: Where do I Start?

Building your brand from scratch or re-branding your business is no small feat. After all, you’re essentially creating a personality for your business. Your business already has a name and a home (the office), but what will its personality be?

Building this “personality” is exciting, but it can feel overwhelming. Where do you even begin? We want you to have as much fun as possible building your brand, so we’ve come up with a list of the first things you should consider when building your brand.

Brand Words

Put together a list of words or phrases that you would like your brand to portray. If your business has a mission statement, that’s a great place to start.

Ask questions such as:

• What adjectives describe the heart of your company?
• Why you do what you do?
• What do you want people to think about when they see your brand?

If you’re having a hard time coming up with words to describe your brand, use the sets of adjectives below to get the ideas flowing.

Traditional vs. Contemporary
Exclusive vs. Approachable
Professional/Buttoned Up vs. Fun/Playful

Brand Colors

What colors do you like? What colors do you hate? Colors say a lot about a business, so it’s important to choose them wisely. If you’re not sure where to start, or you want to know more about what colors say about your brand, check out some of our best tips on how to choose colors for your brand.

Brand Symbols

Are there any symbols that define your business or represent your industry? A distinguished symbol can become the cornerstone of a logo and your brand. Take some time and jot down any symbols that you think could represent your company.

Other Brands

Make a list of brands you like and brands you don’t like, and then write down what you like or dislike about each one.

Elements to consider:

• Fonts
• Logos
• Colors

Anything that you can identify as an element you like or don’t like will help when it comes to building your brand. Even more, knowing your preferences will help you verbalize your vision to design agencies, and it will save you a lot of frustration along the way.

Ready, Set, Brand!

Now that you’ve worked through the hard questions, you’re ready to start building your brand. We’d love to assist you in any way we can, from creating a brandbook to designing your logo. Contact us to get started today!