Hey there! I am going to briefly go over some quick guidelines of what direction to go if you’re either A) branding your own business; or B) coming up with some ideas to tell your designer.
NOTE: IF YOU HAVE SOMETHING ON THIS LIST THAT’S A ‘DON’T’, DON’T WORRY! STYLES CHANGE AND BRANDS AND BUSINESSES ARE ALWAYS EVOLVING. YOU CAN MAKE SUPER EASY AND VERY SIMPLE CHANGES TO YOUR BRAND TO RAMP IT UP.
Tips on choosing Your Fonts
Don’t
If you see it more than one time on pinterest – DON’T USE IT. Recognizing a font when you look at someone’s branding instantly takes the value down to zero because it doesn’t register as unique or valuable. Less of something makes the value much greater. Some of these are just about on their way out so go a completely different direction. Even though they’re pretty.
Do
The safest thing you can do is use a VERY basic font, with either all uppercase or lowercase letters and add lots of spacing between the letters. Whitespace is GOOD. We like whitespace.
Tips on choosing your color palette
Don’t
Pick a color that isn’t set against other colors. Choosing colors for your brand is like picking out a paint color for your wall. If you don’t see it in every lighting, against all your stuff, on small and large scales, you probably won’t be able to really judge if it’s a good idea to use.
Do
Go with a subtle white and very light gray with one accent color that doesn’t have too much saturation. Find color palettes on my site that speak to you and I’ll help guide you. Or comment with questions.
Tips on DIY Website
Don’t
Try and design it yourself. Sorry. I am only saying it cause I love you. Don’t buy a theme that looks beautiful because when you replace it with your content it’s not going to look the same.
Do
Use squarespace because it’s beautiful, easy to set up, and hard to mess up. Only do your own branding if you absolutely can’t afford it. Squarespace has a lot of Search Engine Problems with google, and they are incredibly limiting. It’s only good if you must go DIY. I couldn’t afford branding when I started my first business but I did keep it simple and consistent. In turn, people loved my website and always commented on it. I actually built it from pure html and that was what ultimately led me to this career.
Conclusion:
Your brand is the single most important investment for your business. If you ABSOLUTELY can’t afford it, then follow this one simple guideline: GO SIMPLE AND MINIMAL. The more you do that, the better off you’ll be.
You can add to your brand and tweak it as you go along. You might get stuck. You might go crazy, and that’s just all part of it. I am more than happy to assist however I can, please leave a comment if you have questions. Or show me your work!
