You’ve created a wonderful product or service to bring to the market. The business name has been picked, and you’ve got the domain name and social media accounts done and dusted. Congratulations, but what about your brand identity? Check out my top 10 graphic design hacks.
Visual identity is extremely important because it’s the first experience customers have with your brand. It can have a major impact on their perception of your business and it can influence their decision on whether to purchase from you or not.
If you’re just starting out, I would suggest saving up and hiring a professional designer to create your logo and visual identity. It’s the foundation of your business and it can become costly later on to re-brand if you don’t get it right the first time.
But…if you don’t have the funds and want to get started ASAP, here are my top 10 graphic design hacks for start-ups.
1. Logo design on a budget
If hiring a professional designer isn’t affordable at the moment, don’t despair. There are a few other ways you can keep moving forward with your business until you can. Be upfront and explain your budget limitations.
A design with less work or a pre-made option, might be the way to go for now. If you like the idea of a pre made logo make sure you ask what the license is on them and if they can be trademarked or not. It’s valuble to know this for future reference.
It’s a good idea to avoid the really cheap options. Question why a logo cost $5, because more than often it’s either rehashed or even worse, stolen.
I would also recommend staying away from websites that offer pre-made visual branding. These are made for the masses, meaning you, and anyone else, can use the same design over and over again. You’ll have no point of difference in the marketplace, which is kind of pointless.
2. Logo design DIY
Your logo represents and portrays your brand. It shows the full essence of your business and its identity. It’s the starting point for your whole visual branding so make sure it communicates this. Set up a checklist of words you want your logo to portray and then research those words and how they can be represented in type, colour, shape and fonts.
You can also create a mood board around these feelings. This is your starting point. From here, work with your design and make sure you check that the final design communicates the feeling of those words. Check that it will connect and attract with your ideal client and not necessarily something that you just like.
Also, ask yourself when you look at it:
“Is it attractive, timeless, a unique style, will it stand out and is it balanced and easy to read?”
3. Using your Logo
Remember to use your logo or sub mark on all of your marketing collateral, including images you post on social media. Keep it as it was originally intended to be displayed and please don’t stretch it. Use it in the original colours or a black or white version if placing it over solid colours or complicated images.
Don’t place it too close to other elements otherwise, it may get mixed up in the content. It’s best to keep space around it.
4. Create a mood board
If you haven’t already done so, creating a mood board can make sure your logo and visual branding are connected and speaking the same message. A mood board helps you stay on track. However, it’s really important you always reference it when creating your marketing materials and posts.
What’s a mood board?
You can use a mood board for many different things like decorating a room or to keep your visual branding in check. It’s a way to visually present all your ideas in one place. You might like to add textures, colours, materials, topics of interest and even samples. It’s a great idea to lay everything out and make sure it has that common message.
5. Consistent Colour
Colour is necessary to increase brand recognition. Your brand colour palette should evoke an emotion reflecting your brand message. You know when you see a brand and instantly it makes you feel something. It might be hunger, energy, relaxation or something else, but it instantly connects you to the brand.
Always use your branding colours for backgrounds and text. Another good tip is to keep your colour palette limited to 2 – 4 colours.
6. Fonts
Fonts reflect your identity and will affect the way your customer perceives your brand. Font’s can even give your brand a personality. Always remember to use your branding font and complementary font in all your marketing materials and posts.
It’s best to only use a combination of 2 fonts in one design item or it can confuse the message. Simplicity is the key to your visual branding. Easy recognition is everything.
7. Composition
If used consistently composition creates familiarity and trust. Always place and align images, text or elements in the same way wherever you use them. Don’t try and get all fancy and move things around. Your designer will give you multiple layout options, this is something you need to consider at the start and stick to the same composition.
(eg: centered, right or left justified, top aligned or bottom aligned)
8. Hierarchy
The most important part of your message should be the most dominant feature in your design. So make it stand out by using size or colour so that it grabs your customer’s attention first. This could be just one word, a phrase, short sentence or an image.
Think about what you see first when you look at a brand, then what you go looking for as a secondary thought, like what they do or who it’s for.
9. Supporting Brand Elements – shapes/patterns
Shapes and patterns can also help with brand recognition. If your logo has a shape in it, you could use that shape consistently throughout your marketing material. It could be something your customers will easily recognise and know it belongs to your brand.
You can do the same with a pattern. Make sure the pattern is simple and belongs to your brand colours and shapes.
10. Supporting Images
The images that you use can influence the perception of your brand’s message. Choose images and graphics that are alike and look like they belong together. Elements of the images, like the energy and the feeling they give, the lightness or darkness and their colour, can all help in connecting them together. Remember to think about the connection when choosing them and also go back to referencing your mood board when picking them.
DIY-ing your graphics
Sometimes doing the graphics yourself sounds easy enough at the start, but as you progress through the process it gets confusing and hard to make decisions. I get it. When you’re starting out, money can be tight. Make sure you weight up the time it takes you to finalise a design and how that’s affecting your productivity and profit.
By all means, give it a go with these graphic design hacks, however, I’m here to help if need be.
My design process is very extensive and includes:
- A brief questionnaire to create your brand strategy
- Research on your brand strategy
- Brainstorming and conceptualisation of ideas
- Colour theory exploration
- Completion of digital concepts delivered to you for approval and feedback
- Revisions supplied as per your feedback if necessary.
I then provide all of my clients with several file types that can be used across all printed and digital materials as well as colour, black and white versions of their logo files.
If however, you’re ready to rebrand your business, find out when’s the right time to reband your business.
Contributor:
Chrystie Hile
Graphic Designer Boss Lady
Graphic Lane
Situated on beautiful Lake Macquarie, Graphic Lane is client-focused and provides creative graphic design solutions that capture the essence of your business and attract your ideal target market. My passion is to provide women in business with a brand they love and are admired for by creating a unique logo design and full visual branding to match.
The services I offer include full Visual Identity Packages, Logo Design and design of various marketing materials such as Business Cards, Flyers, Brochures, Social Media Graphics, Signage, Letterheads, Email marketing, Advertisements, Gift Vouchers and much more.
P: 0438206542
