The 5 Things I Need Before I Can Create Your Branding Package

So, you have made the leap & you are creating your dream company/side hustle/retirement plan. You have found your designer & you are ready to create your brand. But, are you really ready? Well, that's a trick question because you are NEVER truly, really ready & you will always come up with something else you need to do first, but here is what you really need to be ready...

1. YOUR NAME

You may think this is a no-brainer, but truly, it isn't. You need to create a name you are proud of, that represents your company & you will want to keep for a while. Now, don't fret, I can often help you narrow down your options. I spend my days perusing portfolios, researching brands & honestly, a lot of time on Pinterest so I have some insight in what may work best for your brand. 

2. YOUR BRAND IDENTITY

Your brand identity is actually not the same as your branding package. Your brand identity is the experience your client has when they interact with your company. Whether it is fun & casual or very chic & professional, you need to have an idea of what that will look like. You wouldn't want a very girly, pink, bubbly logo for a financial consulting company. Come up with your "voice" so I can best display it. 

3. YOUR BUDGET

While I understand you are just starting your business & finances may be tight, as designers, we have already started our business & this is how we pay our bills. You need to think about a reasonable budget for your budding business like this: you don't want to spend your entire launch budget on design, no, but your branding is 70% of your launch so you need to allocate the funds to hire a designer that will create the image you want to portray. Clients will take one look at your branding & make their decision right there whether to hire you or not, regardless of your abilities. So make sure you are finding the number that makes sense to you. 

4. YOUR AUDIENCE

You need to know who you plan to target with your business & branding. You are a florist & are just opening your shop. Do you plan on going after more weddings or corporate events? It matters! Weddings often have a much more elegant & romantic feel to their vendors' branding while corporate event vendors typically have a very clean, chic, professional look. You need to think of the age group, male or female, location of your potential clients, even things like economic background & religion. These will help me create the right appeal to your particular focus & get you more of the clients you want!

5. YOUR IDEAS

When we start our project together, I will send you a questionnaire with a ton of questions that will help me figure out what you have in mind. I will also ask you to create a Pinterest board so I can find trends in your style that even you may not notice about yourself. But in that questionnaire there is a spot for your ideas, & I wanna hear them! While i ask you to be open to many different designs & my input, I want to use as many of your ideas as possible so that you feel like your package is truly you. This is your company after all. Your blood, sweat & tears are going in to this & I want to create a brand that you will be proud of & ready to share with the world. 

Remember, no matter what designer you choose, ASK QUESTIONS! GIVE REVISIONS! The last thing I want is for you to feel like you are bothering me so you don't speak up about your thoughts. I want this to be a partnership & to be able to bring your ideas to life so ask me any questions you have. 

xoxo