Create a strong brand for your startup doesn’t have to break the bank. Discover practical strategies and free resources to establish a compelling brand identity.
Don’t have a designer yet? Follow these tips…
The question is, where do you even begin? To get started in the big wide business world, you’ll need more than just a business card. Consider a logo, a website, and a strong social media presence.
Explore your way to success
Before you begin designing, you should decide which social media platforms you need to be present on. Discover where your target audience spends their time online, how they consume content, and how you can best reach them. Most importantly, understand what you will do differently than your competitors to attract that audience.
Determine your brand’s DNA
Include your messaging (positioning statement, values, tagline, and so on), brand attributes (characteristics that define who you are), all versions of your logo (including guidelines on how not to misuse it), your brand’s color profile, typography used across channels, and any other visual attributes that define the look, feel, and overall visual brand identity.
Design your Logo
Sticking to the brand kit basics: your logo, colors, and fonts, is one of the simplest ways to ensure you stay true to your brand DNA on a low or no budget. If you get stuck while creating your logo or any other design asset. A good story, whether true or made up, helps people remember brands and form strong emotional connections with them. This could be a true personal story of a founder describing the origins of their idea. Or a well-crafted legend about the product’s or service’s origins.
Strive for consistency rather than Trendy
Of course, consistently publishing content that aligns with your brand is a full-time job in itself. You can make that job easier with a decent design tool. “Tweaking designs is easier than creating them from scratch,” Iakovleva tells me. “And using ready-made templates means you always have something to fall back on if you’re not sure what to post on social media.”
Be patient as well as proactive
The good news is that you can change that perception. You can build a consistent, memorable, and authentic brand by mastering the basic elements of a brand book/kit and using them as a starting point for all other assets.