4 Steps To Begin Your Branding…
Welcome to my very first ‘business’ blog post…… this feels quite strange for me, having had a Lifestyle Blog for the past 4 years, however the work that I do with my Clients has made me realize how much information and knowledge I have, so I thought I would share some of it with you here - we may not be working together yet (why not?!) but I can still help you.
Soooo….. BRANDING - it's forever the big buzzword isn't it and where do you even start?
There are so many elements, but one of the things when doing websites for people or creating a cohesive feed on Instagram that I often get asked about is colour selection… how on earth do you go about choosing your Brand colours and how many should you have?
The difficult thing with any type of design work is that there are no set rules, which is also a great thing!
Here is what I typically do and my 4 steps to get you started….
One.
Relevance.
Think about your Brand’s industry, audience and how you are trying to make people feel.
Are you exclusive and higher end?
Do you help with health and wellness?
How do you want to make people feel - inspired and energetic? calm? positive and uplifted?
Two.
Colour & Feelings.
First, lets think about tones - warm colours look cosy, inviting and happy… cooler tones generally look more professional or calming.
Which tone represents you best?
Then think of one relevant colour in that tone which you like and start from there.
So for example, my colour palette - I mainly work with women and I want my Brand to look striking and inviting.
I’m a bit boho, so I like the colour peach, because it's not as obvious a choice as the millennial pink that the whole world has seemed to use for the last couple of years… however, I also want to show that I’m dynamic and energetic in my work and I'm creative, so rather than a pale peach I've gone for a strong, vibrant peach as my main colour, one that really stands out.
Three.
Add Complimentary Colours.
Now you have a starting colour you can add a couple more ... pick similar colours within that family - so for me it’s warm, blush tones - or I could have gone for a bright orange or coral.
Four.
Contrast.
Now let's go for something the opposite!
One colour to use occasionally when you really want to highlight something.
An easy way of choosing this is to look at a colour wheel and choose one that is opposite your main shade - so for me, in theory I should have gone for a blue, but I'm not big fan of that so I went for a dusky purple which is next to blue on the wheel and I think looks really pretty with the dusty pinks.
…. and voila!! there you have it! A brand colour palette.
Four colours to reflect your Brand beautifully and get you started on what will hopefully be an amazing and successful business journey!
If you want to, you can play around with different shades of the colours you have chosen. There’s something called Hex colours which you can search online that give you reference numbers for the specific shades, but the main thing I would say is, once you like your initial choices don't over think it - there are thousands of colours and it can start to drive you crazy… plus you can always evolve your image later on down the line.... just make a start for now!
Was this helpful? Let me know…. follow/message me on the ‘gram @tiffanybcreative
Next time we’re getting more creative, taking the next branding steps and covering Design Elements.
Thanks for reading!
