4 Steps To Begin Your Visual Branding…
Soooo….. BRANDING - it's forever the big buzzword isn't it, but where do you start?
There are so many elements, but - alongside images - one of the first things I think about when designing a website or new branding suite is the colour palette, because it has such a big impact on the whole vibe… so how should you go about choosing your Brand colours, and how many should you actually have?
Here’s 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?
Decide on your vibe… Making a pinterest board with images/colours you like and feel is relevant to your industry is a really helpful starting point.
Two.
Colours Create 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 you’ll start from there.
TIP
If there’s an image you love, you can upload it and find out the codes of the colours. https://imagecolorpicker.com/
So for example, my colour palette - I mainly work with women, often creative people too, and so I want my Brand to look striking but also warm and inviting.
I like the colour peach, because it's not as obvious a choice as pink … however, I also want to show that I’m dynamic and energetic in my work, so rather than a pale peach I went for a strong, vibrant peach as my main colour, one that really stands out.
Three.
Add 2 or 3 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 or earthy tones and it’s always good to have a neutral so linen, cream, stone type colours work well - or of course, white.
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 warm toned green, which is next to blue on the wheel and looks pretty with the peach and earthy tones…
…. and voila!! there you have it! A brand colour palette.
4/5 colours to reflect your business well, and get you started on your re-branding journey!
If you want to, you can play around with different shade options of the colours you have chosen - and remember that you can always evolve your branding later on down the line.... just make a start for now!
Thanks for reading,
Tiffany
Social design - your socials should reflect your brand aesthetic too so everything is cohesive.