What you need to organise before hiring a designer.
When it comes to organising your new brand there’s so much excitement and eagerness in the air! But, there are also some pretty important steps you need to take before hiring a designer.
Now, bear with me here, they may seem a bit boring and you might be sick of hearing them by now but they’ll make your job (and your designers' job) soooo much easier and it’ll make the whole process a hell of a lot more seamless and fun for both of you 😉
What you have to organise.
Your who, what why and how.
Now these are the real MVP’s.
I know you will have read and heard this one E V E R Y W H E R E and it can get totally annoying seeing it over and over, especially if you don’t know why it’s even important.
Well let me tell you, it’s important! Important for your business and so important to the design process.
To be able to really hone in and give you the logo and brand design of your dreams, your designer needs to know what direction you’re heading in/want to head in. They need to know WHO you’re trying to appeal to/want to work with. They need to know WHAT you do, WHAT your business is all about and WHY you’re doing it. WHY is this important to you. And last but not least, HOW. HOW are you going to be different from your competitors. HOW are you solving a problem that someone will willingly pay you to fix?
If you come to your designer prepared saying yes! I know my ideal target market are etc. You're gunna have a good time.
Here’s the scenario:
You come to your designer and when they say to you, ‘Tell me about yourself and your business’ You can hit the ground running and reply ‘I’m a Beauty and Skin Therapist. I work with females and help them to target their skin concerns through every stage of their life.
They’re 25-45 years old and they’re starting to notice, be concerned and care for their skin. Working with them and helping them achieve their skin goals is my passion. It drives me to want to do more and help them step forward with confidence.
With these answers, your designer then has a basic overview of:
What you/your business actually does
An audience to appeal to, who your business is aimed towards
An age bracket,
A gender
A major problem or concern that that particular audience has
The problems you’re solving for them
What drives you/your passion
Based on these markers alone, we can already assume a lot of factors and design styles that would appeal to them. AKA Knowing that a cartoony, multi-coloured, bright image of fluffy monsters probably isn’t what’s going to attract them to you (yes, I said probably because there’s always one 😉)
Whereas,
Scenario Two:
You come to your designer and they say the same thing, ’tell me about your business...’ and you’re not prepared, it goes something like this:
‘Well I really like working with skin. I don’t have a target market, anyone can learn to take care of their skin, so I’m happy to appeal to everyone. I don’t have any particular style or colours I like...What is something that everyone will like?’
Based on that answer, there’s really not much for your designer to go on. You can’t identify a target market, there’s no visual direction, you haven’t pinpointed what makes you love your job, what makes you different or the problem that you’re solving for your clients.
Yet, still trying to please you, your designer is left with no choice but to come up with something generic. Now generic isn’t terrible. It’s not great either. It can still look pretty or cool or professional, but it’s not going to help you stand out in a saturated market.
By wanting to appeal to everyone, you’ve targeted and appealed to no-one.
You have to remember; the goal of branding isn’t to attract everyone; it’s to attract the RIGHT people that resonate with you and your brand.
You also have to keep in mind, you may not be your target market. *SHOCK*
You need to be thinking ahead, ‘how am I going to stand out in my field? What is going to make people stop and look at me?’
You need to give your followers, clients and tribe something to attach and relate to. Something that is going to make you resonate in their minds and think – yes, this is the woman for me. This is my current concern, it’s like she’s reading the story of my (skins) life. She’s the one for me. The one who’s going to be able to help me because she’s identified my current problems of x,y and z and has the solution!
What’s Next
Once you’ve narrowed down who you want to work with and appeal to, that’s when you can really get into the visual aspect. What’s going to attract that particular audience to you?
Now, this one is a bit harder and here’s why. Sticking with the Skin Therapist scenario, your most favourite colour ever might be lime green. Bright, warm and will stand out in the crowds for sure! But thinking back to your ideal target market, is lime green really going to attract them to you? Is it going to help drive the message to them, that you work with skin and middle-aged women...?
Generally speaking, beauty and skin therapists stick to warm, neutral and calming colours - because let’s face it, it works, it’s stunning and can be instantly related back to skin.
But, depending on your answers to knowing your who, what, and why’s lime green just might be the perfect choice for your brand. Is it common? Not really, but if your audience is attracted to it and that’s what’s going to help them connect with you, then lime green it is!
You have to remember that the goal of branding isn’t to attract everyone; it’s to attract the RIGHT people that resonate with you and your brand. (Saying it again so it really sticks in your mind!)
Your brand is who you are, what you do and who people perceive you to be.
It’s what people say about your business when you’re not in the room. It’s everything they think and feel towards your business, which is why it’s so important.
Why all the questions?
Why do these WHO HOW WHAT and WHATEVER ELSE even matter?
Every business needs to start from the very beginning (it’s a very good place to start). Having a clear vision of your who, what why and how will help you build the foundations for your brand. It will help kickstart you off on the right foot and save countless hours trying to design a brand that will appeal to everyone - because we all know that’s near impossible.
So, I’ll leave you with this question.
What is your brand saying right now? Is it targeted towards your ideal client?
How can you change it to suit your ideal audience?
Okay, that was two... but they’re both worth thinking about.
Kickstart Your Brand
Did you read this and think it’s time reassess, dig deep and really hone in on your who, what, why and how?
Download our free workbook ‘Kickstart Your Brand’.
It will take you through step by step, how to answer those pesky questions and by the end of the guide the goal is for you to:
Understand who your ideal client is
Know where you’re going to find them
Figure out how to choose visuals to attract them
Walk away with a strong mission statement
So, give it a go! Do the thinking.
Give yourself some time and let’s get your brand started on the right foot.
