9 Steps to Get Started on Your Brand
At LCC, branding is at the core of almost everything we do and so is collaboration. In order for us to get started on your branding, we need to know that we’re the right fit and that you’re prepared for this next phase of your brand. Whether you need a new brand, a brand refresh, or brand materials, we ask all of our clients to do their homework before working with us. We want to make sure you’re ready for your first meeting so that we can do our job more effectively and put together a final product that aligns with your business. Here are 9 steps you can take to get your business ready for a brand designer:
1. Design requirements – what deliverables are important to you?
Before getting started on any project, it’s important for designers to know the requirements. What branding elements are required. If it’s a rebrand, what elements must we keep in the rebrand? These are the elements that are non-negotiable in your final product. It may be helpful to know if you plan to have any branding and marketing material designed in the future such as business cards, a website, marketing materials, packaging, etc. Knowing future deliverables will help us craft your brand strategy and the overall visual direction of your brand.
2. Define your goal, why are you hiring a designer?
What was the guiding light behind the decision? What do you wish to gain by working with a designer? What are the challenges of your current situation? Define the overall objective of your brand and why you require a designer. Your answer will help us decide if we’re the right fit for you and vice versa.
3. Know your Budget
Have a rough idea of what you’re willing to spend on a brand. This will help us decide if we’re the right fit or if we can tailor a brand package to work within your budget. We can also provide a custom quote to align with your budget and your businesses’ current branding needs.
4. Have a Timeline or deadline in mind
Do you have a hard deadline for your brand? Or a timeline in mind? Tell your designer! Know when you need the deliverables by and any hard deadlines you may have that need to be discussed. This will A) Help us determine if we’re the right fit and B) Ensure that we reach specific milestones by a certain date throughout the process.
5. Gather inspiration
We always design brands based on a strategy that we put together in our preliminary discovery phase. However, it is ALWAYS handy to have some inspiration to get a feel for what you’re looking for! Go online (Pinterest is great) to see if there’s anything that aligns with your vision; choose inspiration to identify the things you like AND don’t like. And if you don’t have anything in mind, no worries, let your designer do the work and put together some ideas for you!
6. Gather current visuals and assets that you may already have
If you have an existing brand and you’re looking for a refresh or just to expand on your branding, be sure to supply all current brand assets and guidelines. If you have any relevant design samples, branding guidelines, and logo files, have them ready to send over to your designer.
7. What are your core values?
We want to work with clients who’s values align with ours. Knowing your core values will also help your designer build your brand strategy. Have a few bullet points or a statement prepared about the values that are important to your business.
8. Know your competitors
As a business owner, it is always good to know who your competitors are; where they excel and what you can do differently. Provide a list of these competitors to your designer and we will do the rest. Part of the brand discovery process is conducting a competitor analysis to define where you can stand out amongst the crowd.
9. Who is your ideal customer?
Put together an idea of who you’d like to sell your service or product to. Identify your ideal audience and provide a brief description or bullet points to your designer. This information will help us shape your brand strategy so that we can effectively brand and market to the right audience.
Whether it’s LCC or another design team, follow these steps to get your business prepared for a new brand, brand refresh, or brand materials. You’ll be ahead of the game and your designer/we will thank you for it!
We at Lianne Charlene Creative have worked with several businesses to strategically brand to their ideal audience. Connect with us today at hello@liannecharlene.com to see how we can help.
- The LCC Team