Branding Basics: How to find your Creative Brand Style
As a creative business owner it is really important to me that my brand identity clearly communicates who I am and what my brand values are, while also being a part of the world of my art and illustrations. I’ve worked to find a balance between curated, clearly defined branding and my ever evolving creative style so that my brand is my work and my work exists in my brand, elevating one another and make my work more recognisable.
Keep reading to discover 3 prompts to help you get clarity on your own brand identity and how your creative work can enhance it.
3 prompts to help you discover your creative brand style…
Your logo is not your brand!
One of the biggest mistakes I see people make when it comes to developing a brand identity, is the assumption that a logo is the only thing involved in branding. A logo is just one small piece of a suite of elements that work together to create a brand identity BUT before any of those elements can be created, the logo included, you need to be really clear on who you are, what the values behind the work you do are and what want to be known for?
Prompt 1: what are your brand values? List out as many that come to mind, then pick three that are most important to you.
Your branding is always communicating something…
We know that as humans we are very visual creatures; our brains are always taking in visual cues and that’s why getting the visuals of your branding to match your brand values is so important - you want your visuals to communicate to anyone who sees your work as much about you and what you do with as little decoding effort as possible on their part.
Prompt 2: what feelings do you want people to experience when they see your work and experience your brand?
Your branding is your visual story..
Your brand identity on a literal level is made up of a curation of fonts, colours, icons, pattern and other elements such as logos, submarks, favicons and maybe illustrations, that together tell the visual story of your brand. When used well, your creative branding should immerse your audience or customers into the world of your work and as visual artists we have an advantage in this area when we use elements of our work in our branding - everything comes together to tell a strong, recognisable story of who we are. Now that you have a bit more clarity on your values and the feelings you want to evoke in your audience and customers when they experience your brand, it’s time to reflect on which elements of your work lend themselves to this story.
