One of the most frequently asked questions by my potential clients is how my branding & web design process works. I’ve talked about it before on my Instagram, but as I’ve changed my entire design process since the beginning of this year to better serve my new clients, I want to dive deep into the ins and outs of how I work collaboratively with my clients to help them to build a successful, thriving and sustainable business while doing what they are truly passionate about.
If you’ve been following me since the beginning of this journey, you should know by now that I am firm believer that branding is not just about a pretty logo or a website, branding can change how people perceive your brand, it can help you to distinguish among other competitors, drive sales, increase profit, and to attract ideal customers if done with a solid foundation and strategy. Without an effective brand or branding strategy, you are not setting your company for long term success. Because you will never be able to target the right audience and stand out from the market.
And that’s why I’ve decided to add brand strategy into my holistic design process, where I get to help my customers to have a defined purpose, dive deep into their mission statement, values, positioning, target audience, competitive advantages, competition analysis and all the good stuff to build a solid business foundation.
𝑀𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑢𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑦 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑜𝑛𝑠:
1️⃣ I work with my clients to discover and dive deep into their current business model and find out what are some of their existing problems and find solutions based on research, analysis and strategy.
2️⃣ I provide a one on one brand strategy session with my client where we will be talking about how they can stand out, what makes them unique, and what are some transformational step by step action plans that they need to implement.
3️⃣ I provide 1-2 full branding solution/s to align with your brand, instead of 2-5 logo design concepts.
4️⃣ It’s holistic, I never design JUST a logo, always a full brand experience so I can help you to elevate your business.
Here’s a behind the scenes look at what it is today:
1 – Inquiry & On Boarding
Once you fill out the inquiry form on my website that gives me a good baseline of info to understand your project. I’ll then email you back with a few more questions to learn more about your needs, your goals better. Then we’ll schedule a free 30 minute discovery session where we can get to know each other better, learn more about your business, your project, talk about the process and to answer any questions you might have. This also helps to ensure we are the right fit for each other.
Once you’ve decide to work with me, I will be sending you my proposal email, agreement and invoice. It outlines everything you need to do officially secure your project in my schedule, project overview and timeline. Once the contract gets signed and the deposit is paid, you will officially have a start date and receive my on-boarding/welcome guide.
2- Branding Questionnaire & Setup
Next up is the homework and project setup. I use a few different tools throughout the project to make it smoothest process possible for myself and my clients. HoneyBook for agreement, Google Drive for the client branding questionnaires, copy, images, branding PDFs and sharing Final Files. Asana for a project homebase, including the project schedule, deadlines, to-do lists and feedback communication.
Before our start date, I set all of this up and share it with you. Then, you have a Client Branding Questionnaire that needs to be completed before the start date, which digs into the project, your goals/objective, ideal client info, their inspiration, etc.
3- Brand Strategy Session & Visual Direction
We will then be setting up a brand strategy session in the second week of your project starting date. Using the Branding in-depth Questionnaire as a jumping off point, I’ll start doing industry research & analysis, gather inspiration, audit your existing brand (if you have one) and compile it all into a brand strategy presentation and present the whole brand strategy and visual direction ideas to you during our brand strategy session. This directs our whole project and contains information, key phrases, and visual direction. This helps us build a holistic brand that is rooted in strategy and not just a “pretty logo.”
The moodboard is also a part of the Brand Strategy. This is where I’ll pull together a visual direction for the typography, colors, mood and elements used in the brand. These are the visual representation of the key words and phrases that we want the branding to embody. We aren’t 100% locked into these, as things are often edited as I design, but it gives us an overall visual direction to ground the design process.I will also be presenting 1-2 logo concepts to you which i believe will be the best, most sustainable solution for your brand.
4- Logo Concept & Design
Your brand is more than a cool logo & some pretty colors. It’s an experience for your audience. Together, we’ll build a strategic lifestyle around your brand that attracts your dream tribe & turns them into fans for life.
From there, we do 2 rounds of refining, as needed. Most of the time, my clients will love the concept and we work collaboratively to edit and refine it here and there to make it the best possible design. During this time, I always present the full branding, including mockups of business cards, social media banners, etc. Rather than just seeing the logo on a white background, it gives the clients a better understanding of what the full brand can look like once it’s come to life.
During this stage, we also finalize submarks, icons, colors, fonts and any patterns for the branding.
Step 5 – Branding Collaterals
Once the branding has been finalized, it’s time to round out the collateral! My most popular branding package includes 2 collateral items, so I’ll help my client decide which would be most beneficial for their individual company. Collateral can include business cards, stationery, thank you card, product label design, newsletter design, templates, social media graphics, and more. This is what brings the brand to life and gives consistency across every touchpoint for your potential clients/customers.
Once everything is designed and approved, I’ll help in sourcing printers if needed, Then we’re ready to move on to the next step.
Step 6 – Website Mockup & Design
Once we have all the branding and collaterals ready. It’s time to work on your WEBSITE! I will help you to define which website platform worksbest for your business and needs, then design and prepare 2-3 wireframes and mock-ups based on your solid brand strategy foundation to ensure that it aligns with your brand. Making sure thatyour website is consistent with all the other brand visuals. I will also help you to discover what are some key features that you will need on your website to make sure that we create an interactive converting website on the following platforms.
SHOPIFY/SHOWIT/SQUARESPACE AND WIX.
Once you’ve approved the designs and 2 rounds of refinements (if needed). I will then move on to implement the design on your website.Before your official launch date, I will also schedule a 1-1 video call tutorial session to walk you through how to maintain your website going forward.
Step 7 – Launch
We choose a launch day that works for both of us to debut your new brand. I like having a blog post ready to go on my site to promote the new company. I’ll also design a few launch graphics for social media promotion that both myself and my client can use. I also share a few exclusive resources to my clients to help them build hype and have a really successful launch to their business!
This is also the time when I’d send over all of the final files, along with the brand carryall/strategy guide, brand style guide. The style guide helps break down the whole brand in details (logo, marks, colors, fonts, etc.) so the client can easily handle their new branding. I want my clients to feel 100% at ease and confident in using their new branding, and keeping things consistent over time, which builds a strong, recognizable visual identity.
Step 8 – Post launch support
Of course, post project, I’m available for questions, concerns or future projects!
Often, a few months down the line, my clients will want to work together again to design more collateral, packaging, email newsletters, etc. which I price out on a per project basis. I love this! Since we’ve worked together previously, the process is really smooth, and I know their brand intimately already.
If you’re interested to work with me to elevate your business, join my waitlist and let’s hop on a quick discovery call.
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