Why You Shouldn't DIY Your Branding + How to Save Money and Time!
Have you designed your own logo or paid a little to a “logo generator” or other swipeable branding service? From my experience, I’m here to tell you that patching together the visual identity for your business on your own doesn’t work. Here’s why you shouldn’t DIY your branding.
Back in college, I started a lifestyle blog. When I was 21, I launched my business. I’m a person who dives into things so soon I was on Canva creating my own visuals. Then I reached out to an artist, told them the colors I’d chosen, and hired them to “make a logo.” This person is an amazing artist so I ended up with something really pretty. But—and this is a big “but”—the logo and the other graphics and colors I had chosen were basically devoid of meaning because I hadn’t done my homework.
The colors I chose were pleasing but basic. (Tiffany blue and gold for the blog, blush pink and gold for the business.) I’d made a big mistake: I’d chosen trendy colors I liked that had no tie to the values I espouse in my business. They were just a stereotypical color scheme, the kind of palate that pretty much every female entrepreneur was embracing at the time. They did nothing to differentiate me from my competitors. (Which is one of the central goals of branding.)
Then I discovered color psychology and it flipped my entire outlook. I switched to my current color scheme, based on the Autumn personality. Autumn uses colors, fonts and graphic schemes that signify my ambition, commitment to community, passion and desire to grow (and challenge the status quo.) These are colors I personally love that also signify something more true to my business values than the pastels I thought other people would like.
Eventually I created a brand that works, but it took years. In the meantime, I was missing out on clients that didn’t find me because my brand didn’t resonate with them.
Creating a brand doesn’t need to take that long. A branding professional has expertise that you and I don’t and will work with you to create a stunning branding package that looks great and functions the way it’s supposed to. A branding pro is an expert in:
Color Psychology
Color is evocative. Every color has an emotional effect on the viewer and is, therefore, tied to particular values. It’s impossible, of course, to assign an exact emotion-color relationship to any individual person, but there are some general thoughts about what role color plays in the buyer experience. I started by looking at Fiona Humberstone’s explanations.
The main one is this: Don’t choose colors just because you like them. That pleasant color scheme will not attract the right kind of clients. Without knowing it, your brand will be projecting particular values (a “vibe”) that may not fit with who your potential customers are or want to be. Before you know it, you’ll have a client that’s the “wrong fit” and no one will know why. If you base your color scheme on your values, you’ve taken the first step in weeding out toxic clients and growing a consistent business.
Digital File Types
If you’re not a graphics person, there’s so much to learn. A professional knows all about the proper digital files, how to outsource and what color codes you need for print. And so much more. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have the time or desire to learn all that.
P.S. “DIY” usually means you buy or use a free template that’s already done. That means you’ll end up with something a lot of other folks have which means you have less of a chance of standing out. There’s also the danger of inadvertently stealing someone else’s work. (Beware of logo generators. You may not be able to use them for a licensed business. Read terms and conditions carefully.)
Research
A branding professional spends hours talking with you, researching your industry and looking at your competition’s branding. Then they spend even more hours on mood boards, idea generation and sketches. This is all before they even attempt a digitized branding concept.
Their goal is to create targeted visuals that place you firmly in your industry while still helping you stand out. It’s a tricky balance and one that I’m happy to turn over to a pro.
Target Audience
A branding professional should ask you an exhaustive series of questions about your target audience so they can create something that will resonate with them. What are they looking for? What adjectives resonate with them? What do they value? Where do they go on vacation? What’s the thing they reach for in their closet on a cold day?
They’ll also know how to position your branding so it appeals to an audience in a certain locale. A local-only audience, for instance, will respond differently to graphics, colors and icons than a global audience will.
Professionalism and Consistency
Finally, you will never question again how to visually communicate a particular message on social media, in your newsletter, in a brochure or on a new web page. All that work is done for you. A full branding package will supply you with elements far beyond a logo. You’ll receive files of submarks, patterns, icons and other assets that you can use for years in every possible marketing situation. You’ll also receive a brand style guide, a one-page cheat sheet with your brand colors and color codes, fonts, inspirational images and the like so you always know what to use to make your visuals consistent.
The Bottom Line
To develop a brand that fully communicates your values and attracts people who make sense for your work—right from the start—hire a branding professional. If you try to DIY your own branding, it probably won’t resonate. Then you’ll be stuck spending a lot of time and money to re-brand. Do it right the first time and save yourself some headaches. (Take it from me!)
Speaking of branding, stay tuned for a new and improved FFM brand! I can’t wait to unveil it!
Did you miss our post on the difference between visual and emotional branding? Read it here!
