When you are starting to build a brand from the ground up, you will soon realize it is not easy and that it may be hard to think of things and what direction you are going to want to take. You may be thinking, What should my brand look like? How is my brand going to make people feel? What is my target audience going to look like? These are things that you are going to have to ask yourself and think about. Because all of these can impact how your brand does business and what it sells. Let’s go over some tips about starting your own brand and what you should think about before you get started.
Research
Before you even get started on any decisions about your brand, you are going to have to understand what the current market is and who you could have as customers and competitors. There are many ways to start your research. First, you are going to want to look up your product or service and figure out who could possibly be your competitors. A really good way to analyze who a competitor is is by talking to people who are going to be part of your target market and asking who they normally buy from. This is a great way to think about competitors that maybe you didn’t think of beforehand, but it also helps you look at their brand and see what they are doing.
While you are doing your research, you should think about what customers are going to be the easiest to sell to, what customers come to mind right away, and what customers are going to be the hardest to sell to. You want to think about these things and do research on them because you want to figure out who your target market is. If your target market is going to be kids and teenagers, you are not going to want to focus your attention on people in their mid-50s. Doing this research will save you time, energy, and even money that you could be spending elsewhere.
Naming your brand
Deciding a name for your brand is one of the most essential steps in even starting a brand from scratch. A brand is going to be so much more than just a name. It is your personality, your actions, and even your reputation that give that name meaning in whatever market you are in. Deciding a name is going to be one of the first big commitments you make, especially as a small brand. You are going to want a name that is hard to imitate. You also want to make sure that you don’t pick a name that can be confused with a competitor.
Once you have decided on a name, you can run it by a focus group of people, such as friends or even family. They can help give you insights on how it sounds, if it has any hidden meanings that you haven't thought of, or if it is even too similar to something else. Just a small group of people can give you such a big insight on whether the name is a good idea or not.
Choosing colors and fonts
When you get a name down, you are going to need to start thinking about what you want your brand's design to be. You want your brand to be visually appealing while also properly representing you and what you stand for. A great example of this is that colors convey the feeling that you want to give to your customers and potential customers. You are going to want to decide on colors that are different from competitors to help avoid any confusion. A big note to also think about is how colors often mean different things. Yellow normally means warmth, clarity, and optimism. Where green gives off peace, growth, and health, You want to pick the correct color for you and your brand while giving off the correct message.
When thinking about colors, you also want to consider fonts. This is going to be used for your website, as well as if your logo has any lettering in it. The best way to think about fonts is to keep it simple. You don’t want to overcomplicate anything, and you want to keep it to two fonts only. A great tip is to make sure it's legible. You want to make sure people can read it.
At Elite Tinting and Graphics, we are graphic design specialists! We specialize exclusively in identity design, so you can be confident in our design team. We have the necessary skills and experience to create visually stunning and effective graphics for you and your brand, regardless of where you are starting. Get in contact with us today to get started on your brand!
