If you’re reading this, chances are you’re doing your homework ahead of branding or rebranding your business. My goal for this blog is to guide you through my own brand design process so you can know what to expect before embarking on the branding journey.
CONTENTS
THE LEAD UP TO DEVELOPING A BRAND IDENTITY
The Introduction
Before we partner on your brand, it’s important that we connect to discuss your goals and see if we’d be a good match. This usually starts with you filling out the Branding Inquiry Form which eventually leads you to booking an intro call with me.
This is a super casual conversation where I learn a bit about your goals, your business and your reasons for (re)branding. I’ll be completely honest with you about whether or not I believe branding is the right solution for your problems.
And yes, I have turned away potential clients because I knew branding wasn’t going to solve their problems. I will always point you in the right direction.
On the call, I’ll walk you through my brand design process, we’ll cover brand identity pricing and determine if a tailored brand package would be best for your business. If so, I’ll send a brand proposal your way to review.
The Admin
With your green light, you’ll receive a branding agreement and invoice for deposit to make the partnership official. If I’m already booked out for immediate branding spots, you’ll pay a 25% deposit to reserve your start date in my calendar.
Brand identity packages take 4 to 6 weeks and the payment schedule is simply 50% when we begin and 50% with final deliverables. Longer branding projects will be paid in monthly instalments that align with your project timeline.
Just before we kick-off the branding journey, you’ll receive a welcome guide which gives you access to your client portal inside Notion. This is where everything from brand presentations and admin files will be housed.
BRAND DESIGN PROCESS: DISCOVERY PHASE
To kick start the brand design process, I need to know as much about your business as possible. Inside your client portal, you’ll complete a brand discovery questionnaire. This includes a series of questions that focus on:
your business and why you started
your product/service overview
your long-term goals
your target audience
your competition
your brand vision
This discovery questionnaire is an important exercise for both you and I to get on the same page before the brand identity process can begin.
More often than not, after I’ve reviewed your brand discovery questionnaire, we’ll have a strategy call to fill in the gaps and dig a little deeper into some areas that are worth exploring to make your brand identity work wonders for your business growth.
BRAND STRATEGY PHASE (optional)
If we’re developing your brand strategy as part of your brand package, my brand design process always starts with strategy.
The brand strategy process gives us more time to really understand the nuances of your business and your industry, while establishing a strong foundation to carry your business forward, influence your marketing and streamline your business.
If this isn’t in your budget or you prefer to go through this phase on your own first, I encourage you to use this branding strategy template I developed using many of the strategies I use with my own clients.
Should you decide to invest in one-on-one brand strategy ahead of the brand identity phase, your brand strategy will include a creative direction that offers:
proposed colour palette
colour psychology
proposed typography direction
mood board
You can expect to factor in 3 weeks into the brand design process when including brand strategy in your brand development.
BRAND IDENTITY PROCESS
For Brand Strategy Packages
Following the strategy phase, I’ll get to work on your brand concept development. This takes anywhere from 2 to 3 weeks and you’ll be presented with a fully realized brand identity concept to review.
You’ll experience the logo collection, brand colours and fonts in use, and visual brand mockups to see how the brand identity translates off the screen.
For Brand Identity Design Packages
Following the discovery phase, I’ll get to work on developing your brand concept(s). While I stand by the one concept method, I know some clients prefer to compare possible brand directions, so depending on the package you choose, you'll have one or two fully realized brand identity concepts to review. The brand design process for this takes about 3 weeks.
You’ll experience the logo collections, brand colours and fonts in use, along with visual brand mockups to see how the brand translates off the screen.
You’ll receive your brand concept presentations inside your Notion client portal. This includes a brand identity design PDF presentation and video overview for extended insights on your proposed brand direction.
FEEDBACK AND REVISIONS
Alongside your brand presentation in your client portal, you’ll find a feedback prompts page. These few questions are designed to get important feedback from you that will make refining and revising any details of your brand identity as effective as possible.
My brand design process includes 2 rounds of revisions. Frankly, we don't often need them. But it’s also completely normal to revise and refine details that will make your new brand identity oh, so perfect!
WRAPPING UP THE BRAND DESIGN PROCESS
Once we’ve nailed the details of your brand identity design, you get to sit back and relax as I take the next 5 days to put together the final touches on your brand identity. Your final logo designs will be formatted for both print and web, giving you everything you need to roll out your new brand.
Logo File Formats You Receive
Digital and Web in RGB colour mode:
Transparent PNG (you’ll use these most often)
SVG (small file size for use on your website)
JPG
Print in CMYK and sometimes Pantone:
EPS
A note on Pantone: Unless you are a product-based business or anticipate a brand experience with many print assets that demand extreme colour accuracy, I don’t include Pantone colours. This is something we will discuss in the lead up to developing your brand identity. I’ll never leave you hanging.
Creating Your Brand Guidelines
Among your final brand identity assets, you’ll also receive a comprehensive brand style guide. This makes your brand identity management a breeze by offering you clear guidelines for how to use your brand identity.
Your brand style guide will offer you and anyone else that works on your brand:
logo guidelines
brand colour guidelines
typography guidelines
social and web guidelines
Following your brand guidelines is vital for delivering a consistent brand experience. Translation: increased brand awareness and brand equity which expedites your trust-factor.
Developing a brand identity that will act as a business tool for growth takes time. I will always listen carefully to your unique needs and ensure the path we take for your brand makes the most sense for your business goals.
BRAND DESIGN PROCESS FAQS
Here are some common questions I’ve heard from clients that are worth answering here.
1. Can I share my Pinterest board of ideas for my brand?
Yes, but I prefer to have you describe your Pinterest board samples instead. This exercise has you reflect and analyze the characteristics of your design references and consider the reasons behind your choices. I love this approach because it starts to reveal the feeling and intention of a brand vision, which makes the design phase far more meaningful and unique. I will always do my best to honour your vision while guiding you in the direction that will achieve your goals and support your business growth. It’s a very collaborative process and I’ll share my intentions behind every design decision along the way.
2. What if I don’t have a clear vision for my brand?
That’s completely okay. That’s why you hire me. My experience as a designer and brand strategist has taught me which questions to ask to find the visual direction that will make the most sense for your business. As my client behind the Sober Shaman put it: “she not only listened to what I was saying but she also heard what I was trying to say - and therefore landed this project where only I dreamed of going”.
3. How many revisions are included in the brand identity cost?
My brand identity packages include 2 rounds of revisions. I’ll always ask as many questions as possible to ensure we can maximize our revision rounds. Any revisions that go beyond the 2 rounds are charged at my standard hourly rate. But rest assured, this will always be communicated to you before we progress. And I have rarely exceeded the revision rounds with my clients.
4. Can I carry over parts of my existing brand identity when rebranding?
During the discovery phase, we’ll dive into the history of your brand and business to determine which parts of your brand are working and worth carry over or evolving. I’ll always guide you towards the best strategic outcomes.
BONUS PERKS FOR BECOMING A STUDIO CLIENT
When you become a Studio client, you unlock some incredible perks. The first and foremost being that you get access to me for extended design services. I do not offer general design services—think slide decks, stationary, social templates, lead magents, etc.—to anyone but my own clients.
Why not work with a designer who knows your brand and business as well as you do, am I right?
Other client perks include:
ongoing brand mentorship and support
website copy review for strong brand messaging
referral program financial incentives
Hopefully this overview of my brand design process gives you a better sense of what you can expect from the branding journey. I absolutely love getting to work with fellow solopreneurs and would love to partner with you on your own brand development.
You know what to do → book that intro call to get the ball rolling.
Jenny Henderson Studio develops memorable brand experiences and strategic brand foundations to improve recognition and revenue for service-based small businesses.
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