How a Branding Project Works

More than a logo. A brand people remember.

A good brand should do more than look nice.
It should explain to people, on an emotional level, why you’re amazing.

So before I start designing logos, colors, and fonts, we do a little digging. Do a little thinking. Fancy agencies call this “brand strategy” and “design thinking”, but what it really truly means is the IDEA. Figuring out what makes your company special, why it matters, what’s interesting and memorable about it, and who should care about it. Then we make that into a visual and story that oozes personality.

Because the best branding doesn’t come from designing that’s just pretty. Or your favorite color. Or what the other guys do.

It comes from understanding what makes your business worth choosing.

Before We Get Started

A little homework. I promise it won’t be terrible.

Once your project is booked, I’ll send you an online questionnaire to complete before we officially get started.

We’ll dig into things like:

• Your business and where you want to take it

• Your goals for the project

• Your audience and what matters to them

• How you want people to feel when they encounter your brand

• What makes you different

• Your competitors and the category you’re operating in

• What you love, what you hate, and what you definitely don’t want to look like

This gives me a running start before we meet and gives us plenty to talk about during our workshop.

01. Planning + Brand Workshop

Before we design anything, we figure out what we’re designing for.

There’s a surprising amount of thinking that happens before the first logo sketch.

We’ll work through your goals, audience, positioning, personality, differentiators, and the bigger picture of where your brand needs to go.

We’ll talk about the practical stuff, but also the squishier questions:

What should this brand feel like?
What should people remember?
Why should they choose you instead of everyone else?

This is where we start turning all those ideas into a clear creative direction.

The goal:

A strong strategic foundation for the visual identity – so the design isn't just decoration.

02. Inspiration + Creative Direction

Now we start looking for the visual territory that feels like you.

We’ll explore inspiration, references, visual themes, and ideas that could help bring the strategy to life.

This might include:

• Photography and imagery

• Color

• Typography

• Illustration

• Texture and pattern

• Existing brands and cultural references

• Packaging, editorial, fashion, art, or other unexpected sources of inspiration

I’ll pull these ideas together into a visual direction that gives us something concrete to react to.

This is an important part of the process because sometimes it’s much easier to say “yes, THAT” or “absolutely not that” when you can actually see it.

And yes, I will probably go down at least one weird research rabbit hole along the way.

03. Sketching + Concept Development

Time to get some ideas on paper.

With the strategy and creative direction established, I start developing concepts for your visual identity.

Rather than showing you a dozen random logos and asking you to pick a favorite, I develop a small number of strong, intentional directions.

I’ll present my strongest concepts, with each one exploring a different way of expressing your brand.

We’ll look at:

• The idea behind each concept

• How it connects to your strategy

• What it communicates to your audience

• How distinctive it feels

• Where it could go as your brand grows

Then we narrow the field.

Usually, the goal is to identify one or two directions that have the strongest potential and deserve to be developed further.

Why only a few concepts?

Because I’d rather give you three thoughtful ideas than twelve variations of the same beige logo.

04. Design + Refinement

Now we turn the idea into a real brand.

Once we’ve chosen the strongest direction, I’ll develop and refine it.

This is where we get into the details:

• Logo refinement

• Color palette

• Typography

• Supporting graphic elements

• Imagery direction

• Layout and composition

• Brand personality

• How the identity works across different applications

We’ll also start looking at the identity in the real world.

How does it work on a website?

Social post?

Business card?

Product packaging?

Presentation?

Tiny Instagram profile picture?

Merch?

Giant sign on the side of a building?

A brand needs to work beyond the logo file.

We’ll refine the system until it feels cohesive, distinctive, and ready to use.

05. Final Brand Identity + Style Guide

You have a brand. Now let’s make sure you know how to use it.

Once the visual direction is finalized, I’ll pull everything together into your brand style guide.

This becomes your roadmap for keeping the brand consistent as your business grows.

Depending on your project, your guide may include:

• Primary and secondary logos

• Logo usage guidelines

• Color palette

• Typography

• Supporting graphic elements

• Imagery direction

• Brand patterns or illustrations

• Examples of the identity in use

• Guidance for keeping everything visually cohesive

The goal isn't to create a giant rulebook that nobody ever opens.

It’s to give you a practical reference you can actually use – whether you’re creating something yourself, handing it to a marketing team, or bringing in another designer down the road.

06. Celebrate!

You made it.

You now have a brand that looks like you, communicates what makes you different, and gives you a foundation to build on.

You can finally stop saying:

“We’re still working on the branding.”

And start saying:

“Yep. This is us.”

Go forth and make good stuff that people instantly recognize.

What You’ll Need to Bring

Branding is a collaboration.

You don’t need to know anything about typography, color theory, or what the heck kerning is. That’s my job.

But you do need to bring your knowledge of your business, your goals, your customers, and your honest opinions.

You’ll also need to make time for the workshop, homework, feedback, and approvals.

And please tell me what you actually think.

You don't have to know why you don't like something. “Something about this feels wrong” is a perfectly valid starting point. I’ll help you unpack it and turn that reaction into useful feedback.

A Few Things I Believe About Branding

Strategy before decoration.

A beautiful logo without a reason behind it is just a pretty picture.

We’ll make sure the visual identity has a job to do.

Your brand isn't your personal Pinterest board.

Of course you should like your branding. But you're not necessarily your target audience.

We’ll make decisions based on what will connect with the people you actually want to reach – not just what happens to be your favorite color.

Different is good. Different for a reason is better.

I’m not interested in making your brand weird just for the sake of being weird.

We’re looking for the thing that makes you meaningfully different and finding a visual way to make that difference obvious.

Your brand needs room to grow.

You might be launching with one product, one service, or one tiny website.

But hopefully that's not where you’ll stay.

I’ll think about how your identity can flex and evolve as your business grows, rather than boxing you into a visual system that only works today.

Ready to Make It Official?

You don't need to have your brand figured out before you hire me.

In fact, that's rather the point.

Bring me the business, the big ideas, the messy thoughts, and the “I know it's something, but I can't quite explain it yet.”

We'll figure out the rest together.

Let's make your brand unmistakably you.