5 Steps to prepare for a successful brand project

You’re launching a new business or changing directions of your current one. Maybe you’re launching a new blog, course or product. You’re ready for a big step and you know that a cohesive and beautiful brand will help you get noticed.

Hiring a brand designer is a big step in itself (and a big investment too), so it’s important to get the most out of your collaboration. There are a few things you can do to ensure your time and investment will pay off BEFORE hiring a brand designer.

I know, probably you’re thinking: hey, I’m trying to (re-)launch my business here, I don’t have time to prepare. That’s what I’m paying the designer for. Let me burst that bubble right here! Your brand will only be true to you and your vision if you put in the work as well. Designers - even the best ones - aren’t mind readers and they don’t know your business and your aspirations like you do.

So let me break down 5 steps you should take before hiring your brand designer:

No 01/05

Take your time

Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither will your brand be. Your preparations will take time, the design process will take time. So make sure to set your deadlines accordingly. I know you’ll want to launch as soon as possible, but the branding process is a journey and not a quick weekend getaway - at least not if you want to do it right! Also take lead times into consideration. Your designer of choice might already be booked out for months.

It‘s important to set enough time aside for the pre-project phase. Why that is will become clearer with the next steps you have to take.

But just as important as the time you’ll need to prepare, is the time you’ll have to invest during the project, even though your designer is taking the lead on your journey. Creating a brand identity is a collaborative process and you’ll need to set enough time aside for your homework (such as filling out a questionnaire) and giving feedback to your designer. So don’t think just because you’re hiring a designer, you’re handing everything off and you’re done! You’re an integral part of the process and it’s important to adjust your schedule accordingly when you book your brand project.

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Gain clarity on your business

That step might seem pretty obvious but it’s more difficult than you think. Gaining clarity isn’t only about knowing your business inside out. It means being clear on your values, your message and your voice.

Your brand designer will probably give you homework at the beginning of your project that will help you with that, but if it’s the first time you’re sitting down to think about the deeper purpose and values of your business it can be really overwhelming and you’ll only have limited time since you have to stick to the project schedule.

So really take your time, sit down and find out how you want your business to be perceived. What do you want to be known for? Which problems are you solving for your customers? Which feelings do you want your brand to invoke? What sets your business apart from your competitors?

Be as clear as you can about how you want your brand to feel and what you want it to convey. The clearer you can answer these questions, the easier it will be to find the right designer for you. And of course, your designer can then translate your message a lot easier into a cohesive design.

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Know your audience

Especially as small business owner it can be quite difficult to separate your own tastes from your audience’s. But it’s important to make sure you know who your target audience is. What demographic are you addressing? What are their main concerns and which problems are you solving for them? Who are the people you want to reach and why? Your brand needs to speak to your ideal audience first and foremost.

These are questions your brand designer will ask you, so do your research. If you don’t have an audience yet, research your competitors’ audiences. What do they have in common? What will attract them to your business? The clearer you can be, the easier it will be to come up with a design strategy that is targeted at the right audience.

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Gather Inspiration

Gathering inspiration helps you to figure out what you’re looking for in your designer. Don’t get me wrong, you don’t have to know exactly what you want at this point - that’s why you’re hiring a designer after all. But it’s important to hone in on the broad direction you’re going for.

So get comfortable and start browsing Pinterest, Instagram or Dribbble. A good starting point is searching for brands within your industry. Also look at the brands you admire, whether they are in a related business or not.

You don’t need to worry too much yet about what might attract the right audience or not. Instead, focus on what it is that speaks to you. Is it the color maybe? Or a pattern or font? Do you like the mood of it? Try to hone in on what inspires you about these. As I said, you don’t need to know EXACTLY what you’re looking for yet. Just try to figure out a general style direction.

It’s important to keep an open mind to what the designer you chose suggests as design solutions. After doing their own research, they might suggest going in a different direction from what you had in mind – but if you like their overall style, chances are you’re gonna love it!

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Find the RIGHT designer

Don’t just go to the friend of a friend because they are the friend of a friend. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with looking in your own circles, but if you want to get serious about getting the right brand identity for your business, you’ll have to do the research to find the right designer for you first.

Create a shortlist of designers you would like to work with. Pinterest and Instagram are good places to start looking. Go through your inspiration folder and look at the designers who created it.

The next step - which is surprisingly often overlooked - is to look at their portfolio. Are the ideas you have in mind for your business compatible with their style? Does their work speak to you? Do you feel like they have the right vibe?

Design is highly subjective. A designer can have a wonderful portfolio, but if it looks nothing like what you want, they are simply not a good fit for you, no matter how good the quality of their work is.

Choosing the right designer is a topic for another blog post in itself, but if you’ve done your prep it’ll be easier to find your designer.

I hope really hope this helps you to prepare for getting your brand process off the ground the right way. Hiring a designer can be an intimidating step, but it doesn’t have to be. Being prepared will save you a lot of stress, anxiety and headache, because it will be so much easier to communicate with your designer about what your brand should be. They will worry about the design, but a brand is so much more than that. Getting clear on your business’s values, message and voice will not only ensure that your brand can convey all these things, it will also make it easier for you to make the right decisions for your business in all other aspects of business too.