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In this series of lessons I aim to give you a broad overview on all things branding, with what it is, what its for and how to make/change/evolve your own. I will try and include as many examples as possible along the way.

What Is Branding?

Branding is an overall term for anything that represents your company this includes but is not limited to: Logos, Colour, Copy, Fonts, Music, Shapes, and Smells. It’s main purpose is to quickly and easily identify your business apart from others and convey who you are and what you do. Most of the branding we come into contact with in our everyday lives is that of mega brands. The Apples and the Mcdonalds of this world and this has meant that most people are somewhat aware of branding…and seems to have led to people to think it’s a crucial aspect of business success.

No One Cares

This is an issue I see a lot, and most normally with young entrepreneurs just starting out, they will invest a lot of time and money into nice branding. Which is completely stupid. No business stays the same, and most will radically change their offering over time. Nokia, now universally known for the mobile phones was originally a paper mill. As time goes on its only natural that a brand will change to reflect the times, but this is especially true of new businesses.

I can understand why people get so caught up in their own brand. Branding is the visual representation of your dream and it only feels natural to plaster it over coffee cups and t-shirts but I promise this is a waste of your time and precious start up funds. For any new company I would always suggest to keep things simple and bold. I would also highly recommend that for a relatively low cost there are some decent templates you can buy that will be more than suitable.

Your brand will have very little exposure at the start, and although people can rightly argue it’s good to have something that represents you well..ultimately a brand isn’t what makes you money on day one and as ever my advice is always to chase work before anything else.

The More You Use

The main objective with a brand is that someone will look at your mailer/website/social media and instantly recognise it’s you. Everything needs to match everything else and sometimes from the inside looking at the same colours…fonts all day can get a little boring and I think this is why many small business owners are tempted to chop and change. Although Ideas can evolve its important that the core of your brand stays the same. The longer you use it the stronger it becomes.