A guide for non-designers: 4 essentials when you’re starting out a business
I get it. When you’re starting a business, sometimes the budget starts out small, and you’re Googling 'how can I design a logo myself' — DIY style without looking DIY. Well, here’s my top 4 design tips I think every brand needs to start their business right: brand name, logo, colour palette, and typography.
Let’s start with the brand name.
It’s often the most overlooked. I have created a free resource that you can download to craft the perfect brand name for your new start-up business. You can download it here!
The things that make the perfect brand name are: memorability, easy pronunciation, spelling, and finally availability. Nike, memorable, easy to spell, but pronunciation, on the other hand, has created a global debate. I’ll leave it to you whether it’s two syllables “nai-kee” or one syllable “nike”. I have always said it as two syllables, and have admittedly got confused when someone says it to me in one syllable. Don’t get me wrong though, it is a great brand and I love their products! Always a Nike (nai-kee) fan!
Well, what’s a brand name without a logo design — keep it simple, recognisable, and scalable across various mediums. Consider how it will appear on different backgrounds and in different sizes to ensure consistency and impact.
Typography is next on my list. I still see designers that have not nailed this. It is one of the harder things to get right. As designers, we can spend hours just scrolling through fonts that work for the brand and that pair well together. As a rule of thumb, I generally use two — one on the fancier side (used for headings only) giving the brand personality while the second one is a toned-down font that is easy to read and easy on the eyes.
Finally, the colour palette. If you have downloaded my brand name worksheet (which I would recommend you do!), you take the words you’ve written from the brand name worksheet and choose colours that reflect the personality. Then, use colour contrast checkers to ensure it passes accessibility to make it easy to read! There are plenty of free colour contrast checkers online that you can use.
As your business evolves and grows, so too should your brand. Don't be afraid to revisit and refine your brand identity as needed.
If time is not on your side to pick up a new skill, and you're looking for a design expert who is still within your budget, get in touch, and I would love to see if we could be a good fit!
