I regularly have consultations with potential coaching clients who want me to build them a website. But quite often, they don’t have their brand design in place. And designing a website without knowing what the branding looks like first is like putting the cart before the horse.
Whether you’re paying a developer to create your site or doing it yourself, you need to know what color and font combos work well to make it look awesome.
What is brand design?
In simple terms, your brand design is pretty much your:
- Logo
- Colors
- Font
This is also known as your style guide.
But it’s more than that, and fellow web designer Rebecca Peterson says it perfectly in her article, Something is missing from your brand and I know what it is, where she says:
“Your brand is an energetic signature from you to everyone you interact with. There is a specific energy associated with your brand. And that energy comes from your beliefs, past experiences, vision, purpose for creating a business, and the value you provide.”
By getting your logo, colors, and fonts aligned with who you are, they’ll complement the website design. People will also recognize you visually elsewhere, like on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
And by creating branding that has your energetic signature all over it, your audience is more likely to feel how you want them to when interacting with your brand.
Why brand design needs to come first.
Brand design must come before an expensive web design project because it’s the foundation on which a website is built.
Think of it this way. You’d never build a house on a foundation made of sand. It’s unstable, and long-term, it will result in everything you’ve built falling down around you.
No, you build a house by:
- Leveling the ground
- Laying concrete
- Implementing piles to support the structure
And whatever else you need to do to create something that serves you well long into the future.
If you’re just starting out and creating a super-simple website to start you off, you might get away with working it out as you go. But even then, it’s better to start with your fonts and colors in mind.
But if you’re hiring a designer to create a super-shiny expensive website with all the bells and whistles, you definitely need to have your brand design in place first.
“That’s all well and good, but where do I even begin?” you might be thinking.
Well, I can help you there too.
Getting started on your brand design.
You could scour the internet looking for a great brand designer, but you don’t have to because I highly recommend Deena Rutter.
Deena is a graphic designer and life coach specializing in brand design for coaches.
She has a fantastic package called Brand in a Box that gives you access to hundreds of ready-made Canva branding templates to make your coaching website look incredible
Her Brand in a Box contains everything you’ll need, including:
- Logos
- Font pairings
- Color palettes
- Stock photo suggestions
- Instagram post and story templates
- LinkedIn headers
- Lead magnet templates
And a whole lot more.
Perfect if you’re set on doing it yourself.
Or, you can work with Deena one-to-one, where she’ll create completely original branding that has your personality stamped all over it.
Deena is someone I work with regularly and trust completely. And her brand design is always complimented whenever we receive feedback on our projects:
“Jennie and Deena made everything so easy. They’re a great team, and they have systems that guided me every single step of the way. I didn’t have to guess what they wanted or how to create it. They were able to walk me through everything they needed from me.” – Amy Latta
“Having Deena and Jennie on my team has saved me countless hours and set my confidence level sky-high as I build the business I’ve always wanted. Their magic touch allowed me to introduce my business to the world looking like an experienced coaching pro right out of the gate.” – Candice Toone
However, if you’re on a really tight budget and DIYing it yourself, you can opt to create your brand design on Canva. To find out more about doing it yourself, check out the Canva article, 50 style guides every startup should see before launching.
Need help with your brand design?
Then work with Deena.
Head to her website now and sign up for her Brand in a Box or Custom Brand Design Service.
You won’t regret it!
Jennie
