Have you ever seen a logo or brand that you just absolutely love, and think to yourself, "how did they do that", or "I want that"? It all starts with that spark of inspiration, and I am here to give you a little behind the scenes peek into my own personal branding inspiration, as well as some tips on how you can tune in to what you really want your logo to represent.

As a designer (or at least for me), it is probably THE most daunting task to try and narrow down all your personal likes and loves to make one cohesive brand. Often times creatives can find inspiration in everything, so right off the bat I was overwhelmed on where to start.

Yes, I know how to brainstorm and create logos.
Yes, I know how to make color palettes and patterns.
Yes, I know how to execute additional marketing pieces.

But, what I didn't know was how I wanted to represent myself and my brand. I will essentially be selling my services in one nicely designed, neat and tidy logo. It is the first thing that clients will see, and it will immediately give them an idea of my style (no pressure). It's easy when someone else tells you what they want to represent, but for someone who occasionally has trouble making personal decisions, I needed to really sit down and figure out what I wanted to represent as a brand, and what kind of clients I wanted to attract.

So…my first tip that I will give you that I should have given myself…

Tip #1: Sit down and really write out what or who you want to represent. What really brings you joy, and in my case, what makes you happy to look at. What will you believe in and be able to sell for the foreseeable future?

Anything new and shiny tends to distract me (I know I’m not the only one…am I right?!), and it was still driving me crazy trying to figure out what direction to go, what look to achieve, and how I wanted to come across to my clients. As I already mentioned…personal decisions are tough, you guys! So I made an inspiration board. This turned out to be my favorite part of the process because I could finally see it! My brand was all laid out in a nice, neat, bundle of pretty.  

Now it’s your turn.
Take all of those descriptive words you wrote down and visualize them. You can grab all those pins and assemble them into one document, cut pages out of magazines and paste together, or tack your favorite cards and trinkets onto a board. Once you are happy with your inspiration board, STOP looking at Pinterest. I’m serious. Unless you have something specific that you are looking for, there’s just way too much pretty out there and you WILL get distracted. Use this cohesive inspiration board as your starting point. You can modify as you go, but just keep looking back to make sure everything you design aligns with this board.

Tip #2: Create an inspiration board. Use pins, magazines, notecards, and fabrics to compile your brand aesthetic in a nice and neat bundle of pretty.

Tip #3: Stop looking and comparing and be confident in what YOU have and who YOU are as a brand. I know I need to remind myself of this.

The rest is downhill from there. You can take bits and pieces of your inspiration board and execute them in every aspect of your business.

NEXT STEPS:
Since you hopefully have a better understanding of what you need and want in a logo and brand, your next step is to go chat with your designer (hey there!) so that YOUR dream logo can be realized. I know, I know, I’m in the logo design business so I have push the designer. Let me just say that NOTHING is more important in my job than for YOU to be successful. If you are confident in your brand and truly believe that it visually represents your future as a business, then you automatically have a leg up. THAT’S why I do what I do.

Do you have any tips to add to my list? List them in the comments below!
 

P.S. Don't forget to download this FREE WORKSHEET to help get you started!