Getting Started

Settling on a brand aesthetic can be so intimidating. Questions run through your mind like what colors represent my message? What is the message I even want to convey? What are my dream clients drawn to? Trying to answer these decision-making questions can quickly cause your head to spin in many different directions. We get it. Finding your brand aesthetic is a process but by breaking it down you’ll come to discover the new look for your business that feels like it was always destined to be.

Authenticity Always

We’re all about going back to basics to help guide your aesthetic. We believe brands are strongest when they get personal, where they’re a reflection of you. When we start brand identity projects we always want to get to know the creative behind the brand – What colors are in your daily wardrobe? What song is on repeat?

While you may be like wait, what?! How does this have anything to do with my brand identity. You as a creative are your differentiating factor and your style sets you a part from your competitors. We’ve also found when brand visuals feel like a reflection of our clients that there is a discovered confidence and renewed energy brought back into their businesses because they truly love their brand identity.

Story

Think of the current brands you follow, the ones you wait for their newest drops to pop into your inbox. The products/services you tell yourself you can wait to hit ‘add to cart’ until a later time but they end up on your credit card bill anyways. These brands may be completely different from one another in what they sell but have one thing in common — they make you feel a connection. 

Storytelling lies at the heart of a great brand where the idea of ‘show don’t tell’ is in focus. Your business is unique in the stories it has to share. That differentiating factor should be highlighted in your brand aesthetic. 

What do you want your audience to know about your brand story? How do you want your audience to feel? What was your ‘why’ in the past but also what is it for the future? 

For example, maybe you’re an interior designer who dreams of working with homeowners to renovate their houses into warm, European-inspired homes. Your process always includes a trip to the local thrift store because you believe old and new are the perfect pairing. It doesn’t have to be literal through an illustration but it could be mimicked through colors or texture. You could choose off-white and warm colors to give a vintage feel, along with grain or a print effect/paper texture to give a vintage feel.

Strategy

Your aesthetic can be a make or break when it comes to whether your dream client falls head over heels for your brand or doesn’t even give it a second thought. A strong foundation for your aesthetic lies in taking into account your values, goals, and ideal customer. You’re never going to be a product/service for everyone and you shouldn’t be trying to be. 

Following the same interior designer example.

You value restoring quality vintage pieces, comfort in making clients feel understood, and the simplicity of looking to nature for inspiration. Your dream client may be a middle-aged, middle-class family who desires a cozy, organic feeling when they walk through the front door. So putting it all together into a strategic aesthetic could look like using earth-tone colors like blues, greens, and taupes. Then to give more of a vintage feel you could incorporate an illustration style that looked more imperfectly hand-drawn. Your fonts would be clean in style to portray the minimal aspect with an accent script font for a flair of vintage.

Get Help

If you’re in the early stages of your business and want a little guidance, we have the perfect resource filled with questions and steps to help you discover your brand aesthetic.

let’s work together

When you’re ready to invest in furthering your aesthetic with a cohesive brand identity, we’d love to take the weight of decision-making off of you so there’s no more second-guessing. What if the branding dreams you have for your brand didn’t only live in your head? Let’s chat and make them come to life. Get in touch with us to develop and discover your brand aesthetic together.