Behind the Scenes of the Master Branding Experience
If you’ve ever wondered, what’s a logo suite? Why do I need a Brand Style Guide? When I hire a web designer, what do they provide? I’m answering all these questions (and so many more) that outlines my signature service, the Master Branding Experience so you have full understanding of how each piece fits together in my process.
As a designer, it’s easy to share bullet points of what I offer in my branding and website services. But what do these bullet points even mean? For those who are new to branding, or just want some more information about what these pieces of design are, what they entail in my process, and how they can catapult your business forward, let me explain.
The Master Branding Experience is a streamlined 8–10 week brand and website process that has all your bases covered so you end up with a cohesive online presence from start to finish. Here’s a look into the week-by-week timeline:
Week 1
Inspiration Board & Color Palette
Strategy Plays a big role in branding, from color theory to pinpointing your target audience. Getting started with a clear, purposeful foundation is key.
Week 2
Logo Suite
Creating a client’s logo is fun and collaborative. My clients are a big part of the design and revision process ensuring that it’s something they truly love.
Week 3
Marketing Collateral
Marketing collateral is any touchpoint you have with your client, so this could be whatever your business needs, such as social media, brochures, PDFs, etc.
Week 4
Brand Style Guide
Bringing together your branding elements into your Brand Style Guide is how your brand will stay consistent for years to come!
Week 5
Website Wireframe
Moving into the website process is seamless as I now have your completed brand, colors, fonts, and more. Laying out how visitors will navigate through the site is first.
Week 6
Website Implementation
I design the layout of the site, and then when that part is complete, I implement all the designs into Squarespace.
Week 7
Website Walk-Through
This is the fun part where I show my client the site and we walk through it together. I make changes according to their feedback.
Week 8
Finalizing & Strategy
We’re nearing the end and as all the final touches are put into place, we also discuss a marketing strategy for how you can grow your business.
Week 9
Launch week!
It’s time to celebrate as your brand and site launch out into the world! Following our work together you have web support as well as the option for ongoing design support. Onward and upward!
Now that we’ve gone into the week-by-week process, let’s get into the nitty-gritty.
Ever wonder how a designer is able to provide a brand you LOVE? Well, I’m not sure about other designers, but I know for me… My process starts with 2 deep dive questionnaires: a Brand Questionnaire and a Website Questionnaire. Each one helps create the foundation for your brand including core values, your style, we get to the root of your why, what’s important to you in design, and for the website part of things, I gather all the info I’ll need to put your website together.
This is so important because if you build without a foundation, your structure will collapse. Same with branding. Starting off with a solid foundation that gives your visuals purpose and direction, will help your business stay strong and grow in brand awareness for years to come.
I’m going to dive into 4 different parts of my Master Branding Experience: the Logo Suite, Brand Style Guide, Marketing items and Website that I often get questions about. I’ll dive into what each one is with examples of how they’re used and so you have a clear understanding of how these play into more clients and ultimately how they grow your business.
The Branding
The first 4 weeks of the Master Branding Experience is the Branding Phase and here are some things included in that process:
The Logo Suite
I provide a logo suite rather than just 1 logo design. A suite of 3 different logos, all united by 1 design gives you alternate ways to use them for different things you’re doing. So if you have different marketing items, you can use the appropriate logo for those pieces.
For my logo suites, I provide a vertical, horizontal and stamp design all derived from the same design so you have variety and depth when using your brand.
Here are some examples of logo suites I’ve done for past clients:
A logo is an identifiable way to help your business stand out. If you’re working at your computer right now you’ll either see an apple logo or an hp logo, or another. These logos identify the brand and are a subtle way of marketing.
When you have a small business you use your logo everywhere: on your website, social media, for promotions, marketing collateral, you name it. Your logo is a little, professional nod to your business style and vibe. That’s why I love providing different ways to use your logo cause it makes your marketing more versatile.
The Brand Style Guide
This is can be a single page or multi-page guide to how to use your designs in your marketing. From your color palette, to your fonts, to the patterns and logo, this guide is how your business will stay consistent for years to come even if you change designers.
In the Brand Style Guide, I provide you with your logo suite, inspiration photos, color palette and hex codes, font combinations, as well as pattern designs. I also provide a “Quick Style” Brand Guide, that I’m showing you below that you can easily show a designer so they can get a feel of your brand.
Here’s a look at the Quick Brand Style Guide
Brand Style Guide for Yes to Rest
Brand Style Guide for Frolic and Bloom
If your brand feels jumbled, chaotic or confusing the reason is probably because you don’t have a Brand Style Guide.
Having one for your business brings clarity, cohesion and professionalism. Not to mention, the consistency of your visual brand builds trust which is HUGE when clients are interested in working with you. Don’t scare them off with an unprofessional brand!
Marketing Collateral or Marketing Materials
In my Master Branding Experience I provide 2 marketing pieces of your choice. (If you’re not sure what marketing collateral is, it’s ways for people to interact with and learn about your business and I explain all about marketing collateral in depth here).
Secondly, what marketing materials do you provide? Glad you asked. Here’s a list of what I offer when it comes to marketing materials:
Facebook cover design
Thank you card design
Letterhead design
Stamp / sticker design
Postcard design
T-shirt design
Instagram Highlights
Instagram quotes
Informational postcard or flyer
This list is not exhaustive and if there’s anything your business needs that’s not on here, I’m happy to provide those for you.
Here’s some examples of marketing materials:
Marketing Collateral for By Rebecca Noe
Marketing Collateral for Yes to Rest
Marketing Collateral for LVL Pottery
The Website
Once the branding portion is complete, we move on to the Website
Website
The Master Branding Experience culminates with a complete Squarespace website that is equipped with everything a small business owner needs to succeed including Search Engine Optimization, copy-polishing, Squarespace training and more. But if you wondered what the heck Search Engine Optimization is or copy-polishing, stick around cause I would love to explain:
• Search Engine Optimization
Search Engine Optimization, also known as SEO, is the process of growing the quality and quantity of website traffic by increasing the visibility of a website or a web pages to users of a web search engine. Basically, it allows your site to be found on Google when you type a problem you have in the search bar.
SEO is incredibly important to any business. Because getting found online is how you can grow and book more clients.
Every aspect of the website I create is rooted in SEO best practices so you’re sure to have a site that can get found and one that’s set up for success for now and years to come.
• Copy-Polishing
If you’ve ever created a site you know there are A LOT of words on a website. I help you craft those words so they’re strategic, and beneficial to your SEO and goals of your business. Now, let’s be clear, I don’t write your copy, but the Website Questionnaire is designed to get all the words I’ll need for the site and once I put them in. And I give your words a “polishing” and make sure it’s the best it can be for SEO and your brand vibe and business goals.
• Secure
The sites I design for my clients are done in Squarespace. Squarespace domains, along with third-party purchased domains are secure with SSL certificates so you never have to worry if your site is unsecure. Rest assured, Squarespace has you covered!
• Squarespace Training
After we launch your site, I give you training on how to navigate and feel in control of the Squarespace platform. I give you videos, in-person training as well as 2 weeks of support following our work together so you feel confident on the platform and can do all the things you need for your business.
The process ends with handing over all your final files, celebrating your launch on Instagram, and mailing your beautiful client gift in celebration of this new phase in your business. Going through the brand and website together is an in-depth process, but one that grows your business with purpose and clarity and if you ever need help in the future, I love being your go-to designer for any small design needs you have.
The Master Branding Experience is truly the complete branding experience that has every aspect of your online presence covered so it’s not only beautiful and cohesive but it’s rooted in strategy so you can actually reach your stand out online with confidence, make more money in your business, and live the life of freedom and flexibility you’ve always wanted!
I’m currently booking 1-1 clients for this signature service. Are you ready to stand out online with confidence and grow your business with purpose and profit? Let’s chat!
