If you’re thinking about creating some killer branding for your business I could be the perfect partner for you! But maybe you’ve never done this before and you’re feeling a little apprehensive about how it all works… What should you expect? How long will it take? What’s the commitment? Design should be an exciting and fun process, especially when you’re the client! My approach to every project is to be as open and approachable as possible, just like any relationship the best results come through listening and collaboration. To demystify the process of working with me on your branding, I’ve put together a guide below that gives a step by step process of how it all works and what to expect. Step 1: Getting to know you Once you’ve broken the ice and sent me your initial enquiry (woo!) the first step is to book a quick chat to discuss your requirements in a bit more detail. I normally do these over video call so we can check each other out and it’s just an informal 20-30 mins where you can let loose on all your current branding gripes, big ideas and dreams for your business. There’s no charge for this and no commitment, but a good 95% of initial calls end in a booking.
Step 2: Who, where, why, what After our chat, I’ll send you a link to my Brand Discovery Questionnaire. This is a really important part of the process for two reasons:
It gives you a chance to take a big inward look at your brand and business, dig right inside the who, where, why, what and take some time remembering why you are doing it all!
It gives me a detailed insight and answers all the questions I have at the start of a project in one swoop. I constantly refer back to your answers throughout the design process to keep me on track too.
A glimpse at the Brand Discovery Questionnaire
I ask all prospective clients to complete the questionnaire so that I can give you a detailed proposal and pricing structure, which leads me on to…
Step 3: Proposal 💍 In the following week I analyse your questionnaire answers, along with the information from our chat, and work on creating a detailed proposal for you and priced recommendations. You’ll receive the following:
A written analysis of your brand, your customer, market position and business aspirations.
My thoughts and ideas on how to execute the ideal branding strategy for you visually
Accompanying imagery to support and illustrate my proposal
My personalised service recommendations and pricing for the project, availability and payment terms
An example of the visuals section of a past proposal
I also include a walk through video of the proposal to watch at your leisure so I can add a bit more detail (especially to the accompanying imagery) so that it’s as clear as possible.
Step 4: Let’s do this! If you love my proposal and you’ve decided to say YES, I’ll get you booked in (and take payment/sign a contract/get you added to my client portal) and we’re ready to rock. First port of call is your 60 minute design briefing. We’ll come to the table with moodboards and aim to fix our visual direction before I get started on the design work. Then I’m off! I’ll get designing and you can sit back and relax.
Step 5: Review, Feedback, Revise The initial design stages take around 3-4 weeks (unless we’ve pre-agreed a different timeline), lots of thought, time and some agonising emotional turmoil goes on here… but once I’m over the hump I’ll be in touch to show you the first round of designs for revision together. Reviewing - what to expect This is the part most clients find the most exciting part of the project, seeing some actual design work! At this stage the designs are still conceptual, this initial review is for me to get a feel for the direction I’m going in before I go ahead and make firm design decisions. I suggest coming in with an open mind and an open ear as I will take plenty of time showing you the work I’ve done and the thoughts and reasoning behind it. You can ask questions, add your comments and initial thoughts too - however, I will send you a digital version of the designs to spend some time with afterwards too. Feedback - what should you do? Spend plenty of downtime looking at the work I’ve created so far, discussing it with colleagues or a trusted friend (keep your opinion circle tight though, otherwise you risk being overwhelmed with unhelpful comments) and just generally getting connected with it. There’s no right or wrong feedback and I am open to hearing your ideas whatever they might be! I’m also here to give advice. I like to see feedback as a collaborative constructive discussion rather than a client vs designer situation! Revise Once all the feedback is in, I create an action plan and I’m back at the designs working in the revisions. This can take another 2 weeks (depending on how much there is to do) and we go through the process again! How many times can we review & revise? The reason so much research work is done in the early stages is so that we can be sure we are both on the same page when it comes to visual direction. The aim being that we shouldn’t need to review and revise endlessly - this is exhausting for everyone involved! I budget up to 3 reviews in your price but normally 1 or 2 is enough. Small tweaks to colours or copy do not count as major reviews. In the very rare situation where we can’t work it out after 3 reviews then I will quote you a fee for continuing work or you are free to end the project (I still need full payment for my time spent designing so far in this case).
Step 6: Final Designs Generally, once we are at the second review stage, the designs will be in a place where we are both really happy with them and we are ready to start putting together final designs. I create a brand document that showcases all the final designs, once you are happy with it I will ask you to sign it off. At this stage I’ll ask that any remaining money is paid and then I’m ready to create the client asset folders to transfer over to you.
Logo guidelines excerpt from a client Brand Guidelines
Finally, it’s all yours! Congratulations, you are now the proud owner of stunning branding for your business! On sign-off you’ll have:
A detailed, annotated brand guideline document that you can refer back to (to check you’re keeping on brand at all times) or pass on to other colleagues or designers in the future
All your logos, icons, illustrations, prints, and any other design elements in a variety of files types to use as needed.
Any stationery or printables in a format ready to send off to print
And anything else that was included in your package!
What happens to ‘us’? :( This doesn’t have to be the end! We may chose to move on to designing a website, packaging or other assets together. If not, let’s still remain friends - I love to see my clients flying with their new branding so please send me any photos or updates on social channels. I also share work in my portfolio with a link back to you.
Ready to give your business the branding it deserves?