I Designed Branding for a New Business and It's Mine. This Is What I Learnt…
I Designed Branding for a New Business — and It's Mine. This Is What I Learnt…
If you follow me on social media, you will have likely seen the recent brand rollout for my new business, Tinker Club. It's been keeping me pretty busy recently, I've not had time for design work, and sadly, ByLindsey has needed to take a back seat for a while as I get things set up. The upside to starting my own business is that it has also allowed me to get an insight into being the client and the designer. This has allowed me to understand what a client needs when rolling out a new brand.
A bit of background: Tinker Club is a space for young children to learn and develop their creative muscles outside of school, in a relaxed, friendly and, most of all, fun atmosphere. The club is based in the Uckfield area and runs workshops in schools, village halls and fayres. My vision for Tinker Club was that it would encompass all these values, as well as being gender neutral and appealing to children and adults alike.
This isn't the first time I've designed my own branding, By Lindsey's branding was designed by me too. But this experience felt different, maybe because it's not a design business, and I had no insecurities or fears about being judged for my choice of typeface. It was a much more enjoyable experience, perhaps because I treated Tinker Club as the client.
So what have I learnt from this? Here's a list of what I took away from the experience:
Research, far and wide. Look at different approaches and directions, and collate everything together. Use your instinct, what feels right is usually what's best.
Be confident and bold. Forget about the judgement of others. In the design phase, this can be stifling, my best work always suffers when I care too much.
Even if you're not your target customer, you have to LOVE IT. You're going to be staring at these visuals a lot, for a long time. Having brand visuals you love will make you love your business even more.
Don't rush the process. I'm a strong believer in this, the creative process isn't always linear, and it's very unpredictable. Sometimes things will work straight away; other times ideas will take longer to crack. Ideas will never flow if you're under pressure, tired, or stressed.
Mull it over, let it prove, let the flavours infuse. Just like cooking, sometimes artwork will transform with fresh eyes. Taking a step back from design work helps you recognise what is and isn't working. I think this happens almost every time I design something, and it always helps me design better. Another reason not to rush the process.
Yes, you need it all if you want an easy life. The primary and secondary logo, the patterns and illustrations, the favicon, the typefaces and colours. Trust me, your brand will look so much more polished if you use these things all together.
Have some templates made up another time saver. Getting a designer to do it will make it look better too, but this isn't always necessary; it will just help save you time when writing up socials.
Summary
This brand work was such a valuable experience. I think the two most important takeaways are: trust your gut, and don't rush things too much! Putting myself in my clients' shoes has helped me think so much more strategically, and let me understand what my clients need from a good brand kit.
For anyone reading this and relating, I currently offer two packages, designed for businesses at different stages, whether you're starting up or wanting a change. Take a peek at my price list (link below). If you have any questions, fill out the contact form on the homepage.