What Does Your Branding Say About Your Business?

08 Oct What Does Your Branding Say About Your Business?

By: Renée J. Goldberg

What does your company’s branding say about you and your business?  Is it memorable?  Does it create a lasting impression on potential clients & customers?  

First, you need a strong image to convey the feelings you want associated with your business, its name and symbolism.  

FOR LOGOS:

Graphic images with icons are always nice if you can design a really nice, symbolic one.  Just please be careful not to go overboard.  Too elaborate of a logo will not always look good on your website.  Or, if you’re going with a more simple type treatment (text only) then choose a main font(s) that convey some feeling about your business or its name.  

Try to choose fonts and icons that give off a certain “feeling” for your name.    

BUSINESS NAME:

Here’s an example of the strategy I used when naming my business “MindSurf”. 

I chose “Mind” for the strategy I do for each project, the research and solid thinking.  I chose “Surf” for the “surfing” we all do online (and I do for my research) AND to represent what my agency specializes in — websites and everything Internet .

Next, I chose to combine both words as one name MindSurf with an initial cap for “Surf” because they belong together.  We cannot have a successful project without using our Mind and Surfing = MindSurf!  

Now, if you glance at my logo, you’ll see two different fonts and colors for each word.  We used a straightforward, stable font for “Mind” and a specialized font for “Surf” that gives the feeling of waves. 

Then, be careful of the colors you choose.  Be sure to research and research.  

TAGLINE:

As well, sometimes it’s necessary to place a tagline to further describe what you do… if the name is unclear.  Don’t, leave your viewer guessing!  It’s very annoying to figure out what a business does when it is not obviously clear.

What’s rewarding for me is to this day, people tell me that they like my business name and remember it!

COLORS:

Next, what about your colors?  What do you want your brand colors to say about your business?

One suggestion is to stay away from using red as a main color.  Red can be “danger, stop, caution, anger, or embarrassment… or it can represent strength.”  Red is also the color for love.  Different colors have different symbolism in different countries.  So, if you have an international business, be careful.  Example, in India, red means “good luck.”

One last important thought on color… please be mindful of what colors you do choose for use in different media.  

Not all colors will look good in every medium!  For example, the colors of your website are extremely important!  Many colors do not work well in online.  Red is NOT a good color for a website.  Neither is a lack of color such as a black/white/grey color scheme.  It tends to look old fashioned, washed out and dreary.

You’ll find that color symbolism varies depending on what expert you speak with.  E.G., some believe red is one of the top colors that represent strength. Go figure?!!  Personally, I see it as “stop” and “caution.”

What this differing opinion shows is how important research is on your topic.

WHAT’S YOUR BRANDING LIKE?

What does your business name, fonts, colors and logo say about YOUR business?  Have you given them an honest look lately?  Do they need an update?

If you decide to do your branding yourself, please be careful.  Do tons of research into fonts, colors, styles, etc. 

If possible, it’s always better to hire a professional to help you.  

Just be careful that your branding looks professional, smart and current.  

If you’re looking to hire a branding professional to help, please do your research… look at the designer’s portfolio.  Make sure that the designer is up to your high standards and capable of making your company look fantastic!

Here are three samples of recent branding projects that we’ve done so you can see some examples of three more types of branding.  

1. TwinFlame Psychotherapy – Branding & Website (in progress) for startup business
2. Naked Bar Naturals – Renamed 30-yr. company, created new branding & large E-Commerce Site for natural skin & hair products, including soap bars.
3. Mind-Body Healing Center – Rebranded 10-yr. business & new Website for psychotherapy practice.

Copyright ©2023. Renée J. Goldberg & MindSurf. All Rights reserved. Reproduction or republication is strictly prohibited without prior written permission.