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Branding Tips for Creating Consistent Graphics that Stand Out
There’s a really simple way to amplify that know-like-trust factor everybody’s talking about…
And it has A LOT to do with how you’re visually showing up online!
Your unique brand and business needs an equally unique VISUAL VOICE if you want to stand out, attract just the right people, be remembered and recognized as an expert in your niche, and look credible enough for somebody to actually TRUST you!
The truth is, if your brand and graphics don’t look legit, it’s going to be much harder to gain traction and grow your personal brand or online business.
So in this post and video, I’m going to share everything I WISH I knew when I first started building my personal brand!
If your graphics are all over the place and could use a bit of TLC, then tune in and learn some simple tricks for creating more consistent, better-designed graphics.👇
What is a Personal Brand?
In a nutshell, your personal brand consists of everything that you do to promote yourself.
What’s your expertise?
Do you have any unique characteristics?
What value do you bring to the world?
What is it that you have to offer?
What makes you different?
How do you want your audience to perceive you?
Who are you?
Are there any catchy phrases that you might say or words that you use often?
How do you speak and interact with your audience?
It’s all About Perception
If you were to ask your audience what type of words they would use to describe you, what do you think their answer would be?
Are you playful?
Are you bold?
Are you modern?
Minimalist?
Inviting?
Creative?
Friendly?
Are you the girl next door?
Are you quirky?
Are you expressive with your face or your hands?
Are you mature?
Are you feminine?
Maybe you’re a little bougie…
Are you zen?
Are you organic?
Every Brand Has a Personality!
Here’s the thing. No matter what your brand personality is, it is so important that you are able to bring it to life through your visual content and your graphics.
There’s a bit that goes into all of that, and I break it all down in my branding and design quick start guide. You can grab that right here👇
Logo Tips
The first graphic that you usually create when you’re building your personal brand is your logo. When you’re creating your logo, you definitely want to keep it as simple as possible. Even a simple text based logo will do, but you can definitely incorporate an icon or some other design element.
You will want to use your brand colors and you can, but you don’t have to, use your brand fonts. Just make sure that the fonts that you are using have the right vibe and match your brand personality.
I suggest you create three variations: a horizontal, vertical, and an icon style. These all need to resemble each other without being the exact same. A logo template is going to be a great place to start, and you can change the colors, fonts, and of course use your own name, but starting with a template will provide you a great baseline.
If you’re like OMGGGG Kristin I need a logo NOW! I’ve got you’re back! Logo in a Day has your name written allll over it! It includes 30+ logo trio templates (like the ones above) plus, a video training where you’ll learn how to create your logo in Canva!🙌
Brand Color Palette Tips
Shen it comes to colors, there’s actually a psychology that you need to keep in mind when you’re picking and choosing the colors that are going to represent your brand.
Take a look at these examples:
The first color palette feels very adventurous, functional, down to earth, natural and sustainable.
The middle color palette is feminine, confident, inviting, trustworthy, and polished.
And the color palette on the right has a very creative, unconventional, bold, playful, and quirky feel.
There’s no hard and fast rule for how many colors that you need to include but typically I recommend starting with five colors. You’ll need a core color, an accent color, a light neutral color, a dark neutral color, and an action filled pop of color. Having five colors is going to give you plenty of freedom and variety when creating your graphics.
Brand Font Tricks
Just like your brand colors have a level of personality, your fonts have the ability to capture your personality as well! I recommend using two to four fonts in all of your brand graphics and collateral. Stick to these fonts and do not stray.
My favorite resource for fonts outside of Canva is called Creative Market. You can search for all styles of fonts, and I can guarantee you’re going to find something that fits your unique brand personality.
Overwhelmed at the thought of combining fonts? Search for “font duos” and let the experts do the hard work for you!
From casual and feminine, to timeless and masculine, modern, playful, friendly, and sophisticated, there are thousands of fonts to choose from to help you create a unique and consistent brand image.
Brand Imagery
There are so many reasons why I love using stock photos! For one, they can give you an instant brand elevation without you having to do much work. They usually come in bundles, which makes staying consistent a lot easier.
You can even combine different bundles to create a unique look and give yourself some more options!
One of my best kept secrets is that you can actually build your entire visual brand image off of a single set of stock photos. How cool is that?
There is no shortage of websites that offer styled stock photography for just about any niche, but these are a few of my favorites:
IvoryMix
BONUS: Design Elements
If you really want to spice up your brand image, you can take it a step further and incorporate some really unique design elements into your graphics, your website, pretty much anything that you are creating to visually market yourself online.
There are all kinds of patterns, textures, and tons and tons of different design elements right inside of Canva for you to choose from.
Just make sure that whatever you choose fits that overall vibe and tone that you’re trying to convey in your brand’s personality.
Brand Your Business the Easy Way!
I know I threw a ton of juicy tips and tricks at you, but I don’t want you to feel overwhelmed. If you want to jump on the fast track and you are ready to become a total brand boss and take charge of your graphics, be sure to grab my branding and design quick start guide where I’m going to dig deeper into the whole entire visual branding process
I can’t wait to see what you create!
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