When you hear about brand kits, what do you think? Graphic design. Logos. Big brands. Lots of work. Expensive. If you thought any of these things, it's understandable. Branding is often thought of as something only well-established brands or businesses do—like Nike—because it can be expensive. With this in mind, I think it leads to a very important question: is a brand kit important for small creators and beginners? YES!!
For instance, I created my brand kit a long time ago before I started blogging more or launched @BayLeighCreates on Instagram because I knew I wanted consistency with my personal brand as I started developing my website portfolio last year. As a new content creator, freelancer, or small business, branding might sound intimidating, but I promise it can be simple. Take a look at my brand kit for example: it consists of typography and a color palette.
Those elements are the foundation of a brand kit. Of course it can get more detailed than that with logos, logo variations, mood boards, and maybe even social media brand guidelines. For beginners, it's really important to focus on the basics because that's what you can manage in the beginning. That's why I recommend starting with foundation in a color palette and typography (font choice and font sizes). Starting with those two elements in your brand kit will elevate your brand and your marketing strategies more than you can probably imagine right now.
When it comes to your color palette, pick 3-5 colors that you feel represent your brand best. You want something eye catching and unique, but keep in mind you don't want your colors to distract from your message. Next, choose 1-2 fonts to use for your social media graphics, website, and print marketing materials. Personally, I don't recommend more than two because it can become distracting. With my brand, I use one font: Glacial Indifference because it closely matches the font Futura that I use on my website portfolio. Other brands might use two fonts: one font specifically for titles and headers; a second font for the body text. This can help break text up, which makes it easier for the eye to follow. Whether you chose one font or two, it's important to remain consistent. I recommend sans serif fonts for anything digital (social media graphics, websites, etc.) because typically those fonts are more legible when reading on a phone or computer; serif fonts are commonly used in print materials.
You might be thinking how a brand kit with typography guidelines and a color palette might be too simple, but I promise it can really be a game changer for your brand or business. These two fundamental elements of branding establish a clear, consistent image of your brand online and off. Remember: the key to branding is developing consistency. Your typography choices and color palette will develop a uniform image across your social media profiles, website, portfolio, and print marketing.
There are plenty of free online resources to learn about choosing the best palette. I recommend starting on blogs like HubSpot or Canva. For more inspiration, I recommend following @PrettyLittleMarketer, @EloiseJadeDesign and @GrlsMktgHub on Instagram as well as @ItsAbiConnick on YouTube and Instagram.
Have questions about developing a brand kit? Maybe you're ready to take your marketing to the next level! Please reach out so we can schedule a brainstorming session; I'm more than happy to chat.
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