Now that you have a brand, and a brand style guide, it’s time to use it to help you create the items that you need.

These could be:

  • social media graphics
  • stationery
  • brochures
  • leaflets
  • fliers
  • booklets
  • banners
  • stickers
  • car signage
  • postcards
  • the list really is endless….

Using your guide you’ll be able to position your logo in the right place, use the correct colours and fonts and ensure that each and every one of these materials is consistent and work together.

I use Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign to do this, but you might try your hand in publisher, powerpoint, word or any of the online design programmes including:

There’s loads of options available!

When you’re creating these materials you’ll need to refer back to your guidelines over and over. What sort of imagery are you going to use? What colour should that heading be?

You’ll also need to think about the layout, my top tips would be:

– Don’t fill the space just because it’s there! Whitespace will help people to focus on the important stuff and not get distracted by unnecessary information.

– Assume people are stupid and lazy. This isn’t saying that people really are stupid and lazy, this is to help you design in as clear a way as possible. Guide people through what you want them to see, make it easy for them to find the information that they are looking for. Don’t hide your phone number in teeny tiny text at the bottom of page 22 in a 106 page document, ensure that your special offers are in a key area on your website and not hidden in the footer. It’s just about applying common sense and creating materials which can be used quickly, efficiently and easily.

– Don’t forget your contact details. If people are interested in what you have to offer and they can’t call you up, ping you an email, drop you a tweet, find you on Facebook or even walk into your shop because you neglected to give them the required information then that’s not going to help you is it? Crucial!

– Your logo doesn’t have to be big or at the top. Your logo is important, of course it is, it defines who you are in one easy step, but is your leaflet about your logo or about your special offer? Is your Facebook cover about who you are or what you do? Make the key information the focus and pop your logo somewhere else. You’ll be using your branding to help convey your message effectively, that will speak volumes about who you are and what you do, so don’t worry about it.

If you’re still struggling with your branding and would like a helping hand through the process then check out The Brand Success Club or get in touch to discuss how we can work together one-to-one.

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