Designing Your Brand

The best part about my blog that is that it's raw, unfiltered, unedited....straight from my brain 🙃 All of these posts are based on my personal experiences and do not contain any verified or researched information. It's my own perspective, and I encourage you to do what's best for your business and life! My goal is to just simply give you ideas 🩷🩷 With that said, let's get to it!

Designing your brand for your small business can sound a little intimidating. Let me help you get started with my step-by-step guide. 


1. The very first thing I did was design my logo. When I began, I initially wanted to incorporate a paw print of some sort for my love of animals. However; as time went on I realized that didn't really have anything to do with my business- but more so just something I liked. I'll be honest- I've changed my logo a few times, but the one I have now is my most favorite and the most well known. Take a peek at my first logo compared to my current logo! 

Now, I know the second one (my current) looks plain- but I can use it literally with any graphic I choose, or as a watermark, etc.- and it's part of many of my other stock photos. When you're designing or choosing your logo, remember it doesn't have to be forever but should reflect your business clearly. 

2. Color palette! One of my most favorite parts of designing was figuring out what colors I wanted. Initially, I wanted tan and white and gray...maybe a little pink. I spent hours looking at all different graphics and color schemes, etc. until I finally found this flower design on Canva (no, I don't get any commission- I truly love Canva!). And I thought, "oh my gosh- that's it!"  Light pink, green, tan, peach is what stuck! Once in awhile I'll add in a little teal in the summer time, mostly to catch people's eye.
With fonts- I loved the Gistesy font on Canva (the font for K Designs). However, I did get some feedback when I first opened that it was hard to read for some. I wanted a more handwritten/cursive for K DESIGNS and then I wanted the HOME & GIFT SHOP to be in a plain, generic font. I recommend finding something you love, but also something that is easy for all to read. 
After that feedback, I have adapted a bit and on some of my newer posts and such, the font for K DESIGNS is more clear- but my sign on the building will forever be this font ;) 




If you've been in my store, you'll notice this same banner hanging behind my counter- it was my very first sign ever for K Designs and I used it at every single craft fair I went to (we'll get back into that in a different post!) 

3. Graphics are very important. If you are crafty/creative, Canva is amazing. I design every single one of my graphics, coupon tickets, posters, business cards, you name it- on Canva. Even if you're not crafty/creative, they have super simple templates that you can plug your brand/design into. A few of the stock graphics I have are my store hours, my cover photos for social media and my website, along with my business card, email signature, and other social media graphics. I am constantly designing new graphics as well, to keep up with holidays/seasons, sales, events and more. 

As you can see, all of the graphics have the same color scheme, and mostly the same font theme. I do change it up once in awhile, but also keep the basic colors and such so people recognize it's from K Designs. 

4. Visual vibe and atmosphere are so important, especially if you have a brick and mortar store/public space! When I began online and doing craft fairs only, I knew I wanted a certain "feel". I wanted my space at craft fairs to feel bright and welcoming. I made sure to wash my table linens before every event so they smelled nice and fresh. My goal was to give my customers an "experience" and for them to want to come back. I tried to do the same online- keep my website neat, tidy and bright! 
Now with the store- it's so much more, in a good way! My goal was to have people walk into the store and say "oh it's so bright in here!" or just simply have a good experience when they walked in. I didn't want the store crowded or overstocked, I wanted the shelves to be neat and tidy, and I wanted my store to smell good. The products I chose to carry, the colors of the walls, the shelving...it all tied in to how I wanted to present my store. Heck, even down to the decorations in the bathroom matched! And over the past year, I'm happy to say that I've had many compliments on my store, and how it's "so bright!" or "so clean!" or "I love the layout! It's not crowded!" 
When you put every ounce of your mind into planning it all- those comments will always put a smile on your face. 

Here is a look from when I very first opened the store. Bright, neutral, and smelled good! (The local soaps I carry are a wonderful air freshener too! Plus, I also have Yankee Candle plug ins set on the very lowest level). 

5. Your business values are a big part of your brand. With my shop, I always said that I wanted it to be welcoming, and just a happy place to visit. One thing I knew right away is that I wanted every single customer who walked through my door to feel welcome, helped in any way possible and leave feeling good. I'm here because of my customers- of course I want them to be happy! 
Business values tie into your products too. It could be that you strictly want to sell products made in the USA, or that you will only carry eco-friendly products, or that you want to follow every new trend. Once you figure out what you want those values to be, it is very important to try and stick to them. Sure, life and times change; however, if you're promoting your business based on your values- your customers are going to rely on that. If you do need to change your business values- my recommendation would be to keep it minimal or gradual and just communicate with your audience. 

Thanks so much for reading my second ever blog post 🩷

🩷Stick around to see more! 

-Ashley ✌️