Defining Full Branding: Tips for Choosing a Designer

I work with a lot of small creative business on their brands and the term “full branding” is often tossed around in our community. But, what does it mean? It could mean one thing to one person and another thing to a different person. Every designer offers a different scope of work within their full branding packages and every client has different expectations.

Full branding, to me, at its most basic concept includes a logo with brand board, a website with blog, and basic stationery, but creating visuals for a brand is just on piece of a very big puzzle. Branding is not just one or any of those things. It’s also the feeling someone gets after meeting with you. It’s the impact you leave with someone after they’ve seen your home page. It’s the impression you made while they were reading an email from you.

For the reasons above my full branding experience includes way more than a brand board, website, and basic stationery. As a designer with a business background I know how important branding is. I know how important defining your ideal client and niche are to know who you are selling to. I also know how important having a consistent quality in your visual brand is.

So, when choosing a graphic designer for your rebrand or initial branding experience, consider three things:

• What is the designer’s background? Do they have a business background? This isn’t to say that someone who went to art school has no concept of an ideal client. It just means that having a business background could be seen as an added bonus because the designer understands the need to know who you are marketing to.
• Do they work with you to define your ideal client and niche? How can you build visuals without understanding who you are marketing to? Most designers can make something pretty, but choose a designer who seeks out your ideal client from you and understands the needs to build ALL the visuals around that person.

• Do they provide everything you need to be consistent like a Facebook cover/pricing guide or is it simply a logo and website? Having a new brand board, site, and stationery is great, but if you think about it you often need a lot more. If you are a tech savvy person who is pretty good with Photoshop then GREAT! Use those skills and create your Facebook banner, email signature, instagram templates, etc. But, if you are not so skilled, consider choosing a designer who provides those “extra” items, like a Facebook banner or a pricing guide. Creating a so-so pricing guide or instagram template defeats the purpose of having a professional create your brand. You want the quality of ALL your visuals to be consistent.