Top 6 Tips on Branding for Start-Ups

Getting the most out of your designer can be challenging, particularly for smaller companies and is often reliant on translating your creative ideas into words. If you want a brilliant end product, one-line briefs simply won’t do. The most effective projects don’t necessarily require a barrage of daily emails – just concise, clear messages that truly convey your needs.

Here’s how you can get your ideas across and ensure you end up with the design you want.

1. Clarity rules

Every graphic designer begins with a blank canvas – so tell them what you want! To create a design that you envisage, the graphic designer needs as much insight from you to capture it. Confusing briefs, outlines or instructions will inevitably result in a disappointing design.

• Be clear about your ideas and goals, include as much detail as possible and set it out simply. Always keep in mind your vision of the final design.
• Share as much as you can about your business, your product or campaign and your target audience. The more designers know, the more precise their designs will be.
• Consider what you want your design to communicate to your customers. What messages, concepts, emotions or attitudes do you want to convey?

2. Be available

A design brief is a springboard for a graphic designer, but to achieve the final product, there is a lot of back and forth required ensure you have everything you want.

• Provide concise, comprehensive and regular feedback to designers. This is critical in ensuring you end up with the design you want.
• Utilise tools like email, Skype and/or messaging platforms provided by your crowdsourcing service to communicate with your designers.

3. Get moody

Visualisation is a huge part of the creative process. A great, additional way to convey your ideas is by creating a ‘mood board.’

• What’s a mood board? A presentation of samples, colours, images, layouts and inspirations that visually demonstrate your concepts/ideas.
• Use programmes like PowerPoint to create your mood board. Or even an example of logos from other companies you like. Share this with your designer/s.

• Explain to your designers what you want to avoid with your design. Is there a particular trend, colour, image or concept that you want to stay away from?
• Visual examples can be very beneficial here as well. Find examples of what you don’t want and share these with your designers.

5. Get technical

Much of your communication with your designer will relate to technical specifications, so it’s in your best interests to have your requirements at the top of your mind and include them in the original brief to avoid too much to-ing and fro-ing.

• Include details about size, resolution/pixels, format, file types, font types and so on in your brief. Remember, if you want it, you need to ask for it!
• If you have specific branding colours that you want to use (e.g. Pantone, CMYK), you should communicate this.
• You can also explain to your designers where your final product will end up. Will it be going into print or online? What types of people will be viewing it? This information will help them understand what design ideas will/won’t work.

6. Leverage that talent!

If you need help, ask your designers! They know their stuff, so leverage their knowledge and expertise when in need of guidance.

• When it comes to crowdsourcing platforms, customer support is always only an email or phone call away, so utilise these channels if you get stuck.
• If there’s something you’re unsure of, just ask! Your designers will usually be able to provide you with useful advice, tips and input.

By Josephine Sabin, Marketing Manager for Design Crowd, a crowd sourced design community with 140,000 designers ready to offer their talents to your business whatever your budget.