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THE MEANING OF BRANDING FOR SMALL BUSINESSES

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what is the meaning of branding for small businesses

You stopped here because you are serious about starting branding your business and wish to know exactly what is the meaning of branding for small businesses?

Well, you are about to learn everything you need to know to get started!

Let’s dive right into the meaning of branding for small businesses.

The meaning of branding for small businesses

1- WHAT IS BRANDING?

So, I think the first thing we need to talk about is “branding”.

You probably know what’s a brand right? If you see the M of Mc Donald’s, you know who they are and what they do thanks to their logo. That is their “brand”.

Now, if you look at Mc Donald colors, typography, tagline, and packaging, that is “BRANDING”

Basically, branding is the way your target audience recognizes your brand thanks to different assets.

So, what are those assets?

2- WHAT ARE BRAND ASSETS?

There are a lot of things incorporated in Branding, but here are some examples.

As a small business, to have a strong brand identity, you will need:

  • Primary logo: That is the logo that includes any logo mark, logotype but also taglines. This is considered a more “formal” presentation.
  • Secondary Logo: This logo is another variation of the primary logo. It will be displayed on most consumer-focused products/services.
  • Text Only Logo: This format works well where the logo mark or symbol cannot be used.
  • Icon or Brand Mark: Used when the consumer is already aware of the company name. (also used as watermark)
  • Responsive Logo: This one is used for super small areas like mobile headers, social media profile pictures, etc.
  • Color Palette: Strong 3 to 5 Primary colors to represents your businesses model and voice.
  • Typography: Come up with a typography system by always using the same type and fonts. Up to two different types.
Justine lamer Branding services

2- WHAT ELSE DO I NEED TO BRAND MY BUSINESS?

Well, if you did all the basics and wish to do even more, here is what you can start working on:

  • Packaging: for product-based businesses! How awesome to have packaging that incorporates your business colors, fonts, and logo?
  • Business Cards
  • Thank you Cards
  • Flyers
  • Social Media Templates: You must be aware of how important social media platforms are for your business. They are really powerful lead generators for your products or services. So, one of the things you can do is designing social media posts that using all of your brand assets.
  • Digital stickers and Gifs

I hope this article helped you understand a little more about what is the meaning of branding for small businesses and that you have enough to get started.

If you are interested in working with me to build your DREAM business brand, you can check my services here and then contact me there.

Thank you so much for reading about the meaning of branding for small businesses

Before you leave, you might be interested in reading about 5 free social media templates.

See you back here soon

Justine Lamer

BECOMING A BRAND DESIGNER

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becoming a graphic designer

You stopped here because you want to know why I decided to become a Brand Designer?

Maybe, you also wonder why becoming a brand designer? What does it take?

In this blog post, I am going to share with you why I am switching career paths and build my graphic design business.

I will break this article into a couple of different sections:

  • From Digital Marketing to Graphic Design
  • What is a Brand Designer?
  • Why did I choose this aspect of Graphic Design?
  • My services & Enquiry Form

Now, let’s dive right into why becoming a brand designer?

1- FROM DIGITAL MARKETING TO GRAPHIC DESIGN

Here is my story:

My background is quite interesting! I was born and raised in France where I’ve got my bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing.

Shortly after that, I decided it was time for me to go on an adventure before starting a real career in Digital Marketing.

Therefore, in 2016, I landed in The United States of America. So, Welcome to Florida!

In 2020, after working for an amazing family for 4 years, I made the decision to open my online business where I offered Digital Marketing services.

My services included some graphic design work!

And I quickly fell in love with making designs, drawing digital illustrations, and creating brand identities.

After rebranding my company, Justine Lamer LLC, I am now offering businesses the opportunity to work with me to build an amazing brand for themselves.

Brand design ad leaterboard

2- WHAT IS A BRAND DESIGNER?

So, that is the question you are probably asking yourself.

What is a Brand Designer anyway?

A brand designer is a person that is going to use graphic design to create and build a brand for a business.

Basically, he or she will create your logo suite (primary logo, variations, sub marks), your color palette & typography pairing, but that’s not it. It goes way beyond the logo.

So, brand designers are making sure your brand is delivering a message and share a feeling. That includes a lot of research, time & guidelines.

Related: THE BEST 9 FREE MOCKUPS WEBSITES

3- WHY DID I CHOOSE THIS ASPECT OF GRAPHIC DESIGN?

Graphic design includes a lot of different project types and niches.

Here is some of them:

  • Logo design
  • UX/UI & Web design
  • Editorial Design
  • Branding
  • Social media & Digital Design
  • Illustration & Digital Art
  • Package design

Instead of doing a little bit of everything graphic design, I decided to focus on Logo, Branding, and Digital Design.

The reason is that I love building brand language (meaning how to communicate through words and stories) and brand visual (meaning how to communicate through photos, graphics, and colors.

I also love typography and find myself customizing fonts often!

I do have a hobby of drawing digital illustrations and I like to be able to draw unique pieces for brands.

Brand design ad square

4- MY SERVICES AND ENQUIRY FORM

So, I am offering 3 different branding packages.

  • Branding Basic
  • Branding Startup
  • Branding Ultimate

You can go check them out here: My Services.

If this article already sold you and you wish to work with me, simply answer the Enquiry Form Here!

If you can’t find what you are looking for and wish to get further info, you can always contact me at Justine@justinelamer.com

Thank you so much for reading about why becoming a brand designer.

Before you leave, you might be interested in 10 amazing free fonts for commercial use.

Until next time,

Justine Lamer

HOW TO MAKE A MOOD BOARD IN CANVA

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HOW TO MAKE A MOOD BOARD IN CANVA

You are here because you want to know how to make a mood board in Canva.

Well, I am about to tell you everything I know about mood boards and how to make an aesthetic one for yourself and your brand.

We are going to use elements from Canva, Images from Pinterest, and also find awesome color palettes thanks to Canva’s color palette generator.

Alright, let’s dive right into how to make a mood board in Canva.

HOW TO MAKE A MOOD BOARD IN CANVA

1- WHAT IS A MOOD BOARD?

A mood board is a collage of ideas and inspiration, related to a particular subject.

In your mood board, you can add images, texts, graphics, and colors.

This is a visual presentation that will help you build your brand, your business, website, and more.

how to make a mood board in canva
Related: HOW TO USE MASK IN THE OVER APP

2- SIZE AND BACKGROUND

So, now that you know what mood board means, it’s time to get creative.

Go to your computer and search for Canva.com.

If you already have an account, let’s get started.

Otherwise create your free account, now!

The first step will be to “create a design”

how to make a mood board in Canva

So, once you clicked on create a design, search for “Photo Collage”

The size of the Photo Collage is 25 x 20 cm.

how to make a mood board in Canva

Once you are into your design, it’s time to add a background.

So, know that your mood board starts now! Your background is a part of the visual/vibe you are going for.

In another word, choose your background wisely.

SHOP MY DIGITAL STICKERS

Digital Sticker Shop
Related: HOW TO BRAINSTORM FOR YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

3- COLOR PALETTE

So, for this part of your mood board design, you will need to go to Canva color palette ideas.

Now that you are on the website, search for your style, theme, vibe, or keyword.

I will go with a warm tan theme.

And as you can see, I have tons of colors I can choose from, to get inspired!

Graphic design services Justine Lamer

4- GRIDS AND ELEMENTS

Alright, you added your background and found your colors.

Now, go into “elements” in Canva and search for grid or frame.

So, choose the grid or the frame of your choice, add it to your design, and fill it with the HEX colors you just found.

Once this is complete, return to the elements.

From there, search for any kind of graphics, related to the style you are going for.

For this example, I will search for brown flower watercolor.

So, pick up 3 to 4 elements, and add them to your design.

5- IMAGES

You are almost done with your mood board.

Now, it is time to go to Pinterest and find images to add to your mood board.

Copy the image from Pinterest, go back to Canva and Paste!

how to make a mood board in Canva

Add more frames to your design in the elements section.

Organize them the way you want, and play with the other elements you added.

And, VOILA! Your mood board is alive.

Thank you so much for reading about how to make a mood board in Canva.

Before you leave, you might be interested in reading about how to brainstorm your personal brand or how to bring your online business idea to life.

See you again soon,

Justine Lamer

HOW TO BRAINSTORM YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

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HOW TO BRAINSTORM YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

You stopped here because you want to know how to brainstorm your personal brand.

So, you might be serious about building your brand identity and hiring a brand designer to make your personal brand dream to life.

To make sure your brand designer or yourself, build a personal brand that matches your beliefs, your message, and yourself as a whole, you will need to brainstorm.

Now, when I say brainstorm, I mean big, huge, hard work on what is your desire about this personal brand.

This is going to represent YOU! Promote You and be a part of YOU.

So, let’s dive right into how to brainstorm your personal brand.

HOW TO BRAINSTORM YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

1 – COLOR PSYCHOLOGY

So, you are going to choose between 4 to 6 colors that will represent your brand.

Those colors are going to be used in everything you are going to create and share online.

So, it will be placed in your logo, banners, graphics, social media posts, etc.

Therefore, you need to make sure you are understating the color of your brand.

You need to look online at what is the meaning of the colors you are about to choose.

If it matches what you want to “show off” when people look at your brand, this is JACKPOT!

HOW TO BRAINSTORM YOUR PERSONAL BRAND
Related: 5 WAYS TO PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS ON INSTAGRAM

2 – MOOD BOARD

If you follow me on Instagram @justiinelamer, you will already know that mood boards are my favorites!

So, like a vision board, a mood board will help you visualize the vibe you’re going for.

But instead of setting goals for your life, you are setting up “a style, mood, vibe” to people that are going to look at your brand.

So, build your mood board with pictures, styles, textures, elements, and everything that you would like to incorporate into your personal brand.

HOW TO BRAINSTORM YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

SHOP MY DIGITAL STICKERS

Digital Sticker Shop
Related: WHY I PRIORITIZE PINTEREST OVER INSTAGRAM?

3 – FONTS

Now, know that the fonts you are about to choose are as important as your color palette!

Because, same as the colors, you will use those fonts for EVERYTHING.

The goal here is to choose two fonts that will complete each other.

Your brand designer can help with that.

However, you can start looking on your side what kind of font style you want to go for.

There are so many different kinds of font you can look at, and this can be a little bit overwhelming.

I invite you to go to websites like Dafont.com or Google font and look at the different styles.

HOW TO BRAINSTORM YOUR PERSONAL BRAND
Graphic design services Justine Lamer

4- TAGLINE – BRAND MESSAGE

Here comes the most difficult part.

So, you will need to figure out your tagline.

A tagline will put you in a little box and will help people understand what you do.

For example, my brand is Justine Lamer! That’s my name, easy.

However, my tagline is Digital Marketing.

It says it all! Now, that’s your turn. Who are you? What do you do?

Then, once the tagline is set up, figure out what’s your brand message!

Basically, answer this question: Who do you help and how?

Thank you so much for reading about the HOW TO BRAINSTORM YOUR PERSONAL BRAND.

Before you leave, you might be interested in reading about the 5 ways to promote your business on Instagram or 10 productive things to do when bored at home.

Until next time,

Justine Lamer

HOW AND WHY STARTED BRANDING YOURSELF?

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how and why started branding yourself
how and why started Branding yourself

If you ever wondered how and why started branding yourself? This blog post is FOR YOU!

What is “branding myself” mean? You might ask! Branding yourself means developing a professional identity. 

An identity that matches who you are and what’s your business’s message.

Do you need to own a business to brand yourself? No!

Are you going to be able to brand yourself on your own? Yes!

Is branding yourself will be helpful if you are an influencer or a blogger? Yes.

Will you need to spend some money or trademark your brand? No. (Unless this is what you want)

Now that I answered a couple of your interrogations.

Let’s get into how and why started branding yourself?

HOW AND WHY STARTED BRANDING YOURSELF

RELATED: 8 BEST TIPS TO CREATE THE PERFECT INSTAGRAM PROFILE

WHY YOU SHOULD START BRANDING YOURSELF?

1- RECOGNITION

Whoever you are (Business, Blogger, Influencer, Online Shop, Social Media, or Content Creator).

And, Whatever you do.

When you do it, you want people to know this is you, from you, and created by you.

The most important thing about why you should start branding yourself is recognition.

2- COLLABORATION

The next thing about why started branding yourself is to be taken seriously. 

Branding yourself shows potential clients, sponsors, or collaborators, how serious you are about your business, blog, Instagram account, or more.

You are more likely to work with those companies, small shops, or big brands with a similar brand message.

3- SECURITY

If you are a content creator, you are spending most of your time working on new designs, illustrations, and more. That means that you need to brand your content.

The risk of someone stealing your ideas is INEVITABLE.

When you start branding yourself, you can trademark your business name, logo, etc.

That way your content is protected!

You can start branding your images and videos with a logo or website! They can’t take that from you!

HOW TO START BRANDING YOURSELF?

1- NAME OR USERNAME

Sounds like the most basic information ever.

What do I mean by name or username? I mean for you to use the same name or username on every single social media platform.

Even on the platforms, you are not using! Why? Because you don’t want anyone pretending to be you on the platforms you don’t use.

Although, you never know if, in a couple of months, you decide to finally use it. Your name might be already taken.

If you are using the same username everywhere, it will be easier for people to find you.

2- LOGO

The best way to brand yourself is to make a logo.

It can be your name, the name of your business, or your shop.

You can make a logo with a picture or a symbol that represents who you are and what you do.

Don’t worry, you do not need to be a graphic designer or to pay tons of money to make a logo.

Here are two ways to learn how to make your own.

1- I wrote a blog post about Logo Design: Easy Way to create your own.

2- I uploaded a video on my YouTube channel: How to make a logo for free in 2020.

3- COLOR PALETTE AND GRAPHIC DESIGN

Now that you got your brand name and your logo. You need to decide on colors and graphics that will help people remember you.

It’s like your signature! You could find the perfect Lightroom preset. Use it to every single image you are posting on social media.

You also have to start using the same kind of design.

When created pins for Pinterest or your feature image for your blog posts for example.

Keep using the same colors, typographies, and designs for everything you create.

People will start to know your work and will be aware of what you are offering. How? Because the colors and designs you chose will deliver a strong message of what your brand is about.

This is why it’s important to make some research before.

Choose the right colors and graphics design that are going to be associate with your brand.

HOW AND WHY STARTED BRANDING YOURSELF

I hope you guys enjoyed reading about how and why started branding yourself.

Until next time,

Xoxo.

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