How To Define Your Brand Style + My Tips For Your Mood Board
I made my first official logo in Excel.
Yup.
Excel.
Turns out, if you zoom alllllllll the way out and make those cells really small, you can actually design graphics that are a decent pixel size. At least back in 2009-2010, when I did it.
The file wasn’t vector, it was jpeg. But it worked enough back then that the logo was placed on a billboard, t-shirts, website, and anywhere else it could be used.
I made that first logo without design software, and really, without any “official” training. I learned from Google. And just started making things in whatever PC software I could get my hands on for free (namely Excel and Paint – ‘free creative apps’ like Canva or Adobe Express weren’t even a thought back then).
Here’s a lil peek, in case you were curious:
I both laugh and cringe at that now.
I eventually spent most of my high school graduation savings on my first iMac and the Adobe Suite.
It was on a disc, back in the dino ages before everything was cloud-based.
So well before I received my degree in graphic design, I was already making logos and graphics for clients – much to the thanks of my dad for telling all of his business contacts about what I could do.
On the outside it might have looked like I was polished and professional and knew exactly what I was doing… but on the inside, I was just getting started and learning as I went.
I don’t think those early clients (besides my dad) had any idea they were my guinea pigs. If they did, they didn’t care, and still trusted me enough to make graphics for their well-established businesses.
I think this is important to share because anyone can put themselves in this story.
Your thing might not be brand design – maybe it’s food or copywriting or photography or physical products.
You may have started, or are currently starting, the same way I did.
You might not know all the answers or have the “best” thing (software, education, money, fill-in-the-blank) to do what you are doing, or to do what you want to do… But you’re going for it anyway.
That’s really how you have to approach your brand style.
If this isn’t your area of expertise, or you’re ‘not a creative person’, yet you know it’s important and you want to get started… You kind of just have to go for it.
Learn. Try. Make mistakes. And keep going.
I’m breaking down how to source and define your brand style, how to refine it, and then how to put all of those ideas into a brand mood board.
Something that goes hand-in-hand with this topic, that you might find helpful, is my Brand Habits Stack. -> Grab that here <-, and keep reading!
Shocker: You don’t need a logo to get started. In fact, in my experience, you should have a mood board before you have a logo!
How To Source & Define Your Brand Style
With or without a logo, it helps to know your brand style. This can include all of the obvious visual things like graphic, photo, and video style. But it can also include other non-visual things, like your brand personality, voice, tone, and messaging.
The easiest way to get started is to have a brainstorming session with yourself, answering the following questions.
THINGS TO INCLUDE:
- What 3 words describe what you want your brand to be?
- What colors are you drawn to?
- What fonts do you seem to love?
- What graphic elements are you drawn to?
- What patterns do you like?
- What type of imagery do you gravitate towards?
- What slogans, mottos, or messaging are you thinking about?
THINGS TO AVOID:
- What don’t you like (fonts, colors, photography, etc.)?
- What would make you cringe to have as part of your brand?
- What words would you never use to describe your brand?
- What voice/tone would you not affiliate with your brand?
Brand Style Action Steps
ONE:
Answer the questions above, using a blank document, notes app, or plain ‘ol sheet of paper. Be as specific as possible.
TWO:
Start a NEW Pinterest board (or a new folder on your phone/desktop) and call it “My Brand Style” or “_[Your Company Name]_ Brand Style”.
THREE:
Use your answers to the questions above as a guide to fill your board/folder to the brim with images of allllll the things you love and adore. Keep your brand in mind, and don’t let anything in that doesn’t belong.
THEN, START SOURCING:
FOUR:
Colors that you’re drawn to. They can be single colors, or colors within a preselected set, or even within photos. Include 8-12 colors/images on your board.
FIVE:
Fonts that you love. Make sure to keep things interesting by choosing both serif, sans serif, and script typefaces. Include 8-12 images/screenshots/links for these fonts.
SIX:
Keep doing this for each element like graphics, words and phrases, photography, etc. Anything goes, as long as it’s on point with what you think your brand is all about.
Pro Tip: Vet everything you put in against the questions above before you add it to your board/folder!
How To Refine Your Brand Style
ONE:
After you’ve filled your Brand Style Board, whether it’s a folder on your phone/desktop, or it’s on Pinterest, give it some time. Like, a few days.
TWO:
Then, go back in, and just review. Look at everything you put in there. Mull it over.
See if you notice any themes for the items in your board. Are there any similar colors, similar font styles, similar patterns, photography style, or words? Noticing themes means you do, in fact, have a brand style, and you’re getting closer to defining it!
THREE:
Make some notes – literally, describe and write down what you see that you like. All of the themes, similarities and types. Some items you might focus on first:
- Colors + Hues, tints and shades
- Fonts + Types, styles and weights
- Graphics + Styles, shapes and patterns
- Messaging + Words, phrases and taglines
FOUR:
Is there anything that doesn’t fit? Any oddballs? Get rid of it.
You’re not throwing it out because you don’t like it, you’re deleting it because it just doesn’t go.
Think about it this way: When you have pizza and salad, you don’t usually have tacos, too. It’s not that you don’t like tacos, it’s just that they really aren’t necessary when you have pizza and salad.
The same is true for your brand style.
Another great way to think about this is the 80/20 rule:
You might like certain things, which is why you put them on your Pinterest board, but you only see them 20% of the time. Everything else you’re seeing fills up the other 80% of your board, and has more similarities and themes that match.
If you added blue, gray and purple things to your board, but you only see purple things 20% of the time, maybe you need to remove the purple things in order to refine your board.
Keep the 80%, toss the 20%.
This is just an exercise in refining your brand style so that you can have clarity to move forward. If there are too many things in there all crazy-like, without anything connecting them, this board isn’t going to be the help that you want and need it to be.
Your brand can’t be all the things. It needs focus and consistency.
So just go for it. Remove all the things that don’t jive (even if you do love them for one reason or another), and then move on to the next step.
Making Your Mood Board
Making a mood board is just one of the ways you can solidify your brand style, and start to bring it to life. Much like a brand style guide, your mood board will act as a compass for you and your team, giving direction and keeping everyone focused along the way.
By the way, “Mood Board” is just a fancy term for ‘idea collage’.
In this case, a brand mood board explains a certain look or feeling you want your brand to convey. It helps you tell a story through visuals, and guides you as you make anything and everything physical and digital for your brand.
Take Action
Think simple with this, at least at first:
Your brand mood board doesn’t need to be made in Canva, or created in some ‘fancy’ software. You can use google docs for free, and set it up like this:
ONE:
Start this process easy, with an element you’re excited about (such as fonts or colors). Go ahead and add 2-3 images of brand fonts you love.
TWO:
Looking at your Pinterest Board or folder, add 2-3 images/screenshots of brand colors you love.
THREE:
After you add any other additional elements like photography, graphics, and messaging, you’ll probably have a pretty full board. It’s simple, no bells and whistles, but it works.
FOUR:
Move things around, fit them all pretty like you want, add more from your Pinterest Board if needed, and then… walk away.
Mull it over and give it a few days.
FIVE:
Then, go back and review, with the intention to refine again. Take away what you’re not loving, and keep/add what you are.
There’s really no “right” way to do this – it’s just trial and error, time and practice.
SIX:
When you’re happy with how it looks, export it to a pdf, print it out, and start looking at it to help you with your brand. Use it as the mood-setter it is meant to be.
Work On Your Style
As you work on your brand style, your mood board is one of the things that you will come back to again and again. It will dictate your future logo and other elements, and it will guide you as you choose and create new visual and verbal things.
The best part is that it’s something you can edit and improve as your brand style evolves.
Remember, you don’t need a logo or even a complete idea to get started. This is truly something you can do on your own that will help you get started on creating a brand you love. It will also help you later on, when and if you do hire a brand designer, in communicating what you really want for your brand.
If you can’t wait to learn more, I give out 3 ways to create (DIY!) your very own basic style guide – no design experience needed.
PS: Grab The B.Y.B. Toolkit. It’s everything you need to create your brand before you have a logo. Not only does it include step-by-step videos and templates for everything from how to choose your brand fonts and colors, it also goes further into the brand mood board process with a video and the template you see (above) in this post. -> Click here to get it! <-
PIN IT FOR LATER:
