A consistent brand makes a business easier to recognise and easier to trust. Before we start on your website or marketing, it helps to know what you already have and what still needs defining. You don’t need a finished brand guide. Here’s what to gather, and what we can shape together.
Your logo files
Your logo is usually the starting point. Look for a vector version (SVG, EPS, AI or PDF), which can be resized without losing quality, and a PNG with a transparent background for everyday use.
If you have more than one version, such as a stacked logo, a horizontal one or a small icon, gather them all. Each one is useful in different places, from the top of your website to a social profile picture.
I don’t design logos, but if you have one you love, I can build the wider look around it. That’s what happened with pARTy With Laura, where the palette grew from her existing brush-script logo.
Your colours
Note your brand colours and, if you know them, their codes. HEX codes (like #4E6368) are used on screens, while CMYK or Pantone values are used in print.
A good palette usually has one or two main colours, an accent for buttons and highlights, and a few neutrals for backgrounds and text. If yours feels incomplete, or the colours don’t quite work together on screen, that’s something we can refine.
Colour sets the mood, too. Callum Frost wanted something classy and simple, so we chose black and white together and let his headshots do the talking.
Your fonts
If your brand uses specific fonts, note their names and where they came from. Some fonts are free to use on websites, while others need a licence, so it’s worth checking before we start.
If you don’t have brand fonts yet, think about the feel you’re after. An elegant serif can feel refined and established, while a clean sans serif can feel modern and approachable. Many brands pair one of each: one for headings and one for everyday text.
Your photos and imagery
Photos carry your brand as much as colours and fonts do. Gather your best photos of your work, your space and the people behind the business, in the largest size you have.
Think about the style that feels like you, too: bright or moody, polished or relaxed, close-up details or wide open spaces. A consistent style across your website and marketing helps everything feel connected.
You don’t need a finished brand guide to start. You need a clear sense of how you want people to feel.
The words that describe you
Before any design decisions, it helps to put the feeling into words. Write down three to five words that describe how you want your business to feel. Calm, playful, luxurious, warm and bold all lead to very different designs.
Then add a sentence about who you serve and what makes you different. It shapes the look as much as the copy, and it becomes the reference point for every choice that follows.
Images you’re drawn to
Collect images that capture the feeling you want, from websites, magazines, interiors, nature or anywhere else. Don’t worry about why yet. Patterns tend to appear once you have a dozen or so.
A mood board brings these together: a single page of colours, textures, type and photos that shows the direction before anything is designed. It’s a quick way to make sure we’re picturing the same thing.
Where your brand will appear
List the places your brand needs to work: your website, social media, newsletters, ads, signage, business cards or packaging. Knowing this early means colours, fonts and layouts are chosen to work everywhere, not just on screen.
That’s how a look carries from a website into everyday marketing, like the monthly newsletters for SMASH Performing Arts Studio, which share the same navy, gold and elegant serif headlines as the site.
The bottom line
Whether you’re starting fresh or carrying an established look forward, gathering these pieces makes the design process faster and the result more consistent. If some are missing, that’s what we work out together. Tell me what you have, and we’ll take it from there.
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