Dear Founder/Business Owner (present or future),
It’s Nadia here! Welcome to our new website! I thought I would share a snippet of The Glass Hive rebrand journey with you. Contrary to popular belief, branding goes far beyond a logo; in my opinion, it is your legacy! In 2017, I decided that it was time to rebrand The Glass Hive (after five years). Did I love my first logo, yes, of course, after all, I created it myself (humble brag). It was our beginning.
Quick back story: I followed up on a few personal recommendations for graphic designers in 2012, and as lovely as the designer I settled with was, they didn’t grasp the vision of The Glass Hive. I ended up with an inbox full of 10+ logos within a week, that did not represent our brand at all.
Tip 1: Brand colours are essential, but should be the very last step of the design process alongside fonts, in my opinion. Let’s face it if you cannot, distinctively recognise your logo in black and white; you may have a problem. Appreciate the mono version first!
The Glass Hive looked like a ‘building society,’ the colours used were very, very corporate (navy and cornflower blue). So I took matters into my own hands and designed our first logo.
Tip 2: Do not cut corners on your branding! Hire a professional graphic designer, consider the process as a critical investment, because it is. A good graphic designer is worth their weight in rubies! Respect their craft.
Tip 3: Really, this should be the first tip. Make sure that your graphic designer understands who you are as a business and the message that you want to convey to your audience through your visual identity.
Tip 4: Request that the graphic designer submits a maximum of three designs for you to choose from before they continue with developing your logo, adding colour(s) and font, etc. It will make that final decision on choosing your new logo a far smoother process for both you and the graphic designer.
Right, so back to last year. I knew that I wanted our new visual identity to be simple, but it needed to carry as much depth as our name (saving that for another blog post).
For instance, it had to be defined by our integrity and strength to build relationships and encourage growth for our clients, and it also needed to reflect the future envisioned for those who will become a member of The Glass Hive family.
So I sat down with the perfect graphic designer for us, Michael “MJ” Johnston also known as @suitstosweats on Instagram, and so our rebrand journey began. #newroadsnewrivers
FINAL THOUGHTS
You do not have to wait until you have a logo and brand assets in place before you launch your business. Start with your vision, articulate it and drive it forward and along the way you will discover new #depths of who your brand is and who your brand target audience is. Subsequently, you will be equipped with the right ingredients to create your brand identity.
You’ve got this!
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