What is the one-concept method?

When I was going through my college design class, I was introduced to the idea of the one-concept method. The one-concept method is where a designer presents one cohesive concept to the client instead of multiple directions that haven’t been fully fleshed out. My professor at the time had many reasons why this is often the best way to approach a brand, but after putting it into practice the last 10 years, I wanted to share my own take on it.

Why I use the one-concept method

There are a lot of reasons why I’ve used the one-concept method for the past several years–because it works. It works well for my clients (just peek at the portfolio to see what I mean) and it works well as a designer.

With the one-concept method, my client receives an entire brand that has been well thought out–from the logo variations to the colors, typefaces, patterns, illustrations, and more. This has all been developed from foundational elements in their brand strategy (your brand values, mission, positioning, target market, etc.) Having a foundation of a brand understood and established is what is going to drive the brand identity design process.

The alternative is usually where a designer will present 3-4 different logo designs and leave it up to the client to choose which one they like best. Here’s why that doesn’t work: the client’s personal likes and dislikes may not line up with what is needed for their brand, and they are looking at a very small piece of their overall brand–the logo. It’s as if they are only looking at a fraction of a photo and they can’t see the rest of the scene that will eventually make up their whole brand.

And YES, the client should love their brand system. But they also need to recognize what their community needs from their brand. It’s up to the design expert (the designer) to bridge that gap. That is why brand strategy is so important. Having a foundation of a brand understood and established is what is going to drive the brand identity design process.

An overview of the one-concept method

My client and I will hop on a call and work through a brand workshop. This is typically a longer meeting since we are really digging into each piece of their brand, and the goals that they have for their business. Once we are done working through all of these different pieces, I will do additional research based on what we talked about in our meeting. Then I compile all of that into a direction and strategy for their brand to stand out and become magnetic. 

At this point, we have the foundational elements of the brand nailed down. Given everything that has been discussed, there is a clear direction for the brand. Why would I muddy the waters (and confuse the client in the process) with additional directions that really make no sense for the client? Following me here?

As a brand designer and strategist, it’s quite literally my job to do the work to understand what the needs of the client and the target market are in order to translate that all into a cohesive brand. Giving the client options would be putting part of my job on the client that they hired me to do.

When I use the one-concept method, I’m using my time effectively to create the best solution for my client and their brand, instead of trying to come up with multiple solutions that I know aren’t really going to work well.

Because we (the client and I) have come together to develop the foundation of the brand, we are working toward a common goal to develop the best solution. This takes out unnecessary revisions because we’re not just throwing stuff at the wall to see what sticks.

The End Result

The end result for my client is a verbose brand that has been well thought out–from the logo variations to the colors, typefaces, patterns, illustrations, packaging, online presence, and more. 

The post The One Concept Method: Why It Works appeared first on Amanda Scott Design Co..

Rachel goes through about 4-5 different outfits to make sure everything is perfect for Ross’ big night. 

I know I’m not alone in feeling the same about brand collateral.

Why? Because it has to be juuust right so we can turn that lead into a paying client. 

Each piece of collateral has the potential to make them more money and book more of those dreamboat clients. 

Think about your collateral items you typically give to your clients. What do your customer see when they first drop onto your website, your inbox, and even when they discover you on social media?

Now, think about each of those touch-points. Are they professional and truly represent your brand? Does it give them a peek into the personal experience that you walk through with each of your clients?

If you’re hesitant to answer yes to any of those questions, chances are that you can actually improve them and make more money!

If your collateral items are holding you back from charging what you’re worth, then you’re leaving money on the table, friend. 

I know the struggle. You have this little voice in your head that wants to be confident charging what you KNOW you’re worth, but you don’t have that professional presence to communicate the true value that you bring to the table. 

Good news, friend. I’m comin’ atcha today with a whole bunch of tips to upgrade the look of your collateral so you can finally price your services at what you DESERVE.

Keep it Simple

It’s so easy to add in all the things when it comes to communicating with your collateral. Get rid of any elements that aren’t necessary to communicate the experience that you’ll give to your customers.

Make it Clear

Make sure you have clear headings and body copy in whatever you’re creating. When you chunk your content, your reader will be more likely to read through all your content than if they were trying to read through paragraphs and paragraphs of copy.

Add Whitespace

If you’re not sure what ‘whitespace’ is, don’t worry. Whitespace in design is space that doesn’t have any content in it. Instead of filling up every single space with an image or a bit of text, adding white space to your collateral items allows room to focus on what you really want the reader to focus on!

Add Imagery to Enhance

Using things like graphics or imagery in your collateral can convey your message and clarify your brand. But don’t go so crazy with a bunch of images that it’s difficult to get the message across.

Now that you have my best tips for creating an awesome piece of content, make sure that your prices reflect the professionalism and value that your bring to your clients.

Head on over to grab your own copy of the Price Your Services Calculator so you can get back to booking those dream clients!

The post Make More Money with Professional Brand Collateral appeared first on Amanda Scott Design Co..

I know how it goes friend. I’ve helped countless others brand their business and I’ve seen the struggle again and again. But through all the struggles, I’ve come up with a pretty good list that will help you choose a name for your business. 

Where To Start

The hardest part of choosing a name is simply starting. So to overcome this, grab a piece of paper and just write whatever comes to mind. Seeing all your ideas on paper will help you brainstorm more, so be sure not to skip this step. 

What Do You Do?

Describe what it is that your business will do. Are you a flower shop? A baker? A photographer? Having some sort of descriptor word in your business name will make it clear to your audience exactly what you do. Otherwise, they may be left confused! 

Make It Personal

Now that you’ve got a good start with your descriptor words, it’s time to have some fun with what goes with it. 

A really easy way to come up with a name for your business is to use your name. This makes a lot of sense for your business if you are the one running it and people are interacting directly with you. This option often works great for those in the service industry like a photographer or designer. 

If you aren’t keen on using your own name, try using the name or names of someone who you are close to and has made an impact on your life.

Location 

If your business is local, it may be a good idea to include the location in your business name. (ie. Seattle Food Mart)

Or maybe there is a place that is special to you in one way or another. It could be a street name, a city, you name it! Think about different places that have made an impact on your life and see if something sounds good!

Use Nouns

You can also think about various things that are important to you. Maybe it’s a plant, a material, or even an animal. It can literally be anything!

Get creative and see what type of things you can come up with.You might be surprised by an object that has made an impact on you and your life. 

Narrow Down Your Choices

Once you have some good ideas laid out on the paper in front of you, get playful with the combinations! Try pairing your nouns with names. Or you could try a location with the descriptor word.

Once you feel like you’ve made a bunch of combinations, it’s time to weed out the ones you like from the ones that just aren’t working. Be sure to keep a handful that you like as options, because we aren’t quite done narrowing it down just yet.

Make It Unique

With the amount of small businesses out there today, you want to make sure you stand out. So the next thing you’ll want to do is see if anyone has already taken your business name. A simple Google search will do the trick. If you Google the business name and you aren’t able to find the same name out there, you’re likely in the clear. 

Cross out any business names that don’t appear to be available or are too close to what someone else has.

Do a Domain Search

The last thing you’ll want to do is a domain search. You don’t want to file for a business name unless you know you can have a website with a domain to match.

Doing a domain search is uber-easy. Just go to Instant Domain Search and search for the domain that matches your business name.

When it comes to choosing a .com, .org, .co or any others, it’s usually best to stick with a .com since most people are familiar with .com. Not to say that you can’t go for the others, but it’s just something to keep in mind

Viola!

Just like that, you have your business name! If you went through the process and still have a few options, ask your family and friends for their opinion. They usually give the best advice!

The post How To Choose a Business Name appeared first on Amanda Scott Design Co..

With every branding project, I hand-pick a set of colors that will serve the business well in the long term, not just something that’s uber-trendy right now. And while it’s not easy to nail down the precise colors, there is a method to the madness!

In this post, I’ll walk you through how to pick out the primary colors for your brand that will not only be focused enough to look consistent, but well-rounded enough to serve your business in a wide variety of ways.

That way you can stop wasting time trying to pick out colors and have a consistent color palette for your brand.

Keywords

Before we jump in to picking colors for your brand, it’s important to define a few keywords of what your brand looks like to your customers. Is your brand more natural? Bold? Fun? Try to write down 4-5 keywords for your brand. That way you’ll be able to pick your colors out so they line up with the tone of your brand!

Once you have your keywords defined,  grab a free tool like Adobe Color CC to help you build a color palette. Feel free to play around with the different options in the tool too!

Primary Colors

It’s easiest to start by picking one color that is going to be the main color for your brand. Look back at your keywords to help you out here. Most of the time your primary color is the main color of your logo.

You want a color that is dark enough to have a nice contrast, otherwise you’ll have issues with your customers being able to easily recognize your logo. No pastels here! If you need a lighter color of your color in the future, you can always use a tint of any of your brand colors!

Opposites attract

Want to know a trick about picking colors that go together? Simply put, opposites attract! If you picked a warmer color as your primary (reds, orange, yellows etc) then pick out ones that are on the cooler side(blues, purples, greens) to have a better balance in the palette.

Go ahead and pick out about 3 colors here (remember your keywords!) to round out your palette. Pick a couple cooler colors and a couple warmer ones if you can!

Neutrals

This is where the overall tone rounds out. Here you’ll want to pick a lighter neutral color, and a darker one too. Remember that we want balance in your color palette!

Your neutral colors are the ones that are more in the grey-beige range. They’ll create a nice base for the rest of your colors you’ve already picked.  

If your brand has a more vintage/traditional vibe to it, I recommend working more in the warmer (beige/brown) range. If it’s a more modern brand, pull in more cooler, industrial-looking (greys/charcoals). You can even have a warmer neutral and a cooler neutral if you think it fits better with the overall palette.

Picking colors is a series of trials and errors. But eventually, you’ll end up with a color palette that is focused, but well-rounded to use for a wide variety of uses! Then you can get back to running your business like the true boss that you are.

If you’re looking for color inspiration to get started, check out my color Pinterest board to get your wheels spinning!

The post How to Create an Effective Color Palette for your Creative Business appeared first on Amanda Scott Design Co..

#1 Your values and vision aren’t reflected.

Whether you’ve had the same brand for 12 years or 12 months, if your brand doesn’t reflect your vision and values, it’s time for an update. If you have an idea of where you want your business to be 5-10 years from now but your brand doesn’t that vision, it will be harder to communicate that to your customers and it will be harder to get to that vision.

Reality is that your brand can actually be the guiding light for your vision. It can steer you in the right direction through the years when different opportunities come up. That leads to a stronger business, which means better bottom lines. (I’m talkin’ dolla, dolla bills ya’ll!)

#2 Your business is headed in a different direction

This happens for a variety of reasons. Either you bought a business, you experienced bad press, or over time your business has just evolved with the times. Whatever the reason, if you have a new direction for your business, your brand should align with the new direction, so it accurately represents where you are headed.

#3 The brand isn’t clearly defined.

Tell me if you have ever felt like this: You are getting ready to post that picture or graphic on social media and you spend hours trying to put together about 20 different fonts and scrolling through 50 different pictures to find the right one. Sound familiar?

If you don’t know how to keep your brand consistent across different platforms and collateral, chances are that your brand isn’t well defined. You should have a specific set of brand colors, fonts, and graphics that you can use and reuse to establish your business. That means you can spend less time scrolling through a bunch of different options, and get back to what matters most.

#4 You’re not reaching your ideal clients

If you’re struggling to reach that group of customers that want to pay what you’re worth, it’s a good idea to look at your brand and see if it’s aligning with what your customers are looking for. If you want your clients to pay top dollar for your products or services, you have to look, sound like, and FEEL like a business that attracts the top clients. Simple as that.

#5 You don’t stand out from your competitors

This problem happens a lot with industries that are crowded with people all claiming to do the same fundamental thing (ahem, photographers). Find what makes you and your business different from others and figure out a way to translate that into your visual brand.

Look at it this way, if you’re doing what everyone else is in your industry, how do you expect your potential clients to know why they should choose you? The answer is they won’t, and for them, it will probably come down to who is prices lower. That’s a game that you never want to be playing.

Related: 3 Reasons Your Business Needs a Custom Logo

#6 You cringe a little when you give out your business card or website.

If you’re not happy with anything that represents your business, then CHANGE IT. If while you’re handing out your business card to your dream client,  you feel like you should have a disclaimer attached to it that says “I know this isn’t great, but it’s all I’ve got” then it’s time for a rebrand. You’ve put literally hours of work into your business, now let’s show all that work off to the world.

Bottom line, if any of these sound familiar to you, it’s probably time for some soul searching and putting some moo-la aside to hire a designer to define and create a brand that will help get you where you’re meant to be.

The post The 6 Signs Your Business Needs a Rebrand Now appeared first on Amanda Scott Design Co..

A logo is arguably a business’ most valuable asset. No other part of your business can build brand recognition quite like a logo. So why is it that often small business owners choose a template logo that has been ‘customized’ with their business name? When you are trying to grow your business, why not invest in something that is only going to help you build your business?

I want to dive a little deeper into why a custom logo is SO important for your growing business. A custom logo offers a few things that any premade logo just can’t do.

Your Why

Why did you start your business in the first place? Chances are, you had a passion for what you are doing. Why else would you want to invest so much time and effort (and let’s be honest, a lot of tears and late nights)? Now imagine this; the same passion for your business is reflected in your logo! For instance: a dance studio owner is passionate about dance, performance, children, and teaching. Her logo should reflect movement and cheery-ness! Rather than just choosing a logo from a lineup that “looks good” she is choosing to have a logo DESIGNED to be intentional tell the story of her brand.

This is true for you too. I’m sure you want to have a logo that tells your story. Your story is something unique to your journey and your business. That’s why it is so important to work with someone who’s experienced in telling stories through design. It’s something that really comes down to being intentional and creating a custom logo. It’s something that just can’t be achieved by picking a logo out of a lineup.

Your Values

Your values have defined you. Not only that, but they have defined how you run your business. What values do you have that set you apart from your competitors? I encourage you to think about those and write them down. Those values are going to guide your business decisions and lead you to what will make your brand stand out from the crowd. Those unique values are the exactly what goes into creating a logo that’s perfectly unique- Just like you and your business.

Your Ideal Customer

Who is your ideal customer? What are they like? If it helps, create a profile for them including a name. Here is an example of a customer profile:

Bridget is a 28-year old young professional who works full-time as a nurse and is pursuing her passion for photography as a side-hustle. She has two young kids at home who inspired her to pick up the camera in the first place. She has had a lot of interest from friends, family, and even people she works with to take pictures but now she is ready to get serious about her photography and grow it so she can pursue it full-time. She has limited time to spend on marketing her business so she is ready to hire someone to help her get the job done.

Now imagine this- Your logo is designed to speak the language of your ideal customer. It caught their eye while browsing online and immediately they want to know more about your product or service. How cool would it be if your logo was able to reach out to your ideal customer and create a relationship that would lead to a sale!?

I know budgets can be tight when you’re running a small business and you want to make every dollar count. But, when you want to grow a business, having a brand that is designed to communicate your “Why”, promote your “Values”, and speak to your “Ideal Customer” are going to help you get to where you want to be.

The post 3 Reasons Your Business Needs a Custom Logo appeared first on Amanda Scott Design Co..