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Branding Budget
Look, there’s no shame in not having thousands—or even hundreds, for that matter—of dollars to hire a designer for your branding. Don’t get me wrong, it would be nice; it’s just not necessary. At the same time, having no money doesn’t mean you can forgo the branding process. Branding is an extremely important part of your company’s image, and you shouldn’t try to piecemeal it together. You can create a great brand for very little. You just have to set your expectations accordingly and be open to other, less traditional methods to getting your branding done.
Setting a branding budget
Branding can be a large investment that some businesses just can’t quite afford at the moment! And that’s okay. However, you should still have a budget in mind when you start the branding process. I have created a checklist to help you create a branding budget. You will need to do your own research to find out what the best options are for your business. Because branding is such a unique, personal process, I can’t just give you numbers. You will need to decide what’s right for the image you want to portray and the type of client you want to attract.
In an article written by Launch The Damn Thing, Katelyn shares some interesting facts on how much big companies paid for their logo:
Want to know what some famous companies have paid for their logo, or some iteration of it? Check out these stats below!
Coca-Cola: $0
Designed by their bookkeeper in 1886
Google: $0
(specifically the very first BETA version) designed by the company’s co-founder in 1998
Twitter: $15
The original bird icon was purchased from iStockPhoto, the designer might have made about $6 on the purchase and was not credited.
Nike: $35
the co-founder purchased their famous swoosh design from a design student in 1971
Enron: $33,000
Paul Rand (a famous brand designer) designed the logo in the 90’s (Rand also designed logos for ABC, IBM, and UPS)
NeXT: $100,000
Paul Rand also designed this tech company’s logo for Steve Jobs in 1986.
Can you believe the varying prices? Just goes to show you don’t need a lot of capital to create a great brand!
Branding Terminology
Custom- Ideally, logo and brand designers start from scratch. They create with you and your target market to help resonate the business you want to create.
Pre-made- A pre-made design (this could be just a logo or a whole brand board) is one that has already been designed for you. Pre-made designs are a great fit for those just starting out. They are usually sold to others, so you run the risk of another planner having your design.
Self-Design- A self-design is one you’ve created yourself. This could mean buying an icon from Etsy and then placing text as you see fit. Finding the right software to edit these designs is key.
Tools for DIY-ing It
I have included a list of pre-made and self-made design options. These are great choices for those on a really tight budget. I do believe it’s worth reiterating, though, that when you use pre-made designs, you run the risk of other wedding planners having the same logo or brand images. However, there are so many designers out there, this might not affect you at all. These are still good places to start because you can always rebrand later when you have more capital to invest.
Pre-Made
Self-Design
Gather Visual Inspiration
Pinterest is a handy tool for rounding up visual inspiration for your brand. Use it to your advantage by creating a secret board and filling it with images that accurately represent your brand. Try to remember to use the pin description to make a note about why you chose the image and why it’s a good representation of your brand. These pin descriptions will come in handy as you continue to develop your brand.
Be Consistent
You want your brand to make a consistent visual connection with your audience. This means you want everything to be “matchy matchy” throughout your website, business cards, social media, and client experience. You can achieve this consistency by using the same fonts, colors, and voice throughout your content.
Create a secret Pinterest board and start gathering ideas. Use the checklist from page 19 in your Branding Workbook. In the FB group, share 4 images you love and feel inspired by. Give feedback on 3 others.
Tell us what your budget is and how you plan on achieving your branding within that budget. From your research, what software programs or creatives are you looking at? Let us know!
Share with us a few ways you plan on staying consistent in your branding. How do you say “no” to a pretty new font or cool new color that inspires you?