So you have this incredible, one-of-a-kind business idea and with great research you think your product certainly fits the gap in the market. That’s a great start.

So what do you do next?

Well, you brand your business of course (or you can let the professionals do it for you). Branding is important as it’s the look and feel of the business. Individuals will recognise your company by its branding. Think Coca-Cola. You will recognise the iconic logo and red colour a mile away.

You will need to work on a few elements to create your brand and keep it consistent for that professional look. We generally urge our clients to start with a mood board. Log in to your favourite site, Pinterest and search for logos, select the ones that catch your attention and copy and paste them to either a MS Word or Powerpoint document. It is important to have a logo that represents your company, e.g. if your business is a hair salon, we suggest that you go for a softer look. If you are selling motorbike spares, opt for a more masculine looking logo.

Once you have chosen a selection of logos, let’s choose a colour scheme. Go to Design Seeds and check out their range of colour palettes, find one that you like and copy and paste it on the same word document. You can also search Pinterest and Google for patterns and photographs that inspire you as well as icons and fonts. These elements all form part of your branding, however, you can only use this mood board for inspiration and NOT as your official brand. That is called plagiarism and we do not encourage it. Each and every designer and photographer is talented in their own way and should be recognised for their incredible style and time they have taken to achieve it.

Once you have created your mood board, send it to a designer (hopefully us!) and let the professional spin up something amazing and unique, perfect for your business.

A brand doesn’t just stop there. A brand also requires a voice and tone in which you communicate with your customers. Do you want to come across as a quirky brand or a premium brand? These are the things you need to decide on before rolling out any other elements.

If you want to know more about branding and mood boards or just need a little help, email hello@brandsoul.co.za