Since I’ve become a Mother, and as the years pass, the weight of all it is to be a woman pushes my feet more firmly into the ground. I feel the roots there now, growing from my feet simultaneously backwards and forwards in time.

Did you know that when your Grandmother carried your Mother in her womb, you were a tiny egg in your Mother’s ovaries? Three generations, connected. Sharing space. Maiden, Mother, Crone. The Triple Goddess.

This fact brings me comfort because I didn’t meet my Grandmother, she passed when my Mum was only 9. But I existed in her womb once.

As I think about this, I imagine what life was like for her, and for the 3 generations of women before that she and I are both connected to. Nesting dolls inside nesting dolls, spanning centuries.

Oh, how far we have come, but how far there is still to go.

The IWD website says “Are you in? Will you embrace equity? Show the world your huge embrace. Strike the IWD #EmbraceEquity pose to show solidarity.”

Yes, I am in. I’ve been in it since the beginning. 

We’re connected to those that we owe this current iteration of ‘liberation’ to. We’re living it.

We lived it inside our Grandmother’s womb as she lived it inside her own Grandmother’s womb. We are nesting dolls.

We don’t need to strike a pose and use a hashtag to hold deeply nuanced feelings about equity, equality and all the ways we might both benefit and not benefit from the intersections and gaps. I don’t feel like celebrating when we’re living it, still.

Here’s what I’m doing every day to carry on the legacy of the women that came before me. 

• Raising my boy to be an ally
• Modelling to those we come in contact with what our version of equality looks like as a family – eg. more equal household and family duties.
• Offering this ‘free to you’ online community space for women in business with high quality articles and access to advice – to give what I wished I’d had, with reverence for every person who has paid me with their time, energy, or money along my business journey so far. There’s a mission statement brewing in my mind.
• Actively looking for ways I can collaborate and co-create with the women around me, in life and in business, so we rise together.
• Became a founding member of Pregnant then Screwed for £3.50 a month 

What I want to assure you is that what you are already doing is enough. Whether you’re raising the next generation, modelling behaviour, having important discussions, or simply existing as yourself, it is enough.  

We are nesting dolls ✨

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Been wondering how to create a soulful brand identity for your business? In this post I’ll talk about the simple, key principal I’ve uncovered that helps me to do this for my clients.

There’s something I’ve been trying to articulate. A feeling about what is at the heart of all the work I try to put out there for my clients, but I’ve not been sure how to put it into words.

Have you ever felt like that? There’s something you understand and embody, but you don’t quite have the words to describe it and explain it to others?

Then, I saw someone talk about art practices for painting and drawing as part of a personal course I’m taking. It finally clicked into place.

The simple, key principal I’ve uncovered for creating a soulful brand identity

You see – what I’ve been trying to articulate is really at the heart of everything that people create. No matter if it is art, music, a piece of writing, cooking, dance, film-making, architecture…a brand identity.

The creator wants the viewer/listener/reader/taster to feel something. And we are always looking for things that make US feel something too. Things that make use feel something stand out to us.

But what exactly is it that we want to feel? What makes a piece of Art, music etc either good or…forgettable? I’d argue it’s whether there is a sense of aliveness in the piece.

Whether ‘the thing’ makes us feel alive. Whether we can see the aliveness in it. Whether we can feel the aliveness of the author or artist. By alive what I mean is that it feels like it has heart and soul. It isn’t bland.

So, how do we make what we create feel alive?

Here’s that key principle:

It’s through contrasts and differences. Subtlety mixed with boldness. Lightness and dark.

This is what I already bang on about with branding, but I’ve only just connected the dots back to why it works.

Annoyingly, if you’ve ever worked with a client or employer on any kind of design or artwork and they’ve said ‘Can you just make it pop?’ (or something to that effect) this is what they mean. It needs more contrast, more differences. It doesn’t feel alive yet.

As a person, part of what makes you so wonderful and interesting is your unique mix of personality contrasts, contradictions, and differences. This is your aliveness, your soul.

When you add contrasts and differences into your brand identity, you’re infusing your brand with heart and soul too.

How to build a sense of aliveness into your brand identity

Building a sense of aliveness into your brand identity through contrasts and differences can work in many ways. It’s important to note that it really is about subtlety mixed with boldness, because when you have too much ‘middle’, things can begin to feel muddy, rather than clear and alive.

Here are some ways to begin thinking about this. you don’t need to harness each way of creating contrast, there are no hard and fast rules. We’re talking about how things feel here…so feel it.

Choose your own adventure.

Colour

In your colour palette, you can quite literally choose two or three main brand colours that are opposite each other on the colour wheel.

Colours and the way they interact with each other, what they mean, and how they make us feel is so fascinating to me. I have a lesson all about it in the Rebrand Roadmap.

The complimentary and triadic opposite colours here create a bold contrast, so you need to make sure you have subtlety elsewhere.

For example in my main branding for Lemon & Birch, I use a bright blue, pink, and yellow. This is roughly speaking a triadic palette, and so you’ll see less bold contrasts in other areas such as the fonts I’m using. Apart from differences in size, the fonts I use are simple, clear, and easy to read.

If you were to use an analogue (sometimes called a harmonious) palette, these colours have less contrast between each other, and so it would be important to create bold contrasts in other areas of your branding.

It’s always about balancing boldness with subtlety.

Brand Photography

This is something the photographers amongst us are already masters of. Balancing light and shadow, and framing a photograph so that there is ’empty’ space balanced with ‘filled’ space.

There are some really bold contrasts that can be created in an image when you know how to capture them. My client Caro comes to mind when I think of light and shadow play in photography.

You can also create a sense of spaciousness with your brand photography, but couple that with perhaps a detail rich illustrated logo, and you have a beautiful, balanced contrast.

Inversely, if you have busy floral photography for example, keep your logo and even your colour palette on the minimal, chilled-out side.

Typography

The typefaces you choose for your brand identity are a lovely way to bring in more contrast. You can use one type of font for headings and another type for body text.

You’ll probably instinctively be able to tell which fonts contrast with each other; but here’s some quick examples:

• Bold font weight with a lighter font weight
• A chunky slab serif with a simple sans serif
• A bold retro display font mixed with a simple sans serif
• Don’t forget how font sizing can play a role in creating contrast
• Colour can come into play with your typography too

I hope that discovering this principle has opened up a new way of thinking about branding for you. One where the rules are less constrictive and it’s more about creating lightness and darkness.

Sign up to my email list if this post resonated with you! 🥰

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In this blog post I’m sharing advice for creative small business owners, written by members of my online community, the Tree House.

I recently realised that what I was really craving something in my business – a feeling of community around my brand. Many people do a gorgeous job of creating that sense of community through their social media accounts or through their email list. But since I had my first child in 2020 I’ve found it hard to stay on top of the amount of time it takes to really build that up.

As a result, when launching my first online course and my course platform the Tree House, I knew I needed to get serious about community building. It’s a brilliant way to help people get through the whole of your course, create a sense of accountability, and allow people to connect with others going through the course at a similar time.

I set my community up on Circle and I am loving seeing it grow slowly and organically! After setting things up, I decided to create a Digital Magazine inside the community platform so that I could post Interviews with members, enabling us to get to know each other and learn about the ups and downs of our business journeys.

Here I’m sharing some of the amazing words of wisdom that have been written by 5 of the community members 🥰 They’ve given some wonderful advice for creative business owners. To read the full Interviews, sign up to the community here.

Helena Murphy – Commercial photographer capturing product, places and people.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to past you?

Nothing that is meant for you will pass you by. Don’t stress about your ideal timeline – it’s going to unravel in the way it’s meant to, and it’s not a race.

What’s one thing you learnt or implemented in your business where you thought ‘Why didn’t I do this sooner?!’

I definitely would have done the SEO work I’ve done this year much sooner, if I could go back! Because SEO is a slow piece and takes a long time to make an impact, it would have been beneficial to work on it from the start and not be so dependent on a platform you can’t control, like Instagram or TikTok.

Read the full Q&A bu signing into the community here

See Helena’s website here

Lauren Clegg – Jewellery designer and maker creating sterling silver jewellery inspired by nature.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to past you?

Trust my instinct and listen to my inner voice for guidance more. I’ve spent a long time looking externally for direction, thinking that everyone else had insider info that I was lacking, but when I’ve followed advice from external sources, it hasn’t fit right. I realised I just need to trust myself and follow my own path.

What’s one thing you learnt or implemented in your business where you thought ‘Why didn’t I do this sooner?!’

This is going to sound really behind the times, but downloading apps onto my phone for the platforms I use for my business. For example, I sell on Etsy, and I used to transfer all the photos from my phone onto the laptop, to upload them onto my listings. It was so time consuming, then I realised I could download the ‘sell on Etsy’ app, and I can upload images and edit listings straight from my phone. Game changer (that probably everyone else is already aware of!) Lol. 

Read the full Q&A by signing into the community here

See Lauren’s work here

Sophie Carefull – Coach for introverted creatives and a business mentor for personal branding photographers.

What’s one piece of advice you would give to past you?

I’d say: “Everything will get so much easier when you stop fighting against yourself.” I spent so many years focusing on all the things I disliked about myself, and rejecting my true nature as an introvert and someone with anxious tendencies, and actually, the more I’ve been able to face and then embrace those parts of myself, the more peace I experience. 

I never used to believe in the power of self-compassion (“If I stop being horrible to myself, surely I’ll never get anything done?!”), but now I see it as an absolutely essential ingredient for a happy life.

What’s one thing you learnt or implemented in your business where you thought ‘Why didn’t I do this sooner?!’

One of the most important lessons for me has been “be a farmer, not a hunter,” as I think the saying goes. I spent so much of my first couple of years in business on a constant (and tiring) treadmill of trying to find my next new client, that I’d often neglect to appreciate my existing clients. 

It dawned on me that it’d be much more worthwhile to cultivate longer-term relationships with everyone I worked with so that I didn’t have to rely so heavily on outward marketing. I started to get more repeat bookings and referrals when I actively encouraged them, which may sound obvious but I think a lot of us overlook this, especially in the early days when your confidence may still be wobbly and you’re just so relieved when a job goes well that you quickly move onto the next thing without looking back.

Read the full Q&A by signing into the community here

See Sophie’s website here

Ammaarah Jeewa – Creative copywriter for creative women

What’s one piece of advice you would give to past you?

Stop letting other people tell you your limitations. Only you can decide what you are and are not capable of doing. You get to dictate what happens in your business, not everyone else.

What’s one thing you learnt or implemented in your business where you thought ‘Why didn’t I do this sooner?!’

Be authentic. It sounds simple, and maybe almost obvious, but it’s so easy to feel like you have to conform to some type of ‘appearance’. Even when I thought I was being authentic, it turns out, I was still trying to hide. It wasn’t until a gentle marketing coach suggested that I look at what I do through the lens of, ‘Does what you’re doing make you love yourself?’ that it really opened my eyes.. 

I was genuinely surprised at how often the answer was ‘no’. It prompted me to take a good hard look at what I was doing, especially in terms of marketing, and adjust things so that I could finally answer ‘yes’.

Read the full Q&A by signing into the community here

See Ammaarah on instagram here

Rebecca Broad – Writer and social media manager

What’s one piece of advice you would give to past you?

Charge. More. Money. 

What’s one thing you implemented in your business where you thought ‘Why didn’t I do this sooner?!’

Oh, I love Starling Spaces. In my business account with them I have Spaces for all sorts: different tax years (I automatically put away 30% of all income), Christmas bonus, my next three months’ wages, new tech fund, and ‘investment’.

It’s made everything to do with finances so much more visible for me. I never used to feel financially safe enough to spend any business money, but Spaces help me to see what I can afford to spend.

Read the full Q&A by signing into the community here

See Rebecca on instagram here

If you enjoyed reading this wonderful advice for creative business owners, you can join the Tree House Community here!

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I’m really excited to share this with you toda! I was interviewed by Ruth Poundwhite for her podcast Quietly Ambitious all about the benefits of asynchronous communication, and it was such a lovely chat! This is my first time speaking on a podcast!

I have wanted to get into podcast guesting for a while, but being a quiet, introverted person I was putting it off 🙈. I applied to be part of a summit Ruth was hosting, and as a result, she felt my topic would be better on her podcast instead.

I really hesitated to reply and say ‘yes please’ because I was so scared of putting myself out there in this way. Inevitably, it felt like fate had stepped in to stop me putting this off, and I knew from listening to Ruth’s podcast already that she was lovely and all of her interviews sounded natural and laid back.

I’m so, so glad that I got to have this wonderful conversation with Ruth – it didn’t feel like an interview at all, it was just a really soul nourishing chat!

We talked about the benefits of asynchronous communication (and what that actually means!), how we can put our needs first and create freedom with the way we support our clients, and all the ways I have reduced 1to1 calls in my business. This will be a great listen if you’ve ever wished you could have a little more freedom and spend a little less time on Zoom.

You’ll find all the links below of how you can listen!

Click here to go to the podcast page on Ruth’s Website

Click here to listen on Spotify

Click here to listen on Apple podcasts

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The wonderful Shilpa hired me to design a colourful, modern brand identity design for her business Mindset, Mimi & Me! It was such a wonderful treat because the whole ethos behind her business made my heart sing!

We both worked with Bloc + Rose on our brand strategies. As a result of getting to know each other on the group calls for ‘The Bloc – Brand Container‘, Shilpa asked me to design her new branding.

At Mindset, Mimi & Me, the goal is to empower kids with self-worth by igniting their imagination. Shilpa translates the wisdom and self-development you have learned on your journey of self discovery into a language that kids love: storytelling, poetry and art.

You can all of the details of the branding below!

Shilpa wanted the branding to be bright and colourful, and to feel that it made sense for a brand creating poetry and art to appeal to children. It needed to be well designed, and modern enough to appeal to parents as well as children.

A last puzzle piece is that the branding needed to speak to Shilpa’s cultural roots. I did this through the shapes, motifs and colours used.

Can you see the shape of the Elephants trunk and how it is mirrored in the letter M throughout the logos and icons?

Colourful confetti, lotus flower shapes, and the teal mixed with the brighter colours all make this branding feel unique and fun with a modern edge. I had so much fun designing it!

Looking for a brand designer yourself?

Would you like to work together on a colourful, modern brand identity design for your business? You can see the main package I have on offer along with the pricing here. Alternatively, get in touch to discuss a custom branding package.

Not sure where to begin? Need help demystifying the branding process? No worries, I’ve got you covered! Head over to the Rebrand Roadmap, a 5 part branding mini course – watch the first video for free 🙂

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When you have an inkling you want to rebrand your business, it might start to make you feel unconfident to show up and share what you do with the world. Or perhaps it’s the other way round. You’re feeling unconfident and you’ve realised you need to shake things up with a rebrand.

A rebrand isn’t the absolute be all and end all. There are many ways to gain confidence (like working with a brand strategist, self-confidence or business coach, or getting help in any area of your business that feels sticky).

It is true however, that a new brand identity will help you to raise your vibration and bring some new energy into your business and build momentum.

You brand for the future; the ‘you’ that’s a couple of steps ahead. This helps you to shift energy and meet the vibration of this new season in your business and get you moving towards it.

It’s important to note that a brand identity on its own won’t bring you more clients, customers, and recognition. You and your actions combined with your wonderful new brand identity – that’s what’s going to move you forwards.

You need to be fully behind your new branding and so there are certain steps to take to make sure that it speaks of your soul and really represents what you do and the impact you want to have on the world.

When you’re fully behind your new branding you’re going to feel more confident to share everything you’re doing with the world.

So, where to start when rebranding?

It helps to go back to basics and make sure you understand what your brand identity and all the moving parts within it need to do.

Once you have a handle on the purpose of each moving part you can review and assess what you already have through a new lens. Ask yourself if each part is functioning as it should be.

This first puzzle piece is one I find my clients have sometimes missed in the past. Having knowledge of what each item is supposed to do means you’ll know when your branding or rebranding efforts are on track. It also means that your efforts are going to be cost and time effective.

What’s the purpose of my brand identity?

Creating a brand identity really is simply telling your brand story through typography, imagery, illustration (if that’s needed), and colour.

If we’re talking about your brand as a whole, you’re telling the story through your words and actions too.

Storytelling with visual branding isn’t linear. Think of it as “Telling a story with layering”. Layering up different elements in your brand to build up a technicolour picture.

When you’re thinking about all the layers in your branding rather than simply the logo and maybe the flat block colours, that’s when you start to build a brand identity that feels technicolour, evocative, exciting.

What’s the purpose of each part within my brand identity?

I have a 20 minute video for you all about demystifying what branding is and what the purpose of each part of the identity is. It’s the first of 5 videos in my branding mini course, The Rebrand Roadmap.

You can sign up to my online course cabin The Tree House to watch this first video for free!

Click the video below to go to the Course page.

And here’s what other people have said about the full mini course:

“Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and insight in such a clear, simple to understand and accessible way. It was exactly what I was looking for. A framework to get me started, and a few insider tips too. I will be dipping in and out of it again and again over the next few months I think as I start thinking more in depth about my rebrand. I just wanted to let you know how happy I am with it.” – Lauren Clegg Jewellery

“I have been working on a logo after watching and working through the Rebrand Roadmap. It was so so good – thank you Meg! I got so much out of it, useful information, tips and tricks. I have really enjoyed the whole process.” – Kathryn Goddard Photography

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I knew that having a child would mean life would be a little different, but there were a few things that I really wasn’t prepared for when balancing motherhood and running my business. I guess it’s the sort of stuff you can’t imagine beforehand because you need the lived experience to really understand.

I’ve seen loads of people talking about the run up to having a baby, preparing their business, maternity leave, and even setting up once you already have a child. But I don’t think I’ve seen any one talking about having to change the way they were running their business after having a baby. In this blog post I’m talking about 3 changes I made in my business when I had a baby.

I didn’t prepare my business for having a baby. I feel like those people that were able to do that are in another league of being organised. I had some vague plans about setting up a digital product shop before giving birth and that earning a little money, but then the pandemic happened while I was a few months pregnant and it was honestly hard to concentrate on anything else other than getting my client work finished off. There was also a grey area with what I could earn while claiming self-employed maternity allowance from the Government (UK) and it was easier to be not earning so I knew I could claim the allowance.

Although it occurred to me that life would be different, I guess I thought I’d just pick up work again once I was ready. My husband had a really good full time job and I knew we’d be ok for a while without an income on my side.

Then Kieron got made redundant the week that Logan was born and our whole world flipped on its head. He was a Manufacturing Engineer and we’d thought that those sort of jobs were always safe. Of course with manufacturing of everything slowing down to a halt, his company had to make redundancies to keep trading.

We had spoken about how his heart wasn’t in engineering any more though and the redundancy turned out to be a blessing in disguise. We decided Kieron would stay home with us so that I could focus on my business still as I was continuing to get enquiries for work through the pandemic and my short maternity leave.

I thought that with having Kieron home full time with us, it would be really easy to just slip back into work and it be the same as it was before.

My God, that was not true for me!

How I felt as I started back with work

It initially felt great starting back with work. It was something to pull me out of the fog of new Motherhood and it felt grounding to be doing creative work again.

With having an already established business that had been really active on Instagram and especially on Pinterest over the past 5 years or so, I already had built a bit of momentum for people finding my work and website, and enquiries.

With the pandemic, I’d had a spike in enquires through Pinterest because so many people were at home thinking about starting businesses on the side, or finally having time to dedicate to forgotten things like branding and marketing. I had bookings for work straight away and so that part was the easy bit.

It all felt almost too easy…

Where it all started to feel like too much

I soon realised that even with another parent at home, Logan would want me an awful lot, and that would mean I wouldn’t have the longer periods of focus I was used to.

I was surprised at how long it took me to get back my focus each time and would often end up having Logan in a sling sleeping on me while I worked. I have lovely memories of wearing him in the sling when he was small, and at least while I was wearing him, I didn’t have to think about what he was doing or whether he was ok all the time, so that part of my brain could focus too!

There was the added stress of me now being responsible for paying the bills when it had never been a sole responsibility before.

With work enquiries coming in thick and fast I booked people in as I had done before, sort of always on the verge of being overbooked, but thinking it would be ok. The thing is, it had always been ok in the past because I had the time to work longer sometimes if I needed to. I never did too much that I was burnt out, and I guess it was a bad habit that I didn’t realise would need to change.

It didn’t take long before I was feeling perpetually exhausted, was overbooked, stressed and crying in the middle of the night.

I honestly had no idea I wouldn’t be able to keep up the same sort of schedule and work in the same sort of way I’d worked before (overworked masquerading as well-organsied). I had Kieron at home full time, I felt like I was failing and I should be able to do this!

3 changes I made to my business

Needless to say, something had to give. And of course, it was work. Over the course of the next year or so I slowly allowed my business work for me rather than against me. Here are the 3 changes I made to balance motherhood with business.

1. Moving to asynchronous communication

A big part of my new ethos for my business is making it fit around my life seamlessly, and leaning into what feels good rather than overthinking and doing things the way they’ve always been done because that’s what people expect.

I moved almost exclusively to communicating with my clients via voice notes, texts, and videos that are sent asynchronously. Asynchronous just means ‘not existing or occurring at the same time’. So we send voice notes when we can and we don’t have to be available for a call at the same time.

I’ve felt more anxious since having a child probably due to hormones, plus I’m a relatively shy person anyway, and I just found myself really getting wound up about Zoom calls during the time when everyone was zooming in the pandemic. So I decided to stop.

I still do the odd call when it feels necessary, like I sometimes do training with current and past clients on design software. But as a rule, even discovery calls before a client books can be done by voice note instead. If a person seems to have a problem with it, they probably aren’t going to be a great fit for working together.

I’ve built some structure into this for my different packages and have specific days where we chat and plan and specific days when I’m doing the design work. I’ll go into that more in next point.

The real benefit is that I have ultimate flexibility with communication – Having a baby or toddler means your schedule can change last minute if they didn’t sleep well the night before, or they’re poorly, or they’re just having a day where they want Mum. I wanted to be able to lean into this

An unexpected benefit is that this works so well for clients I have where there is a time difference! I get clients from all over the world thanks to Pinterest and Instagram, and it allows us to communicate in a personable but flexible way.

I spoke about the magic of asynchronous communication on this podcast interview with Ruth Poundwhite.

2. Shorter process with a stricter timeframe, still being mindful of having enough space and flexibility to work on the project.

As I mentioned I was accidentally overbooking myself and you might wonder why I would do this.

A few things were at play. Firstly, I’ve always had a very flexible process where there is a loose structure, but I don’t set dates because I found it hindered the creative process. Instead I’d keep the client in the loop along the way, giving an idea once I was into the design work when the draft would be ready to review etc but still keeping to any deadlines they had in place.

This is the hard way of doing things, and it was always a bit of a juggle to work different projects round each, but it felt right at the time. I had the extra head space to be agile with what I was working on day to day and switch between tasks.

Now I most certainly do not have that extra head space. That space is filled with toddler stuff! I can’t quickly switch between tasks and I have to give myself realistically just the one thing to work on each day, my attention span is much shorter. Just a quick note that this will probably change in the future too, but when talking about running a business during the baby and toddler years, this is definitely the case for me.

I am a recovering people pleaser and perfectionist, and so at first, even though I knew I was finding it harder to focus on multiple projects, I didn’t want to let people down. I thought that if I told people when they were booking in the process would be a bit slower, it would all be ok. It wasn’t and the work built up and it just added to the stress.

I found I didn’t want lots of projects going on all at once any more, I wanted to be able to finish a project in a smaller timeframe, with the process more clearly defined. But I did need to keep a lot of that flexibility.

I’d heard about Day Intensives/ VIP Days, where you plan beforehand, and then get all the specified work done in one day. I liked the quick sound of this, but I wanted to have the balance of it being quick…without the stress of only having one day.

And so I came up with a 2 week VIP Package. Usually with a 1 day VIP package or intensive the research and exploration will be done during the days before the intensive, and you’ll kick off with a call. I didn’t want to do calls and I wanted everything to be contained and explained inside the process.

I developed a process where during week one we chat via the voice messaging app Voxer to plan what I’ll be designing during week two. The pacing is the key for this package. There is enough space during the two weeks to check in with the client each day and work through thoughts and ideas, but as long as I haven’t got a load of other things booked in at the same time, it leaves room for life to happen.

I priced it relatively low at the beginning and each one went so well and had great feedback. I’ve increased the pricing now so that I can almost block off the last 2 weeks of each month specifically for one of these projects. There is a really well defined timeframe, so it’s great for cashflow – I’ll often be booked a few months in advance for these, and I know that what I’m charging for that is enough to pay our bills.

Then I fit a larger branding package in, one starting every other month, and work it around the design intensive. I try to plan it so the two weeks of the design intensive are less intensive weeks of the full branding package, so the part when I’ll be doing refinements rather than the full on design work.

3. Going ‘all in’ on my project management software, streamlining, and getting help.

I know it’s really important to be super organised with everything now. I use Notion as my project management software – it’s not the same as other project management tools because you can set it up however you want to. It has the balance between flexibility and rules that I seem to be craving ?

Here’s a Notion template and mini course I made that you can access for free

Access the mini course >>

As well as getting really organised with Notion, I have hired out for help on things like brand strategy for my own business, my end of year accounting, and even creating a course platform.

All of this just means there’s less in my already full head and I can concentrate on what I do best. Previously I really hesitated spending money on things but I’ve now seen how much time and headspace it’s given me!

Are you a Mum and a business owner?

Thank you for reading all about the changes I made in my business when I had a baby. You might like to join my online community called The Tree House. It’s full of wonderful, like-minded business owners, some of which have kids. Will you join us?

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The thing I find truly fascinating about visual branding is the layers of meaning that can be brought into the design work.

Layers of meaning and symbolism can of course be used in all types of visual art, but in my opinion, it’s an especially important part of branding.

What do I mean by Symbolism?

To be clear, what I mean when I talk about symbolism here is the use of imagery like the illustrations in your branding to represent ideas or qualities.

Symbols can come to mean something in retrospect, and that will be true for imagery used in your branding, that’s true for many big brands and was certainly true for my own logo design. Sometimes the image comes first and it gathers meaning as the brand grows.

But it’s also wonderful to make design decisions from the outset based on what has meaning for you as a business owner, and also what will have archetypal meaning for your customers or clients too.

Again to be clear…

“An archetype is a term used to describe universal symbols that evoke deep and sometimes unconscious responses. Archetypes are defined as recurring patterns of situations, characters, or symbols existing universally and instinctively in the collective unconscious of man.” Citation

Why is adding meaning and symbolism to my brand identity useful?

When we use imagery that has universal meaning behind it we’re holding up little green flags for our audience that show that we’re the same as them, we think the same, we care about the same things. This is the very start of building up that ‘Know, like, trust’ factor with your audience.

When we add a layer to our branding that has deep meaning for us as the business owner, it means it’s more likely to feel right for us long-term. We do it once, we do it well, and we do it with meaning.

How can symbolism play out in my Brand Identity?

Take this Moth design for Helena Rose Photography; There is a layer of archetypal meaning with the design that like minded people will be drawn to.

The style of drawing, the witchy vibe of the elements, the Moth being a creature that is drawn to the light. This last point makes sense for a photography business where working with light is part of the skill of the art form. These are things that we intuitively understand as humans when we look at imagery, without really thinking about it.

And then we uncover the symbolism of what the design means for the business owner. It’s a deeper layer that might not always be apparent at first glance, but it’s important none the less.

Here the Moth represents the ethical and sustainable businesses that Helena works with; they are drawn towards the light in the sense that they are conscious of the how they impact the world.

If possible, we’re looking for something that works on more than one level, but you can always combine symbols together or weave meanings into other parts of your brand identity.

Tips for how to start creating your symbolic branding

1. You can start by noting down any imagery, things, symbols that you’re drawn to. You need to love the imagery you’re using in your branding as well as it holding meaning.
2. Think about any imagery that holds meaning specifically for the industry you work in, or for the specific services or products you’re offering.
3. Think about what imagery, if any, is evoked by your business name.
4. Symbols could be really simple, like a triangle, or it could be more complex imagery that would be more of an illustration, like a type of bird, animal, or plant.
5. It’s important to research any symbolism you intend to explore in your brand identity to make sure it’s culturally appropriate for you to use. You also may need to sift through the many meanings one symbol alone can have to make sure there isn’t anything negative that might come up for people.
6. The internet is obviously a great source of information, but books are even better and often more reliable. Try the Signs and Symbols Sourcebook by Adele Nozedar as a starting point.
7. Reference meanings of imagery in different places to make sure you have a good understanding of all the meanings.
8. Can your symbol link back to your business in more ways than one? It’s ok if not, you can add layers of meaning with other branding elements, combining symbols in a design, embellishments on typography, pattern designs, your colour palette, even photographs. Don’t force multiple meanings, lean into your intuition about what feels right.
9. Remember that your brand identity is not your logo alone in isolation. Everything should work together to form a multi-layered, meaningful design for your brand.

If you’d like to explore weaving symbolism into your brand identity with me you can apply to work together via my Unfurl Your Brand package.

You can also sign up to my email list below for more branding tips and advice.

Related Posts

A question I frequently get asked is how to make sure a brand identity stands the test of time. It’s so hard to work on your own brand identity; you’re really close to it and you see it so often that your own perception of it is skewed from what other people see. People need repetition!

The main thing to note about your brand identity is that people need to be able to identify you again once they’ve seen your branding the once. So there is a little wiggle room for variety, but things always need to be identifiable as being yours. This is where trends can harm you rather than make you necessarily look more up-to-date.

And so here are my thoughts on how to create a timeless brand identity.

Think about what would stay the same even if your work evolved

Firstly, you’ll need to think about what your brand stands for on a wider level. If you had to pivot and change your product or service, what values or elements of your story and brand would stay the same?

An example is if you’re a jeweller, your work and style might evolve over time, but what inspires you at it’s core probably won’t. What is it that’s at the very core of your brand – the why or how you got here?

It could be a set of values, it could be your story, it could be a number of things. I don’t mean all the rest isn’t important, it totally is…but you want to get right to the heart and work out what’s unwavering.

And so how do you translate that into design?

Not every part of your brand identity needs to convey EVERYTHING

The fun bit! You’ll want to build these foundational things into your main brand identity – so into your logo and branding elements, your colours, the mix of fonts you use. It’s about finding the balance.

It’s not an easy process, but what I mean is that different parts of your brand foundation can come through in different areas. Always try to see the bigger picture of how things work together.

Not every part of your brand identity needs to convey EVERYTHING. That’s why you have different ‘moving parts’ (logo, palette, font system)

Colour is great for quickly conveying FEELINGS, EMOTIONS, and VALUES. Typography can show if your brand is MODERN, CLASSIC, or RUSTIC.

And logo icons, graphics, and illustrations can actually tell stories, or convey ideas and meaning in visual form. Everything works together to build a picture for your audience.

Focus on conveying the true essence of your brand so that people can quickly self-select

You’ll want to make sure it’s clear and that the things you’re showing are going to resonate with your audience. BUT at the very beginning you might not know your audience well, so don’t let that bit hold you back.

Focus on conveying the true essence of your brand so that people can quickly self-select. “That’s for me”, or “That’s not for me”.

The WORDS you use need to be much more rooted in the knowledge of who your client or customer is, and your WORDS are something you can easily tweak as you get more clear on that. Your brand identity is there to show the core of who you are (as a business), what you value and why, so that you attract like-minded people. Then you can have fun with trending things like gradients – as long as not every part of your brand identity is changing with trends, you’re allowed to have fun!

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