THE Lemon and Birch BLOG
The very lovely Lauren from Lauren Clegg Jewellery completed my branding mini course recently. She has created the most lovely branding for her business, take a look below 😍 and then read her thoughts about the course.
OK ish about it. I had done my previous logos for two different businesses, however I had never really done the ‘fuller branding’, and that it where I felt I needed some help.
I think the part about seasonal branding really stood out to me. But to be honest it was all so good.
Like I said I really valued all of it. I think I probably gained the most insight from the journaling prompts that really got me thinking about my brand and what I wanted it to say. A lot of other courses focus so much on the ‘ideal client’, that I think previously I had been focussing far too much on them. Which is obviously important as my product is for them, but I had lost the ‘me’ part of my branding I think, which is the soul of it I guess. Going through those journal questions really helped me get clear on what I stand for, and what I want my jewellery (and therefore my brand) to represent and say. I also really liked how practical it was. You can really follow along and implement what you explain in each video as you go if you wish. So the course gave me something really tangible to go away and work with, like the branding sentence at the end, or even the websites you can use to help make your logo etc.
Yes perfect for me, especially as a busy mum with little kids. If I see a training course and the video content is longer than an hour, I am immediately put off, as I don’t know when I will get an hour to sit down and pay it attention. However 20 mins is the perfect amount of time to watch when you are getting ready, sorting the dinner or doing the washing up. And yes, even though I haven’t needed to use the community space much, having it there and being able to utilize it when needed was invaluable for me. Especially when I reached out for advice and you gave me really honest feedback (which I value so much) and some pointers on where to go with and and how to improve, and reminded me of the contrast and the seasonal branding. That’s when I realised that the initial logo just wasn’t saying what I wanted it to say, and started afresh. I’m so glad I did.
I am very happy with my logo, and I’ve had lots of lovely feedback about it too. But it’s not just that, its all the stuff underlying the logo, the heart and soul of my brand which I now feel so clear on. Before I did my rebrand, I wasn’t even sure on what type of jewellery to make, and which direction to go with it. Going through this process has helped me to drill down on my direction. By just thinking about my values and the keywords that I wanted to reflect my brand, it has helped me create a vision for the type of jewellery I want to make going forward, and I have been able to create the logo and the visual elements that really embody that. So thank you so much, I’m over the moon.
Learn more about the course and enrol here! (You can watch the first video for free)
Something I’ve found that just isn’t talked about by other brand designers is exactly what makes a brand identity feel impactful and evocative.
To look at this we need to look at the core principles of what makes design (as a whole) impactful. Branding is about creating something that’s true to the business and the clients and customers the business wants to attract. But also, in simple terms, it’s about really great design.
There’s one key design principle I’ve identified that’s at the heart of impactful work. It’s the principle of Contrast. For example, shadow and light, colour contrast, empty space and filled space, size contrast.
I wrote a post about how and why contrast works as a branding principle in the linked posts below so have a read of those if you’re new round here.
Related posts:
In essence, the principle of contrast is used in all areas of design – interior design, architecture, music, all creative fields. In a world where we’re increasingly craving something a little different, getting inspired by those outside our own industry can lead to stand-out design that pushes the boundaries in our fields.
After identifying this key branding principle, I wanted to talk to some fellow small business owners about this idea and see how they use it themselves. I’ve come to the conclusion that the idea of ‘light and shadow’ is a key thing we can tap into for all aspects of building our brands and running our businesses. It can show up in so many different ways.
In their own words, I’ll share how some of my clients and small business friends use the principle of Contrast in their brand and how the idea can be taken further too – to the core of what they do.
Contrast can help us create a brand identity that feels alive. Contrast can help us create work that is striking and evocative. Contrast can help us run a business that feels balanced and doesn’t lead to burn-out.
“When I started painting, I mainly used pastel colours and stuck to a similar tone. But I noticed that I wasn’t ‘loving’ my results. Looking back I felt like there was something missing but at the time I just couldn’t pin point it. So I decided to try experimenting with different colours during my explorative painting phase. It was during this experimentation that I realized the importance of contrast and how it can bring a painting to life.
Incorporating contrast and playing with darks and lights has made a huge impact on my work, not just in terms of gaining more traction in selling my art, but also in terms of the overall look and feel of my paintings. By using value to create flow and tell a story through my art, I’ve been able to create a cohesive and engaging Instagram feed. I know my paintings need a backdrop and they sit very well with my moody floral photography in my feed, which I have always had a passion for capturing even before I started to paint.
My process involves planning and adjusting intuitively with colours, contrast, and scale. This approach helps me create art that is both visually appealing and tells a story. It helps the eye travel around the page and each flower gently guides the eye to the next. I’m really happy with how my art has evolved, and I’m excited to keep creating and improving.”
Safiyyah Choycha – Safiyyah Studio
“I create products for which scent plays the biggest role so selling online can always be challenging. Instead, I try to highlight a feeling or a mood that the scent evokes in order to give people an idea of the way one of my products might make them feel.
The idea of creating contrasts to bring life into your brand really resonated with my own experience. I had some photography experience in the past (shooting interiors) but I had never done product photography before and so when I started my business in 2021, that was its own challenge.
As a small maker, I was doing everything myself including my own product photography. Every tutorial I found online advised not to shoot in bright sunlight – the shadows that were cast would be too harsh and softer light was preferable but I was never really happy with my product photography. I knew my products were lovely looking (I had worked so hard on the branding to get that right) and I had plenty of styling experience from my interior days, but I felt like my product photography just felt flat – it was as if it was missing something although I couldn’t put my finger on it.
I began following some photographers on Instagram hoping to pick up some tips or inspiration and I noticed the photos I was always most drawn to were the ones which comfortably played with light and shadow. And so I decided to toss out that rule of shooting only in a softer light.
I began experimenting with shooting in bright direct sunlight, playing with the shadows the textures created and embracing those light/dark contrasts. Once I started to do that, I realised how much more life my photographs had. Those feelings I was attempting to evoke became so much clearer and stronger in my product images. I’m slowly working through my entire product collection to reshoot everything in this new style.”
Kimberly Duran – Swoonworthy Scents
“HUSTLE has long been a word that resonated with me. It can get a bad wrap, but in my mind, HUSTLE means leaning into high, positive energy and activity, the DOING.
I wanted to explore a counter energy to sit alongside the HUSTLE, something to balance that high, go-go-go energy. Still positive, but one that allowed me and YOU to rest, recharge and reflect. One that gave us permission to BE.
Our company name HUSTLE + hush represents my belief that we need both HUSTLE and hush (in our own unique, dynamic ratio) to be our most brilliant, authentic, wonderful selves.“
The Venn diagram sitting in the heart of the logo represents both the hush and the HUSTLE energy and the space within us that exists in the intersection between the two.
Tee Twyford – HUSTLE + hush
Read more about the meaning behind the branding on the HUSTLE + hush website here.
Does this branding principle resonate with you? I’d love to know if you can identify areas of your business where you’re already using contrast. Join us in the Tree House Community (it’s free) to chat! Sign up here.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
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.
To read a follow up post about 3 small business owners who use the principle of contrast in their business click through to this related post: Contrast – a key principle to build into your branding and business
You can also sign up to my email list if this post resonated with you! 🥰
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!
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 🙂
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.
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.
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.
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.
“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
This article was featured in the issue 24 of Brand You Magazine, April 2023. Click here to view the article!
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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!
If you enjoyed this blog post you can sign up to my email list for more tips and insight into the branding process.
Laney from Silent Goddess Art Jewelry got in touch via Instagram after seeing the work I’d done for fellow jeweler Rosy Revolver. I’m always so pleased to be able to work with jewelers because I specialised in jewelry design and silversmithing in my Art degree. I later got into branding and graphic design via a corporate role – it’s so much fun to be able to combine my knowledge and expertise in these two industries and create beautiful, multi-faceted brand identities that really show the heart and soul of my clients’ work, but that also allow them to grow.
This is exactly what Laney needed – a brand identity that felt true to her work now, but that would allow her work to evolve and grow over time.
Here’s the summary of how Laney’s brand needed to feel:
A BRANDING EXPERIENCE that MAKES YOUR AUDIENCE FEEL CALM and REFLECTIVE as they DISCOVER YOUR JEWELRY PIECES and products – an identity that is CLEAN but WARM and NATURE-DRIVEN, with a DISTINCTIVE edge.
(This addresses 2 key things to help keep your brand consistent and strategic: (1) how you want to make people feel and (2) what words that you want them to associate with your business.)
I put together the mood board below first, before diving into the design phase.
I was able to create a brand identity that Laney loved during the first design phase! See part of the process of bringing it all together below, plus a closer look at each element.
After working together Laney said:
From the first moment Meg sent over a preview of the branding package she created for me, I’ve been pretty speechless and I find myself in that same predicament as I’m writing this. I HIGHLY encourage you to reach out to Meg if you are interested in branding for your business. She did such an outstanding job and is so wonderful to work with. Meg, I continue to be in awe of the package you created for me. You are incredible. Thank you ⚒️???
If you’re looking for stunning, professional branding let’s work together in my Unfurl Your Brand package.
You can also join my email list below for branding tips, advice, and updates on new packages and availability.
Safiyyah approached me via Instagram and asked me to create a Brand Identity Design for her business and I couldn’t wait to get started working with her!
Safiyyah is a British born artist and textile designer based in Birmingham. She specialises in floral print and pattern, taking inspiration from her original art work.
Her unique watercolour style embodies the magical unexpected beauty and wilderness found in nature, with all its imperfections. Safiyyah’s style encapsulates nature in its entirety as she strives to transport you to a world full of enchantment and beauty through her art.
Her audience for her beautiful nature inspired artwork had grown quickly on Instagram and so she wanted to make sure her website and the packaging for her paintings and products was professional and created a beautiful client and customer experience.
Here is our goal for how the Safiyyah Studio Brand Identity needed to feel.
A BRANDING EXPERIENCE that MAKES YOUR AUDIENCE FEEL ENCHANTED and SOOTHED as they DISCOVER YOUR ART – an identity that is TIMELESS, with an IMPERFECT and APPROACHABLE edge.
This addresses 2 key things to help keep your brand consistent and strategic: (1) how you want to make people feel and (2) what words that you want them to associate with your business.
After we were on the same page about how the brand identity needed to feel, I put together a mood board to show the direction.
After the mood board phase I was excited to dive into the design and I managed to create something Safiyyah loved during the first design round!
I created a unique typography logo, hand-drawn the leaves and branches, and overlaid them with Safiyyah’s own watercolour work and photographs.
I used overlay effects in InDesign so that the different layers of the background somewhat blend together to create this gorgeous textural effect. It bridges the gap between Safiyyahs floral artwork and her landscapes and feels distinctive without taking the emphasis away from her art.
See the process video of the brand identity I designed for her, along with a closer view of all the details below!
Here’s what Safiyyah said about working with me:
“Meg was a joy to work with! She just completely understood me and my brand and created something that is full of magic and soul. She helped me create beautiful, cohesive brand packagind that evokes a feeling of enchantment!”
If you’re looking for stunning, professional branding head let’s work together in my Unfurl Your Brand package.
You can also join my email list below for branding tips and advice, new work and availability.