Now this is the good part: it’s where your big idea starts coming to life! I hope you’re excited.

When entering the Creative Economy, there are pieces of collateral necessary. Collateral refers to things like logos, taglines, art, etc. In fact, designing branded business collateral is a billion dollar Industry and costs anywhere between $7,000 to 6 figures and up. We’re going to show you how to do this on Spotrpage, with under $100.00. Your branding and public display will be on the same-level of multi-million dollar companies. This information by itself is a $7,000 savings.

First, take inventory of the branding elements you already have, and add them to an easy to find location: this could include your:

• Brand Name,
• Logo,
• Tagline/Slogan,
• Typography,
• Color Palette,
• Brand Story,
• Imagery – like photos, illustrations, and graphics

Whatever you have right now is perfect.

Here’s a rule of thumb: your brand elements should work together to create a memorable and cohesive brand experience.

As you assemble this folder, ask yourself — who is my target audience? Make sure branding elements speak directly to that audience. For example, if the audience is toddler moms, your color palette should be kid-friendly: with bright, cheerful, and playful colors that evoke fun, creativity, and positivity. Not dark, gloomy, or aggressive colors.

Okay, so you’ve added the branding elements you have to your folder. Maybe you have it all figured out, maybe you have nothing solid yet and that’s okay! We’ll walk you through it step by step.

We’re going to get creative and resourceful in putting together the remaining pieces. For those of you who have a more DIY approach, you can play around to create your own collateral, leveraging easy to access tools like Chat GPT, Canva, Pinterest, and Pexels! If you’re not a DIY Queen or King, you can hire professionals on Fiverr to help you with your collateral, but you’ll need to have a solid vision for your big idea first to give your new hires proper direction.

Let’s start with the DIY approach. We’ll make our way down the collateral list above and talk you through creating your elements.

Step 1: Brand Name

Your brand name is the most important foundational element of your business. The best names are easy to remember, spell, and pronounce and capture the essence of what your brand stands for. To kick this off, we’re going to use Chat GPT – a great free resource that’ll help speed up your research process by coming up with suggestions. Type in “What are some brand names for a [insert type of business here] business whose target audience is [insert target audience here].” The more specific you are in your question, the closer you’ll get to a name that speaks to your audience.

An example is “What are some brand names for a healthy granola bar business whose target audience is millennial toddler moms?”

When inserted into Chat GPT, we received 15 suggestions. Go through your suggestions, taking note of any that speak to you. You don’t have to use the suggestions as is, it’s just a jumping off point to get you some ideas. For example, one of our favorite suggestions is: “Tiny Trail” – but what if we add the name of the toddler who inspired this business idea? The name turns into “Nora’s Tiny Trail”. Next, because the idea is for these healthy granola bars to be bite sized for toddlers, we’re going to add the word “bites” at the end to exemplify that. “Nora’s Tiny Trail Bites” – sounds great! If it’s too long of a name, we can always come up with shorter versions for branding that doesn’t have room for the entire name like: Tiny Trail Bites.

Go through this process until you’re happy with your brand name. If you don’t like any of the suggestions, keep trying by tweaking your question so you can get closer to what you’re looking for!

Step 2: Typography

In this context, typography refers to the brand’s font. This font will likely be used on your logo. Heck, it could BE your logo. Think about the Supreme iconic logo. It’s their distinctive font spelling out “Supreme” on a red background.

For this one, we’re going to have to think back to our big idea. When you think of the vision of what your business could be, what are some adjectives that describe it? For example, for Tiny Trail Bites some adjectives include: pure, bite-sized, tasty, nutritious.

Once you’ve come up with some adjectives, we’re going to ask ChatGPT: “come up with some fonts that best represent a [insert type of business here] business whose target audience is [insert target audience here]. The font should communicate: [insert adjectives here]”

For Tiny Trail, this looks like: “come up with some fonts that best represent a healthy granola bar business whose target audience is millennial toddler moms. The font should communicate: pure, bite-sized, tasty, nutritious.”

Now you’re going to want to open whatever word processing app you have whether its Pages, Google Docs, or Microsoft Word. It’s time for an exciting step! You’re going to write your brand name in all of the fonts suggested to you. This way you can see them all next to each other and determine your faves.

Here’s just a few of the many fonts suggested for Tiny Trail Bites:

Now, choose the one that speaks to you!! Is your brand more minimalist, and free of frills? Or is it playful?

Step 3: Color Scheme

Now that you’ve got your brand name, and font, your color scheme is next.

This is an important choice and should align with the brand’s identity and evoke the desired emotions. This is another instance where Chat GPT is a great resource to help the research process. Type in: “what are effective color schemes for a [insert type of business here] business whose target audience is [insert target audience here]?” You might even want to drop in the name of your business now that you have that figured out!

Now remember, this isn’t a one size fits all – for example if you had one color that you were really set on using, include that in your search! So your search would look like:

“what are effective color schemes using [insert color here] for a [insert type of business here] business whose target audience is [insert target audience here]?”

So for our search, we put: “what are effective color schemes for a healthy granola bar business called Tiny Trail Bites whose target audience is millennial toddler moms?”

We received 5 color scheme suggestions. If any of your color scheme suggestions speak to you, great! If not, maybe one of the colors mentioned does – take that color and continue to do searches to find what colors go well with the one you like and are best suited for your industry.

Step 4: Logo

Think of the iconic logos that we know – McDonald’s golden arches, the Nike swoosh, or the Starbucks mermaid. What do they all have in common? They’re simple, memorable, and timeless.

Remember that big thought we talked about earlier? You’re going to want to think about that. Are there any elements that stand out to you? What do you feel, when you think about what your company means to your life…. Hold that thought.

Turn it into a symbol. Things to keep in mind. (1) Make sure the Logo transfers well to motion graphic mediums. (2) Make sure Your Logo is memorable. (3) Make sure your looks cool in black and white.

Your Logo is a trigger of recognition within the Customer.

If you’re starved for ideas or having a hard time getting started. A great place to start is on Pinterest.

Step 5: Tagline/Slogan

A tagline or slogan is a short, memorable phrase or sentence that captures the essence of your business. For McDonalds its “I’m loving it”, Nike is “Just do it” and although its lesser known, for Starbucks its “To inspire and nurture the human spirit – one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time.”

For this part of the process, we suggest not relying on ChatGPT. The slogan/tagline for your business must be custom to you – it goes back to your big idea.

We’re going to dig a little deeper to get to the root of who you are:

Identify Your Unique Selling skills: What sets you apart from people? What is it about your personality the people connect with? When you tell your friends about your idea, how do you explain it? You don’t know it yet, but inside of those questions is your TagLine.

Think of your product’s benefits, values, and how it solves the problem for your audience.

You’re close to finding your tagline or slogan. Take your time, it’s a great feeling when it comes. Aim for 3 to 7 words, keep it short and direct. When it comes and you have your Tagline, pair it with your Logo. LFG.

Step 6: Brand Story

Your brand story is how you connect with your audience on an emotional level. It makes people feel closer to you and your brand. Here’s how to put it together:

1. Define Your Purpose and Audience

• Identify why your brand exists and what problem you’re solving for your audience.

2. Tell Your Origin Story and Solution

• Share how your brand started and the inspiration behind it. Highlight the problem and explain how your product offers a unique solution that aligns with your values.

For example: “As a busy mom, I struggled to find snacks for my toddler that were both healthy and delicious. Everything on the shelves seemed full of sugar or processed ingredients. I wanted something better for my little one—so I decided to create it.”

3. Inspire with Future Vision

• Paint a picture of the positive impact your brand will have on customers’ lives and how they can be part of a larger mission or movement.

For example: “Our mission is to make healthy eating easy for families everywhere. Join us on this journey toward a healthier future, one bite at a time. Together, we can nurture our kids with the best nature has to offer.”

Now combine your answers from all 3 sections to put together your Brand Story!

Step 7: Imagery

This parts one of the most fun. Now that you have your other brand assets together, your big idea has really taken shape in front of your eyes. Pull up your favorite image browsing apps like Pinterest, Pexels, Unsplash and start searching for images that vibe with your brands aesthetic. Any time you find one, go ahead and save it to the folder on your desktop. Think of this part of the process like you’re creating your dream mood board for your business. Again, big idea: if there were no limitations to what your business could be, what would it look like? Have FUN with this – try new searches, always keeping in mind your target audience. Don’t overthink this part – there are no wrong answers.