Ever wondered how top brands create designs that make you stop and say 'Wow'? 

Kim Russo, CEO of On Brand Designs shares expert tips and tricks for creating a memorable brand identity that stands out, sets your business apart and captivates your audience. Kim gives us a lowdown on creating impactful designs and the rising trend of simplification in branding. Listen as they discuss why being hands-on in the design process matters, how to balance creative dreams with business goals, and explore fun topics like font choices, color psychology, and making your designs stand out.

Kim shares some great advice for those who are starting out and thinking about a DIY approach before going pro, as well as tips on personal branding and intuitive design. You'll hear all about her love for rebranding, the importance of marrying your personal brand with your business brand, and how her experience in the corporate world inspired her to venture out for more creative freedom. Tune in and let’s dive into the world of branding and design with industry expert - Kim Russo. 

Key Takeaways in the Episode:

• How understanding a company's mission, values and unique selling proposition influences the branding process.
• What questions people should ask themselves when they're thinking about rebranding.
• Master the essential steps for conducting a successful brand audit that elevates your business.
• Craft a brand identity that captivates your audience, setting you apart in a crowded market.
• Uncover the Secrets to Creating a Memorable Brand Identity that Resonates with Your Audience.
• Harness the Power of Color Psychology to Elevate Your Brand's Influence and Attract Your Ideal Audience.
• What trends are emerging in branding and design, and how can businesses stay ahead of the curve to maintain a strong brand presence.
• How Design Beyond the Trends and Unique and Ownable Brand Assets are Key for Effective Differentiation

“When you look at the mission, the goals, and the target audience, you pull out keywords. You also want to make sure that the colors reflect the words that you're trying to articulate through design. Having that foundation and understanding of where you want to go… Making sure that you like it, but also that your audience is going to be attracted to it.” - Kim Russo

About our Guest: 

Kim Russo is the visionary Founder, CEO, and Lead Designer behind On Brand Designs, a premier design studio in Charleston, SC. She empowers clients through exceptional intuitive visual experiences by bringing their visions to life and leads a dedicated team. Kim created ‘The Profitable Brand Designer’ course to help creatives transition from freelancers to entrepreneurs, building profitable design businesses.

Starting her career at top packaging design agencies in NYC, Kim earned her degree from the Fashion Institute of Technology. In 2018, after a successful corporate career, she launched On Brand Designs, moving to Charleston in 2020 to focus on business growth.

Kim specializes in brand strategy, brand identity, website design, print graphics, and packaging design. She is passionate about creating scroll-stopping designs for female entrepreneurs. When not working, Kim enjoys crafting, painting pet portraits, and relaxing at the beach or pool with friends and family.

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Hello everyone, and welcome to this week's episode of the Marketing Media & Money podcast. And I am really excited because we're going to talk about one of my favorite subjects today. So I want to ask you, have you ever wondered how top brands create designs that make you stop and say, Wow? Well today we're diving into expert tips and tricks for creating a memorable brand identity that stands out, sets your business apart and captivates your audience. And why wouldn't we all want that, right? So I have to tell you, our guest today is somebody that absolutely I adore her. I adored her and so smart, brilliant, really, and she is going to share some really good stuff. So make sure you have your pen and paper ready. So let me tell you a little bit about her. So Kim Russo stands as the visionary force behind on brand designs, an exclusive design studio nestled in the vibrant heart of Charleston, South Carolina, as the founder, CEO and lead designer, she not only shapes visual experiences, but also empowers her clients and team. And her areas of expertise include brand strategy, brand identity, website design, pre profits and packaging design. And she loves creating scroll stopping designs for female entrepreneurs that may use make you say out loud, Oh, I love that. Yeah. Katie, she enjoyed crafting, painting petty orchards and relaxing at the beach or pool with friends and family? So I have to tell you, every time she shows me something she did, I am the person that goes, Ooh, I love that and over again. So thanks so much, Kim for being here with me today.

Thank you so much for having me. I have been inspired by you for so long, so I'm excited to be here today.

Oh, that's so awesome being the first patient. So that's that's really nice for you to just jump back in. So we have talked about this lots of times, and I just really love your perspective on it. So you really emphasize the importance of a solid, strategic foundation for design. Can you explain how understanding a company's mission values and unique selling proposition influences your branding process?

Absolutely and it took me a while to really figure out that it was so important, because when I first started my business, I was just kind of flying by the seat of my pants, guessing, going off of just what the client told me. And I'll say once I discovered the idea of strategy and getting to know your audience, your client, the mission, the values, all of that stuff, it made for such more impactful work that I've done, and I've been able to help clients in a way that gives them longevity, gives them more money, and makes them proud of the brand that they have. So it's it's been huge, and it's also made me, for lack of a better way to explain it, but smarter, because I get to learn about different brands and different types of businesses all the time, because it's, it's research, it's getting to understand, you know, the the end goal,

Which I think is really important too, who doesn't want to be proud of their, you know, of their brand, right? You know, who doesn't want that really, honestly, and more importantly, you really want your audience to really relate with it, you know. So I think that's really important. And I have to tell you, as a marketing person who works with people who do brand Oh, my job is so much easier, right? If they already have come to me and say, Oh, well, here's my all my branding stuff, right? You know, here's my brand guide and my grandkid, and you're like, oh, because now I don't have to help them do it. And I'm not a branding expert, right? You know, it's like what you said, you learn how to do it, but it's really not the niche that I want to be in. So I love being able to send people to someone who is a brand expert, which was why I was really happy. So record of saying, but she's the person I'm going to send everybody to.

Well, the whole, the whole topic that I have is making a brand that says, makes you say, Oh, I love that. It's because when you love it, you show up confidently with your brand, and you want to share it with the world and your customers and your clients. You want to put it out there. And so why not make it be something that people love at the same time as making a difference and being impactful. So, no,

I think it's really, I think that's really important, because, you know, so many people, when they think their brand, they think that's their logos and their colors and all that kind of stuff. And there's so much more to how much more, man, you know. And then there's brand, and then there's branding, right, you know? And those aren't even the same thing, right? Never mind brand strategy, brand assets, right? There's all those things. And so I think it is really important to incorporate those things. Really, I'm I remember when I first did my brand, and I thought I could do it. Myself way back in the day, I literally thought, You know what? I think I want my colors to be crimson red, because that's a strong, powerful color. You find out it's also a very aggressive color. Yeah, right, no. And so is that what I want when I have clients come to me, right? You know? So I think that there's a lot of different things about that. So having an expert is really important, right? Yeah, they are the key steps to conducting a very thorough brand audit. Why is this process crucial for creating a cohesive brand identity?

Yeah, so we'll start with color, since you kind of just mentioned it. And so there is the psychology of color actually took a class in college on it years and years ago. But now, when I do my strategy process, not only am I looking at what competitors are using, but there's what what does that say? What does the color say to you? And so you want to know like when you look at those mission, the goals, the target audience. You pull out keywords. You want to make sure that those colors reflect, reflect the words that you're trying to articulate through design, and so having that foundation and understanding of where you want to go to so, you know, we're doing a strategy process. We're starting off with, you know, what's your likes? Because a lot of the time when I'm working with a brand, there is an element of personal branding to it. Because, you know, for example, I have an agency, but I'm still the brand, and so Teal is my favorite color. And, you know, I made for, you know, if a totally was completely outside of the realm for something that would look good for a branding agency, I might have adjusted it, but, you know, there is, there is that level of personal branding and that making sure that you like it, but also that your audience is going to be attracted to it. So I tend to gravitate more towards females. And, you know, a lot of females like teal, and it's the ocean, and there's, there's meaning behind it, and there's fluidity. And so you want to make sure that when you're figuring out, okay, what's your mission for your business? What do you want it? Who do you want to attract? Who do you want it to? How do you want to be perceived? And so pulling out anything from that, you can pull colors from that story, right there. Same thing with thoughts, you know? So when we're going through all of these different items, so we have, like, a whole list that we can fill out. So we've got the keywords, we've got the mission, the goals, the values. We've got who your audience is. Definitely do a competitive analysis, because although we don't want to blend in, we want to stand out, but we also want to make sure that we're not so far off of the skills that people don't know what you do. I think

it's important, not only that, but because you're going to look at it and, you know, some say, Yeah, I think this is kind of a, I don't want to say a controversial subject, but as a speaker, some people saying you should wear your brand, you know, some people say, Oh, no, you don't have to. I personally choose to wear something in my brand, right? Usually you'll find me in black, and I use my brand colors to accessories, but I'm actually lucky enough that my brand colors happen to be my favorite colors. But with that said, I was like, I knew for me, like, I hate the color yellow, I just don't like it. I don't like orange, right? I don't like yellow, I don't like orange, I don't like milky Brown, right? You know? And so to me, it was like, I could never look at my brand and have those colors. I just put it to it right. It just cringe it every time I saw it. So I was like, No, I need it to be but when I did have my branding done, I liked that what the colors that I love just to also reflect the thing. But it isn't just color, right? Because it's the shades of the color too, right?

And you can also add in new so I kind of go through these phases. And so I have my base colors for my brand. I've got my teal, my black, my gray, and say 50 shades of teal, because I've got every tint of it. But my current photos right now, which I'm obsessed with. I wore a blue jacket, and it's just such a statement piece, so I ended up adjusting my call to action buttons, not on some of my pages, to be that blue. And then I've also introduced a purple shaded right now, because that's really on trend right now, and I'm feeling it as a season. But last season, it was like a peach color, so I add in an extra color with my brand, and it changes, changes within the season, or who I'm trying to attract at the time. So it, it can, you know, it can make up the rules yourself, really, for your own brand when it comes to it, like you want to be cohesive, but you can leave the door open to add different colors and and fonts depending on who you're trying to attract. So

Sometimes, like, I know, for me, I like the, I don't want to say really change up often the pop color, but, you know, teal and purple are, you know, purple and black. Those are really my colors. And interestingly enough, the conversation, interestingly enough, I ran. Through this designer, with this high level, really high level luxury designer. And I didn't ask her, but she just said to me one day, you know, Patty, I actually looked at all your stuff, and I love everything you're doing and but you know, you always get the butt, right? And she said, But I have to tell you, for who you attract, you're using silver, and I think you should use gold. And I'm like, what she says, I think gold fits your brand so much better than silver. And I was like, really? And so I I said, Oh, I just kind of tucked it back in, right, you know? And then I went home, and I had my whole brand guide, and I just went in there, and I said, what would it look like if I put gold? And sure enough, it did look better, like it really, really did look better because the silver just looked like gray, right, you know. And so, but I'm really attracted to the metal, so I really love copper, and I I make jewelry that's, you know, and so those are the things I do. I make them with, with, you know, gold and silver and copper. So I was like, Oh, I kind of love that. So I added the gold. But then, like you I found that I keep wearing royal blue, like I have all kinds of, like, royal blue or cobalt blue leather jackets and stuff like that. And I thought, You know what? Why am I not incorporating that? So I find that I will incorporate a pop color, but it's not actually my brand color, so my bright colors are my brand colors, and then I'll just add some pop color here and there, just to kind of this, to spice it up.

Yeah. So I actually also, too, like to, you know, I like to art direct people, and I work with photographers, because it really helps to kind of set the tone for imagery when it comes to websites. So I have a lot of partners, and I will get on and, like, instruct them, and I'll help with props and what to wear. And so I always say, like, yes, wear something that's part of your color, but also wear something you feel super confident in. And I'm not a stylist, I'm not a photographer, but just knowing how to position and use the photos and how it's going to look, you know, sometimes having that pop of color does help, because I might be creating a website and there's three brand colors, and I'm going to stick to those brand colors, but having some sort of dimension and color and and feeling good is going to help, you know, help my job be so much easier when I'm putting

Nice people pick dark colors, right, you know. And so you have to think about when you're creating, like, even when you're doing graphics stuff like, well, you can't put, you know, like, teal sometimes on a dark purple, it doesn't pop. But as soon as I created turquoise, like turquoise looks really good as a pop color and all those things. So now it's pretty much black, purple, teal, and those are all the dark colors, yeah, and that is like the royal blue and turquoise as really the pop colors, and then with the gold, it really does work for me. Tell you it was really like getting it, like, you really have to kind of get it. And I wear those colors all the time, and so it really, kind of really works for me. I have more like stuff in all those colors, stuff it does. But I don't think that's what it's really about, really honestly. But I do feel like, over time, I have changed like you think what you want that I think that sometimes things change in your business, right? And so it needs to reflect that. So, which leads me to really something that I think is important, is a lot of times people will do a brand, right? You know, they create. I spent a lot of money when I was creating my brand. I hired somebody really, really good. I didn't know you then, and so I did that. But then, literally, later on, sometimes people rebrand, you know, I would 35% of my clients, when they come to me, they was like, oh, you know what? I did this, and I don't really like that. It doesn't really reflect who I am anymore, and I want to rebrand. And so the question really is, you know, since you do websites too, so that kind of makes it really easy, I think, so to speak. But really honestly, sometimes you don't have to like that. Doesn't mean you have to have a whole new everything. It just means that you have to, sometimes just kind of refresh and and rebrand. So what would you say are some questions that people should ask themselves when they're thinking about, Oh, should I just dump everything and start all over? Or kind of things can they just do to to rebrand or refresh? And how would you help them with that? Because it sounds like then you are looking at not just their value and that, but like, what are the changes they want to do? And I think you've been helping to transition better than just somebody saying, oh, you know what? Now I just want to do this color.

Yeah. Well, actually, do a lot of rebrands, and a lot of people too, sometimes come to me and they can't necessarily afford me yet, and so we talk about them DIY again, and then coming to me whenever. Ready and kind of setting them up with tools to get them going, but the first thing I ask and look for is what's working and what's not working. And we're doing that same process, because usually when I come into a rebrand, it's because, yes, either DIY it or they went to a designer that didn't do the strategy, or even I've had people, my own clients, come back to me years later, when I now that I'm a stronger designer, or they they're not attracting the right audience, they need to get to the next level, and so they want something to refresh, and, you know, give some life and oath to their brand. And so we're still doing that same process, because your goals have shifted. Your audience probably has shifted a little bit. And so what I do like to do is hold on to something from the original brand, so that there's an element that either, if it's a a font style, a color structure, to the brand, like something in there that still is recognizable, so that it's a completely, not totally from scratch, and people are, who is this new brand? But it also has to make sense too. So you know, if it's if it's time for just a complete change, and you're complete up leveling, and it's just not working, then we we start from zero.

That exactly is kind of an utter thing. But I know that for me, lot of times when I was thinking about doing it, sometimes people are pretty set in what they know they want they don't want. Like for me, I knew, and they asked me, like, what kind of fonts do you like? Here's what I knew. I knew that my favorite font was Georgia. I love that. It was clean. It's a little bit bigger. I actually write bigger too, but I didn't want a free font. So I said, No, I don't want free fonts. So what are seller but different? Yep, right. So how do you feel with that?

Yeah. So I also don't like to not necessarily free fonts, but I like to use more unique fonts. And so, you know, should I have a logo coming up? They've used Papyrus, which makes my body like tingle that it's all and so I get what they're trying to go for. And, you know, I just kind of, I don't give a lot of options that are a font that is generic. So I'll take something, I'll be inspired by it. But what I usually do, well, what I always do now in my strategy process when I start a project, is I go to Pinterest and get examples of other images. And so that's a big part of my process, is taking those keywords and all of the questions that they filled out with that mission and putting it into like a visual study. And so you'll get to see what fonts make sense for your brand. And so usually I can kind of work with the client to share my expertise and guide them and lead them to not using or being so stuck on a font that is not

You're the expert. So expert should listen, right? Yeah, why would you say it's important for businesses to harmonize their personal brand with their covid

So, you know, I only think that for small businesses. I mean, if you're talking about somebody like, you know, PepsiCo, or, you know, Unilever those, that's different. But when we come to more of a smaller brand, whether it's a hair salon, an esthetician, a nutritionist, even a gym, this is a lot of my clients, you know, in coaches, consultants, all of that you're showing up as the main person is your business. And a lot of people are coming to you for that, like no trust, all of that, you know, factor. And so showing up with authenticity in your brand and having some of that personality come out is gonna, is what's gonna attract your people to you. So, yeah, so I think it's, and again, it's that whole level of confidence in showing up in your brand. I mean, I say another thing I say is, like, create a brand that you love to wear. I've got a bunch of merch stuff, and you'll see me most of the time wearing my on brand clothing. I have a bikini that I wore last week on vacation. My boyfriend had a bathing suit, flip flops, sweatshirts, towels. Like love it so much that you embrace it and you want to share it. So

I think that makes sense. I know that, like in my podcast, you know, like a lot of times, you have those waves, even my waves are my brand my sound waves are my brand colors, even, because I love that, and I wear it on T shirts too, right, you know. So I think that makes sense, yeah. So now let's, I just love this question, so, right, so you advocate using professional design software for creating logos instead of Canva, yes, right. So can you explain the reason behind this and the impact it has on brand quality?

Yes, okay, so I love, AI. I love I don't really use. Canva much, but my team does. It's super useful, but the icons and the graphics that are in there are not ownable, so everybody has access to them, and so there's nothing unique about them. I had one issue with a potential client. She used a an icon from Canva was, I think, like a an ox head or something for a hair salon. She just loved this logo had a opening on a Saturday, and this was like a Wednesday for the salon. Somebody reached out to her from Canva that created that icon. I don't know how they found her, but there's ways to find it. People do code stuff into photos and imagery. Sent her a cease and desist. She had three days while she was opening for this grand opening, and had to recreate this image that was more ownable. Now she could achieve that same look and feel by hiring a designer to create that style without using the same exact graphics. So you know, and I do say, if people are do DIY it themselves, they can use Canvas tool, but don't use their graphics. They're great for social media. They're great for presentations. It's great for any sort of marketing. But when you're coming to building your brand and having an ownable brand, it's not going to be, and that's the same thing with the AI tools is, you know, unless you're taking and you're tweaking it from there, the algorithm could be making the same exact logo for somebody else, putting in the same exact description and prompts to create it. So, you know, creating it from scratch, or even, I mean, sometimes when I'm creating brands, I'm pulling in from other stock vector art, but I'm always manipulating it to make it personalized.

So because I know for me, like I publish a magazine, and sometimes people will send me stuff, oh, Patty, this image works really great with my article. And I'm like, well, that's really beautiful, but I want to, I have to own all the images, and so every image that goes in my magazine, I have to purchase it. And I don't use any of them, you know. So, yeah, I purchase it so that I don't have to worry about that thing right there. So somebody doesn't say, Oh, they pulled it from Google or or whatever. We own all the images. And I just feel like it's just safer to be able to do that. But when you're talking about your oboe and your brand assets, why in the world would you really want to win the name of the game is really standing out. So what would you say are some effective branding strategies that can differentiate a business from its competitors, that'll actually help attract and retain their clients, because I think that's so important,

Yeah, well, I think well one and adding in your personal brand, that's going to set it apart for sure. You know, I always like to do everything visual first, before I even start designing. So I want to look at a snapshot of everybody who I would consider, or who my client would consider a competitor, and how are we going to be better? How are we going to stand out? And then I always try to take that same visual, put the brand that I've created, and see in the snapshot together, how it all looks together, and making sure that, you know, it's more refined. It's, you know, definitely do some market research too. I encourage clients to ask, you know, some of their friends, family, you know, not too much, because sometimes too many opinions have negative effects. But even I tend to share some stuff with other people, just to maybe I might not use their opinion, but I want to hear what they have to say and what's sticking out to people.

So, sometimes we get sent to what we like. Do you ever have somebody that you have to work with when you just literally hate what like. You hate their brand, like what they have and what they want to use and stuff. And then you have to really dig deep, right? You have to dig deep to come up with something that's going to wow them, that they're going to go, Oh, I love it, even when you're like, oh,

Not everything I share on Instagram or social or my portfolio. Then sometimes you do have to make sure the client's happy. But you know, my goal is to work with somebody who trusts me and trust the process and trust that the outcome will happen in time. So, you know, client is always right, but it's not always right.

The wow factor, and you are known for creating what I'm going to say, scroll stopping designs. I mean, I think I remember one of the ones that you did, I literally called you on the phone and said, Oh, man, you were over the top. This was so good, like, so good. So can you share some tips on how businesses can create visually engaging content that have to reach their audience's attention? So you have this brand, but now we want to do scroll stopping, and that's the name of the game, right, you know? And so then everything you do really has to incorporate that brand in it, so it's not like, Oh yes, I created a logo, and now I have my heads codes and I know what my not enough, right? You know. You have to make sure, like, I know for me, you. I have people say, tell me all the time, honey, I wouldn't even have to see your name or your logo, and I would automatically know that that was you. Because everything I do, even when people say, oh, let's collaborate. Should we do, like, some kind of thing together? I'm like, nope. Like, my brain is my brand, and we could just have both our brands on there and say that we're doing it together. I'm not creating something and stuff. So I think that's important, even though I know that Mine's really colorful. Even my team tells me all the time, Patty, you just love your brand so much. They think it's funny that I'm like, Oh no, no, it doesn't have enough of my Yeah, right. Well,

I called my business on brand designs because, you know, so my background is in packaging design, and I worked in packing design for over 10 years in New York City, and a lot of what I had to do was line extensions. So you have a product, let's say Gillette razors, which was a big client of mine. Well, you have to have like, 50 types of razors that all match and look like they're coming from the same brand. And so that really is what led me to this whole concept of on brand designs. Because I could either start a brand from scratch or take one that was existing and design all of the elements so that it makes sense, and it's covid, it matches. And so, you know, when I'm designing things beyond the brand, so the websites, let's say presentations, booklets, any type of marketing material, packaging design, and either the brands existed or I've created it, I say I'm kind of an intuitive designer. So I think a lot of how, you know, it sets me apart, too, is I have been designing for over 20 years. I've been a creative my whole life, but it just sort of comes to me. So a lot of times when I'm meeting with people and, you know, maybe planning out their website, or planning out the design of their marketing materials. They asked me exactly what I'm going to do, and I don't have the answer, because I've got to get into it, and I'm just going to go and whatever comes to me is what comes out, and it's usually always cohesive. It's going to match the brand, but it's just

It's gonna be lifting first, right? You have to do this stuff. People ask me that for marketing too. Oh, buddy, what are we gonna do? I'm like, No, I need to roll up my sleeves, get in there, you know, kind of partner with you, so to speak, and really get in there before I can tell you what's gonna work and whatnot. I mean, literally, if I could just have a five minute conversation with you and tell you, like, you could go buy a book, yeah, go to Google, right?

You know, that's why you're I'm not in the information business, inspiration business, right? So I think that that's really what they want right now, but still, like, you know, that's not who our client is. But so talking about that, like, let's talk about your journey. So what inspired you to found on brand design and, more importantly, what drives the passion that you have for creating designs for female entrepreneurs?

Yeah, so I started out always being creative my entire childhood. So you know, my side hobby is painting pet, pet portraits. I They beaded jewelry. I paint shells, like anything crafts I love to do. And I grew up really in the fine arts and creating graphics, but I had this notion of not wanting to be a starving artist and so and, you know, Fast forward 20 years now I know that I probably could have been an artist understanding business the way that I do know that I could have made myself into a artist by marketing myself, but at the time, I had no idea. So I went to school in New York City at Fit for packaging design. So started out in communications design. I'm a super competitive person, and the bachelor's program only accepted 20 students into the packaging program in the whole entire country, and it was the only packaging bachelor programs. So I bought my way in there, and ended up working in some top agencies in New York, and lived in New York for 17 years, designing and living the fast paced life I live in Charleston, South Carolina now, where it's hot and I'm sweating just sitting here. So when I was in corporate, you know, I had two sides of me, where I wanted to, like, be the best in the business and keep growing. But as I spent more years in corporate, there's a lot of politics. There was a lack of control design, and in the projects, you know, you had teams that were, you know, talking to the clients, and they were reps for the clients, and then you had senior designers, and then I was, like, a little piece of the puzzle. And yes, it would be really cool to walk into a grocery store like, Hey, I designed that. I worked on that, but it was touched by many and I've really, I really wanted to have that freedom too. I remember, you know, New York City subways. If I'd be a few minutes late, even though I'd stay three hours late, I would get, you know, a little scolding. And I just was like, this is not this is not what I want. And so I thought to myself that I definitely wanted to have my own business, but I didn't know. How to run a business. So I needed a business partner. That's where I was at when I left corporate, I ended up working with an ex who owned a print shop. There's a whole story from that. For five years or four years, we worked together. That was a good lesson to learn what not to do in business, right? Sometimes it support to know what else is important is to know what to do, but it kind of due to where you are now, though. It definitely led me to him. I'm actually working on an anthology chapter right now, and there's a lot of that story in there where it talks about, you know, he was definitely a narcissist. I was, I'm definitely a people pleaser to the core, and sacrificed myself, but in the process, too, of working in this business together. I realized I had good ideas, and I realized, you know, I could do this on my own. And so when that relationship ended, I was like, I'm in. I'm all in. I'm going to do this on my own. I don't need anybody else, and I'll be six years in a couple months. So yeah, so I'm excited. It took me, I'd say it took me, though about two years to really define my business as a business, because I still had that, that Freelancer mindset. I wasn't doing the strategy that I do now. I didn't even have a calendar, like, I don't know how I lived without a calendar four year. You know

I think we kind of evolve. I think a lot of us have started as freelancers in the beginning, right and then, yes, step into becoming a CEO. That's what I always like to say. You all of a sudden get the CEO mindset. You step into being a CEO. And I think that is really fabulous, because what happens is you also, because of that, resonate with people who come to you and they are in that space, it helps you to be able to relate, right? You're approachable and relatable, and I think that is really important. And also it's like what you said earlier about being confident once you evolve, and then you pivot, you do whatever you need to do. And then when you get there and you're feeling confident, right? You're like, we're all going to still grow. Yeah, we don't just stagnate where we are.

And it helps all of my clients, because I'm mostly helping my clients either start a new business or grow their current business. And so everything that I've learned, I've taught myself. I'm constantly educating myself. I'm constantly listening to podcast books. Be surrounding myself with women like you and learning so much, and I don't have a specific niche. I say it's more a client avatar. So because I'm doing all of this research and I'm working with all these different amazing humans that I can take what I've learned and apply it to the next client, and then the next client, the next client, and it only gets better. And my hunger and drive to do more and help more, it's like, you know, my team has to, like, wrangle me in. Sometimes that'll

I totally get that. But I think that what happens is, you get to a point when you have your business that the only person you're competing with is yourself, right? You know, when we want to be better and we want to do more, right, you know, so I love that. So what do you do to ensure that your design decisions align with both the creative vision and the business goals of your clients? Because it has to do both, right?

So, yeah, well, it's, it's really getting to the root of what the goal is. Because, you know, if they're just looking for something, you know, to get them by. I That's not me. I don't need to do that for them. I want to do something for them that's going to make an impact. I, you know, another great thing that I love to hear is when I redo a brand and a site and the materials, and they come back to me, they instantly have an up level in an audience and clientele, and get compliments and are even told, like, I worked with you because of this, and you know, it's what you had on your website. It's what you had, you know, when I saw your ad in the local magazine, you know? So, yeah,

it gets important to you, though, right? Because the design decisions do have to align with a creative part, because that's what we fall in love with, because we see it, but it does still have to work for our business goals. So I think that is really important, and it's kind of not really a slippery soap, but there is a balance there that you have to do both. So What trends are you seeing, emerging and branding and design, right? You know, because I think a lot of times people do things and they're playing catch up instead of being trendsetters. And I like to be a trendsetter. I don't want to catch up. I'm an early adopter and stuff, though. So how can businesses stay ahead of the curve to maintain a strong brand presence? So kind of hook us up. What's What are

Your being authentic with, what you like helps and what you're attracted to. I do see a trend now that, especially in branding, it's getting simplified, so clean is good and simplified is good. But I'm seeing a lot of brand designers that are just putting a font together and calling it a logo. And while my lick, my. It might look pretty and high end, it's not sustainable. It's very trendy. And so when I approach any design, I like to be conceptual with it. I want it to have meaning and not just be a pretty font. It's great, but, you know, I think that's a way to really help it to be not just something that is within the trend right now, because when you have concept behind it, it's going to work now, later and later and later, because it's always going to make sense for that brand. So it does. And

I think sometimes mixing things, because I remember when I was doing font, I knew what kind of fonts I liked. I was super clear. Did I know what was this kind of font and a Sans font and all that. No, that was not my thing. I just knew what I liked. Yes, man, I could come and say, Listen, I love this kind of font, and I don't like this. And I remember there was the font that I liked, but because my brand was marketing, media and money, it had an ugly M, that font, ugly M, and it was so funny. And I was like, Well, I really like this font, yeah, like, you could just use the M from one font and use the other font

Often

I was like, I can. I was like, so excited, you know? I was like, oh. And I think really, honestly, going through my own branding process and through my clients, yep, when they go branding process, and I actually learned a lot about marketing, like, really, like mobile, if that's the branding that might actually work in in marketing too, right? No, and I've been doing what I marched into. So

Yeah, well, I often switch out letters or redraw them because you also want to make it different, ownable. And I don't always like to just type out a font that's, like a tagline or something. I like to add some sort of decorative element to it, to make it ownable. And, you know, when you're looking at your brand too, it's kind of like a magic eye. You know, when you scan, you look at and you see the shapes and the negative space, that's something that I always consider, is making sure that the spacing is right and that your eye is, you know, being drawn to the right spot, and it's having that message that you want to kind of pop out from there too. So,

You know, one of the things that's so funny for me, I this, like, literally cracks me up, like, I have to tell you, so obviously the name of my company is Patty farmer International, right? So my whole life, like, even my main name started with an F. So farmer, obviously, is my married name, but my maiden name was started with an F as well. And so I have to tell you, my whole life, I've signed my name in lowercase, like the P and the f are bigger, but they're lowercase. It's a lowercase f, a lowercase p, because I just think capital p's and capital F's are ugly, right? I just did lower but made them bigger. I am not kidding, Kim, at least twice a week somebody will email me or message me and say, Well, did you know that you forgot to capitalize your name, or you signed that email with out capitalizing your name, literally, they take time out to tell me, and I'm like, well, it's like, look at my logo. I signed everything with lowercase. Yeah. Matter of fact, when I sign up for things that I'm telling a secret right now, but when I sign up things that, like, I want to see somebody's funnel, right? You know, I opt into things for specific reason, if it's something that I do, because I just want to see something I actually do, put my name in a capital letter. So when they send me email and I see it say patty with the capital letter, I know, you know, because I never put my name capital P, it's like a clue to me, like nobody else. But I know I was like, oh, did this? This was just because I was, yeah, right. It keeps my inbox clean too.

But no, you've labeled that like part of your brand, and like I said, like you can make up the rules to your own brand. So I have a logo that I did years ago. It's actually one of the oldest logos that I've done that I actually still like and had impact. But it's, it's fusion collar bar, and the F is lowercase, everything else is uppercase, and it's a, you know, it's because it works within the graphics and the concept of, you know, thinking about a hair salon and the curves and everything like that. Well, any type of marketing materials that I've done for them. So, gift cards, brochures, pamphlets, web stuff, I always type it out as it is in the brand, so it's lowercase f and then the rest is uppercase, because it's a way to capture that brand. And so a lot of times, too, I uppercase all of my letters in my brand. So a lot of times, if I'm writing it out, it's going to be all uppercase because it's clean and it's distinct, and that's part of what my visuals are.

They have the little i the capital P, right, you know. So, you know, I think that it is a way to stay it is a way to stay on brand, right? You know, I think it is really important. And I don't think people really realize how many things go into it. But when you think about it. Yeah, and here's another thing, what are you seeing now? Because, for a long time when people would make logos, a lot of times they were rectangle, right? But now we live in a world of social media where everything is square, right? You know, all profile photos, they're square, and everything, you know, and it'll just make it square sometimes, if you if you do it. So how much rebranding Are you having to do for people who so like, will you sometimes do? Oh, yes, you need to have it in this size, and you need to have it in this size, and you need to have it in this size,

Yep. So whenever somebody comes to me for a logo, I don't just create them a logo. So it's a brand package. So within that you're getting, I'm designing at least four structures for your logo. So everything has an icon for sure, like regardless, there's sometimes more than one icon, and you're using that for your favicon or your social you know, profile images or even your highlight covers or watermarks or something to go with your branding. We also create patterns too, from your brand A lot of times, but when it comes to the structure of your logo, we've got a long version, we've got a stacked version, we've got a seal. A lot of the times we've got the square. So we want to make sure that you have an element that goes with your branding, that has a logo mark that can fit into any shape size that you need. So do you have people that come to me that have the one, the one logo, and they like it, but they're like, Well, I can't fit it in the top of my website, or it's making my header way too big. And so they'll come to me and we'll update it a little bit and refresh it, and give them the icon, give them the other elements that are help supporting their brand. So, oh,

That's kind of nice. So I know that you have a gift, and I love it, because I think the gift right here actually kind of goes right into a little bit of what we are talking about, that sneak peek behind the scenes of your brand strategy process, right? And so I really love that. So tell everybody a little bit about the gift. So for those of you who are watching or listening, either way, whatever you went to, hit the button. The button is below that tells you how to get Yeah,

So I created this. I'm actually working on something else, which I might try to send to you, to get to everybody, because it's it's going to be a paid workbook, and it's kind of an extension to this freebie, but I'm so excited to have it done. It's really going to help so many people, but the brand strategy roadmap started as a guide to kind of help me. So everything that I've created has helped me and my business, so that I can help others. And so it gives you kind of a breakdown of when you're getting getting ready to either rebrand or start your logo, that you make sure that you have all the things you need to get going so you're set with, you know, knowing what your visuals are that you like, and setting up the mood board and all of that, and then knowing what other elements to add to your brand. So there's a whole checklist of, you know, what you could use to add value to your brand and make it cohesive. You know, there's also your pre website checklist. So you want to make sure, before you even start a website, that you have your content, your photos, your brand, figured out. So, you know, people sometimes come to me, Hey, can I do my website before I do my branding? I'm like, No, that's kind of going backwards. You know

You'd have to do all of the you have to redo all of the things now that totally makes sense, really.

So, and the workbook that I'm working on is all of the things to keep me on track, to make sure in that strategy process is filled out. And so one of the things that I do with clients sometimes is VIP days. And so within those VIP days, we're doing the strategy session together. So instead of me sending you a list of questions, we're really figuring out the demographics and your mission statement, and we're analyzing everything and recording it. So I kind of made this guide to make sure that staying on task. You know, I've met with VIP clients where we'll start with keywords and we'll have 50 keywords, and I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, this is too much like, let's let's dial it back in. 10 to 12 is what we need. And then also has the key to, you know, the psychology of color and the impact of color. It has a little like guide of what that is. And so I'm super excited for that to come out. It's almost done, so I'd love to like for you to to share it.

That's beautiful, and then you have your own podcast as well, right? The profitable brand designer, yeah, and I love it, and so I've kind of tapped into a few episodes. I'm thinking that it's really good, and like, you have a perhaps somebody you're doing it with, right? Yeah, doing it alone, that brings something to the conversation. I've noticed it, and we'll also make sure that we have the link to that, because they're going to want to check that out. It's just such a dynamic conversation, and I really love it. So I think he really brings something to the podcast as well.

It's so fun. So it's called the profitable brand designer, because I have a course for creatives teaching them how to run a profitable design business. Yes. And so I wanted to create this podcast as educational, but not just another, like, you know, the five steps in branding. And this, like, I wanted it to be more about life too, and what it looks like to be a prop for the brand designer. So, what does life look like? What is your relationships look like? And, you know, I had the idea to do it for a while. And Jeremy, who is my partner. He has been so supportive of me and a big impact on the confidence of the success that I have coming from that narcissistic relationship. And, you know, he cooks all my meals for me, brings them into my she shed. He, you know,

The end of his note about this. She shed is really, really a great episode. I think that's the one that I'm going to go in there leave the review on. Yeah, they're also, I really, really liked that one. So that was, that is great that you can talk about all of those things. And when you have somebody else with you, it's kind of a perspective, right? It's kind of great,

Yeah, it makes it fun.

Kim, thanks so much for being here with me, and I know people are going to want to connect with you. So where is the place? So obviously, listen to her podcast. Yeah, fabulous, yeah.

So I'm mostly, I'm on Instagram and Facebook. Those are my I guess Facebook because I'm I'm older, you know, I'm on everywhere, LinkedIn and on brand designs.com. Is our website, but, like, Instagram is where I'm mostly hanging out and DMing.

And that's visual, yeah? Creative thing. It's your brand. It's on brand for you. Yeah? So that kind of makes sense, right? Yep. Thank you, Kim. Thank you so much for having me your first day back from vacation, right? So thank you so much. And to my audience, thank you so much for coming and sharing this time with us. And if you'd liked our episode, and I'm sure that you did, please like review it on your favorite listening platform, and don't forget to check out our sister right our marketing media Manning magazine, and you can grab a free copy of the magazine at m3digitalmag.com and until next week, have a phenomenal week.