New to Branding? Here’s Everything You Need to Know to Get Started
Build a Brand That Feels True to you
Branding can mean different things to different people. For some, it’s about flashy logos and loud marketing tactics. But for many of my clients, heart-centered entrepreneurs, wellness professionals, creatives, experts in their field, branding is a creative journey. It’s about blending intuition, communication, marketing, and technology to build something that feels authentic, works effectively, and remains adaptable over time. Have you ever wondered how branding for website design influences the way visitors perceive your business? What are the key elements to consider when developing branding for website consistency across pages and platforms? Whether you're starting fresh or refining an existing brand, this guide will help you craft a sustainable and meaningful brand identity that resonates with your audience.
Getting Started with Branding (or Rebranding!)
These days, personal branding is everywhere. When it really works, it’s because certain elements bring out a business owner’s unique voice and style. In this post, we’ll explore how to approach branding as a practice, an ongoing process, like tuning a musical instrument, aligning your business with your vision and the people you serve.
Branding is the thread that ties everything in your business together, it shapes how your website looks, the tone of your social posts, the consistency of your emails, and even how your products are named and packaged. It influences SEO by helping you show up consistently in search results with clear messaging and recognizable visuals. Strong branding ensures that every touchpoint, from your homepage to a Google search, tells the same story about who you are and what you stand for.
The Five Essentials of Branding
Branding isn’t just about picking a pretty logo or choosing colors that look good together. It’s about creating a cohesive, recognizable identity that tells your story, sets the tone, and connects with your audience. Whether you're launching a new business or refreshing an existing one, understanding the basics of branding will help you build something that truly reflects who you are. Here is some Branding 101! If you're just getting started, here are five essential branding elements to focus on, plus some fun quizzes and resources to help you refine your style! Think of branding as the personality of your business, it’s how people recognize, connect with, and remember you. A strong brand goes beyond just a logo; it’s the voice, visuals, and values that shape every interaction with your audience. These five key elements create the foundation of your brand, helping you build trust, stand out in your industry, and attract the right clients. Read here to discover resources that will guide you through defining and refining these essential brand elements for your business.
1. Logo
Your logo is your brand’s signature. It’s the first impression and a visual representation of what your business stands for. Whether it’s a simple wordmark or an intricate icon, your logo should be memorable, versatile, and aligned with your brand’s overall feel. In your Squarespace website’s header area, the site logo is the primary visual identifier for your brand. This can be your official company logo as an image file or a distinct version designed specifically for your website. Many businesses use 1-3 variations of their logo, including a main logo, an alternate version, and a submark (a simplified, smaller version of logo or an illustration, an icon for compact spaces like social media profiles or mobile views). Choosing the right logo for your website ensures consistency and brand recognition across all touchpoints. Explore Logo styles here: etsy.com
2. Color Palette
Colors play a powerful role in branding, they evoke emotions, set the mood, and create a sense of consistency across your website, social channels, and marketing materials. A carefully chosen color palette can instantly communicate the essence of your brand, making it feel warm and inviting, bold and edgy, or calm and professional. The right colors help your audience connect with your brand on a deeper level, reinforcing your message and values.
How to Choose the Perfect Colors for Your Brand:
Use the Eyedropper Tool in Developer Tools: If you find a color you love on a website or an image, you can use the built-in Eyedropper Tool in your browser’s Developer Tools to identify the exact color code. This is a great way to pull inspiration from visuals that resonate with you.
Try an Online Color Picker: Websites like Image Color Picker allow you to upload an image or enter a URL to extract colors from any photo. This is a useful tool for finding complementary colors from a brand photo or logo.
Squarespace Color Palette Options
If you're designing your website on Squarespace, you have access to a preset color palette system with up to 60 curated colors to choose from. This makes it easy to build a cohesive look without having to manually select and test each color combination. You can customize these presets to match your brand’s style or start with a template that aligns with your vision.
Pro Tip: Select 3-5 core colors that complement each other and reflect your brand’s personality. Need inspiration? Check out Coolors.co for endless palette ideas! For even more color inspiration, Visibility Vixen offers great resources for content branding and photo shoot styling here.
3. Theme Words
Words are just as important as visuals when defining your brand. What words best describe the essence of your business? Are you modern, playful, minimalist, or vintage? Defining a few key theme words will help guide your design, messaging, and overall aesthetic. Choosing a few key theme words helps create consistency across everything from your website copy and social media captions to your product packaging and email marketing. Start by asking yourself: What feelings do I want my brand to evoke? Are you modern, playful, minimalist, vintage, sophisticated, bold, or down-to-earth? These words should capture the heart of your brand and help you stay aligned as you grow. Once you’ve identified three theme words, use them as a filter for all your branding decisions. If a design element, color choice, or marketing message doesn’t align with your words, it might not be the right fit.
Pro tip: Need help brainstorming? Try using a word association exercise. Write down as many words as you can that describe your business, then narrow it down to 3-5 core words that truly represent your brand identity. You can also look at brands you admire and analyze the words that come to mind when you see their branding. By defining your theme words early on, you’ll create a strong foundation for your brand and make it easier to stay consistent in all your branding efforts. Check out The Copy Template Shop’s Messaging Journal, an incredible tool to discover and find your theme words. If you’re struggling to define your brand’s core message, Michelle Mazur’s Three Word Rebellion is a resource for crafting a powerful, memorable phrase that captures your brand and what sets you apart.
4. Typography
Fonts play a huge role in brand identity. Whether you prefer sleek and modern sans-serifs or elegant script fonts, your typography should enhance readability while reflecting your brand’s personality. Think of Coca-Cola’s iconic Spencerian script, which conveys tradition and nostalgia, or Nike’s bold Futura, which feels modern and strong. Even Vogue’s elegant Didot typeface reinforces its luxury and high-fashion identity. The right font can make your brand instantly recognizable.
If you’re building your website on Squarespace, you’ll have access to a wide selection of Google Fonts, making it easy to choose a style that aligns with your brand. Looking for something more unique? Explore Creative Market for custom fonts that can set your brand apart.
Curious about how custom fonts are used on a website? Click here to learn more about implementing unique typography for a distinctive brand presence.
A good rule of thumb is to select two complementary fonts one for headlines and one for body text to maintain consistency and readability across your website and marketing materials.
5. Seasons and Branding
Just like fashion, branding can be guided by the rhythm of the seasons. Brand Stylist extraordinaire Fiona Humberstone introduces the Seasons approach in her books How to Style Your Brand and Brand Brilliance, offering a powerful framework for selecting colors, typography, and imagery that align with the essence of your brand.
Rather than simply changing visuals for different times of the year, this method helps you define whether your brand has the fresh energy of spring, the warmth of summer, the richness of autumn, or the crisp clarity of winter. Each season carries distinct characteristics that influence everything from color choices to design style and brand voice.
By identifying the season that best resonates with your brand, you can create a cohesive and intentional aesthetic that makes designing your website, marketing materials, and brand shoots feel effortless. Explore Fiona Humberstone’s approach and her wealth of resources at The Brand Stylist to dive deeper into Seasons & branding!
Discover Your Brand Style with These 4 Fun Quizzes!
➡️ Before diving into logo design or color selection, take some time to explore your brand identity through these super fun and insightful quizzes:
Zeoni Creations' Brand Spirit Quiz: This quiz helps you discover the core essence of your brand aesthetic. My result? Sage! natural, soft greens, timeless, and distilled. Take the quiz here.
Sibila Ribeiro’s Brand Quiz: This quiz gives you a full brand book, complete with a mood board, color palette, and font recommendations. My result? Vintage! Try it out.
Amari Creative’s Brand Quiz: See how your brand identity can shift over time. I took it twice, once I got natural and lively, and another time, modern and minimal. Both felt right for different projects! Take the quiz here.
Sonia Thompson’s Inclusive Brand Quiz: Your brand isn’t just about looks; it’s about values, too. This quiz helps you understand ways to ensure your brand aligns with your values. My result? Social Justice Warrior, which reminds me to always create content that aligns with my core values. Try it here.
Branding Resources to Make It Even Easier
Branding doesn’t have to be overwhelming, there are plenty of ready-made resources to help you create a polished, professional look:
Brighten Made Branding Kits: Premade branding kits that include everything from logos to color palettes, so you can easily build a cohesive brand without starting from scratch.
The Brand Bazaar: An online shop of Aussie Designer Dani filled with Illustrator-based unique logos for custom selection, lots of inspiration to help you craft a distinctive and professional logo design.
Whether you’re DIYing your branding, investing in pre-made kits, or hiring a graphic designer, these resources make the process smoother and more enjoyable. Check out Brand Strategy for Digital Products here.
So, What’s Your Brand Style Now??
Branding is an ongoing process, it’s not just about making your business look good, but about creating a vibe and identity that resonates with you and your audience. There are many words for Branding: Identity, Image, Style, Presence, Aesthetic, Reputation, Persona, Visual Identity, Messaging, Voice, Essence, Signature Look, Positioning, Recognition. Find your starting point to connect with your audience. You can get started by defining your logo, color palette, theme words, typography, and seasonal approach. Then, explore the quizzes and resources to refine your vision. Most importantly, have fun with it! Your brand should feel like a natural extension of the work you do.
What’s your brand style? Take a quiz, explore the resources, and let me know! If you're looking for a cohesive, seasonally inspired brand identity, I offer branding kits designed in Canva specifically for Squarespace website projects, making it easy to bring your brand vision to life. Check out my branding portfolio here.
Brand Spotlight Series - Coming Soon
✨📣 This Spring, I’m excited for my Brand Spotlight Series, where I’ll be sharing some amazing brands I’ve had the pleasure of working with. You'll get a behind-the-scenes look at how their branding has evolved from logo design to website aesthetics and the creative decisions that helped shape their unique identity. Stay tuned for some inspiring stories!
