I hear it all the time "I'm not creative"or "I don't have an artistic bone in my body" and it holds people back from touching anything design related. So many business owners think they don't have what it takes to create a strong brand identity or be their own designer because they see that as only something the creative arty folk can do.

In reality creating a memorable brand that is the perfect fit for your business is less about artistic capability and natural design skills and more about clarity, strategy and consistency. And when it comes to the creative part, it mostly about problem solving.

You don't need to be a designer to build a captivating brand.

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The Common Branding Misconception

While from the outside branding looks like all creative skill, pretty typography, gorgeous graphic elements and icons, it's actually mostly about what is behind the visuals. Branding is far more about communication, connection and clarity. Without these things we just have a pretty brand that has no meaning and will not be effective fro growing a business.

Strong memorable branding takes thought and research, well before any creative flare.

Even a simple minimal brand identity can be effective with the right messaging and strategy.

Design is also something that can be taught. It involves principles and process, so even if you think you lack creative skill, it may not be as hard as you think to tackle the aestheti side of things.

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The Power of Brand Strategy

Brand strategy is about having a clear direction on what your brand stand for and what you want to communicate about it, and who to. Without it your brand is meaningless and has no impact or effectiveness.

It the foundation that all your branding is built on. Just like a house without a foundation, branding without a foundation will crumble.

Now strategy doesn’t require artistic skill but rather market research, planning and brainstorming.

Which means you can build strong brand foundations without needing to be artistic.

You can even think of brand strategy like a compass. It leads you the right direction for you brand. Finding that direction will make you feel so much more empowered to take control of the wheel and build your brand.

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Read Also: 5 Reason you need to Create your Brand Identity with Intention

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Focus on Consistency and Clarity

Consistency and a clear message will leave a great lasting impression on your audience then a fancy creative brand identity. Business owners often put pressure on themselves to impress. We feel like we need a super fancy gorgeous brand with all the bells and whistles. We want to wow people with a fancy logo and amazing graphic elements. However the thing that actually has the greatest impact on on audience is having a consistent and cohesive brand.

Even if you keep things really simple with 2 fonts and 2-3 brand colours, as long as you are consistent and your choices were strategic you will build a memorable brand. Think about some of the big brands that everyone knows. They are often known for just 1-2 brand colours and their branding is often fairly simple. Sometimes simple is actually more powerful as it can more easily stick in people's minds.

I have seen people who just use one font and one brand colour along with either black or white and they have a strong memorable brand because it is easy to remember and recognise.

So if you really feel like any kind of design is beyond you, keep it simple and you will still leave a lasting impression.

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Ditch the Fancy Software

I get it, opening Adobe for the first time would leave anyone feeling intimidated. Even after using Adobe software for over 20 years, I still don't know everything about it. Today design is more accessible then ever to anyone. With software like Canva, you can easily and confidently design without the intimidation of fancy software. While I resisted Canva for years, I have come to love the fact that it makes design accessible to anyone no matter their design skills. After all if you are only working on your own brand and graphics and not a range of brands and design projects like a professional designer needs to, you don't really need all those extra fancy features.

Canva also has handy tools like the Brand kit to make it easy to access your brand assets when creating graphics.

Remember also that there are a few options when it comes to DIY branding. You can do all the strategy and planning yourself, choose your colour and fonts, and then outsource the parts that you need extra help with, or you can DIY more of it. Just because you choose the DIY option doesn't mean you have to DIY every single part. You might buy some pre-made elements to customise or you might outsource some trickier elements like an icon or even your logo.

Taking control of your brand isn't just about being able to do the whole thing yourself. It's about steering the direction and laying the foundations yourself and then finding the best way to bring your ideas to life.

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Ready to Build a Memorable Brand without Being a Designer?

If you are ready to tackle your own brand and build something memorable and effective, these are the steps you need to take:

Step 1- Clarify your brand message, values and audience. Lay down the foundation direction of your brand.

Step 2- Start simple. Create a colour palette, choose fonts and design a simple logo. If you are struggling with some of the other elements consider outsourcing some parts of finding premade elements that you can customse to your brand colours.

Step 3- Be consistent. Remember that consistency is far more impactful then an impressive fancy design. So get clear on what your brand elements are and stick with them.

Step 4- Use beginner friendly design software like Canva to create your day to day business graphics, so that you can design with ease without it taking it up all your time.

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Remember a memorable brand isn't about fancy complex design. It is about the strategy and meaning behind it and being consistent with it.

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Ready to create a memorable brand without the overwhelm? My DIY branding process can guide you from vision to visuals. Get the free workbook to get started.

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