Branding

In this section I will be talking about why branding is important and the process of creating a brand for my business as well as all the communication with the graphic designer.

Big thanks to John Houston for helping realise my brand vision!

Why is branding important?

Branding is incredibly important for interior designers because interior design is a highly visual business. A designer's brand and the way they present themselves visually online, on social media, and through their work in clients' homes directly reflects their design style and values. Potential clients will judge a designer's capabilities based on this visual branding, so it's crucial for designers to ensure their brand identity is cohesive and accurately represents the aesthetic they specialize in.

Branding allows designers to attract their ideal clients and set appropriate expectations, rather than taking on projects that don't align with their design sensibilities. Ultimately, strong branding is essential for interior designers to showcase their unique design perspective and differentiate themselves in a competitive market.

The Interior Designers Hub (n.d.) Why is business branding so important for interior designers?, The Interior Designers Hub. Available at: https://www.interiordesignershub.co.uk/blog/why-is-business-branding-so-important-for-interior-designers (Accessed: 15 April 2024).

Introduction

Caron asked the class if we would like to collaborate with the graphic designers at the college to help us with our branding and logos which we agreed to and she set out to speak to the lecturers to arange a meeting between us.

On 6th of December 2023 we met up with the HND year 2 graphic design students and this is where I met with John Houston. He seemed very eager to work with me as an interior designer and I was happy to be working with someone equally as passionate about design.

Design plan

After a brief introduction we got fully stuck in to what style i have and how I would like to represent myself professionally which i have to admit was very difficult for me, as a designer i love so many styles and it can be wrong to say that any 1 defines and represents me. I thoroughly enjoy exploring so many styles so i tried my best to portray that in this meeting

Greens and warm tones

This is an easy one. Deep green tones are my absolutes favourite and I find they pair best with warm whites and bronzey / brown tones but I wouldn't be opposed to a pop of colour like orange, red, or yellow.

Inspired by nature

As a nature oriented person i want this reflected in my brand in some way. Maybe in organic shapes, nature iconography or just fluid fonts. It may just be in the colours themselves which of course greens work well for this.

Sustainability

I suppose this ties in with nature but a huge part of my design philosophy is to be as sustainable as possible. I'm not sure how this would be used in a brand guid-line but it's important to me.

70's design

My personal interior design style reflects a lot of 70's values, I don't know how much I love 70's graphic design but in interiors it's definitely something I vibe with because of the natural feel.

Second meeting

January 23rd

After a bit of a hiccup with scheduling we managed to finally meet up in the canteen to discuss the current progress of the design work that John is doing for me.

He showed me his mood board and inspirations for the decisions he made. On the moodboard showed some images of work i've put on linked in including some sketches for an old project, A few green colour palettes and some websites from famous interior designers on of which had a project eerily similar to a previous project I had done for my HND. The biggest thing I paid attention to was the fonts he had chosen which were very 70's inspired which I like a lot as it really fit the brief but I'm not 100% sold on them as I don't feel as though they represent me as well as I'd like them to.

Third meeting

February 6th

I messaged John and requested a meeting as I was having a think over the designs he showed me and they just weren't resonating with me. After my previous meeting I was thinking about a logo for myself as before I hadn't wanted one and I was also thinking about font choises.

During the Meeting I discussed with John that I wanted a new font that was a bit more natural and whimsical than 70's as I didn't want to look like I was limiting myself to 70's design so I suggested looking at something similar to a font called AURORA as it has a pretty fluid design. I also discussed having a monogram logo like the ones shown below where the logo is created using initials. Lastly I mentioned that I was really happy with the direction he was going with my brand and that I was very excited to see what he would come back with.

Brand guielines booklet

March 2nd

What I liked

I really loved the layout and was very impressed with such a professional packet! First of all as someone who has a hard time describing myself or what i do having a mission, goal, and value statement written for me based on what i've said is not only a surprise but super helpful!

Second I loved the typography that he included in the packet.

For the main font he chose Amandine which is a gorgeous modern font that has a little unique touch that is very reminiscent of the AURORA font I shared with him as inspo and the secondary font being AVENIR NEXT BOLD is such a clean sans serif font that is very readable which I think is perfect.

The third thing I loved was the colour palette! not only do I think all the greens fit me very well, I think the fact that he included a readability section so that I can pair my colours well together is super helpful and I love the range that he has given to me as it feel very fresh and professional.

What I would change

The first thing I would want to change is the logo. I love that it looks like a door surrounded by my initials but my initials are not FF but TF so I would want to change the first one to a T but also I cannot un-see that it has Mickey Mouse ears because of the F's.

I'm also unsure that I would want my full name under the logo in every instance like that, it just seems too cluttered so i think I'm going to edit it so they're separate and can choose to place them together if I like.

In saying all that though I do love the concept and I don't think I would have come up with it myself but I do think it is reminiscent of me and my style when it comes to interior design as I care about protecting history so having an older style door is very fitting.

The next thing I would change is the business card.

I think it's just a little basic for my tastes but I understand he has so many projects to be working on and he probably left it to last so I'm not too bothered about it because it does contain all of the relvant information so I'm going to tweak the design a little to be more eye catching as I think for the start of my career I will be relying on how many people are drawn to my business card.

Reflection

Experience

I worked with a graphic designer the first time and we seemed to really click. We were to be on the same page when it comes to design styles and had a lot in common. He understood immediately the vibe i was going for with my personal branding.

Refection

I initially didn't have a strong idea when it came to my branding, Talking with John really helped me work through the identity issues i was having. He managed to take the best parts of my initial brand idea's and turn them into a cohesive look and feel. Having a professional really take a lot of the weight of my shoulders.

Action

In the future I'm definitely going to work with other creative professionals when its something outside my normal skillset. I plan to use a graphic designer again when i have other project that require the skillset.