Make better design decisions: trust your gut

Putting together your brand visuals is fun! But more importantly, it’s powerful! The color palette, the logo, and fonts are physical ways of conveying your business’ personality, your unique style, that continuously connects you with potential clients even when you’re asleep. Your brand visuals is a permanent extension of what you do, even when you’re not physically present, like your website or that title brochure you left on a table at the last network meeting you went.

Even though it’s fun, picking your brand identity, deciding on visual elements, and making sure you stand out can, also sometimes be difficult. What represents your style and personality the best? So many decisions, so little time.

The concept of branding is not an easy one to grasp. After all, how a brand is perceived is a matter or feeling and emotions, and those aren’t always controllable. What you can control is how you express your style and personality.

So next time you’re co-creating, respond to your gut feeling first. Listen to your body, how does it respond to your logo draft or color palette? That’s the first step to take. Chances are your customer might feel the same way too.

That’s the point of branding, especially with personal branding (my favorite). After that, add the little bits and pieces that make it yours, put your heart and soul into it, and then think about the rationale behind this decision. Your heart tells you to add a particular shape or symbol and to imbibe meaning into it; you could pick a color with an association that strengthens your message. The point is to simplify the process and to make it fun.

Nothing is stronger than following who you are and listening to your gut, heart, and brain. After all, your brand is supposed to be an expression of who you are and the change you’re here to make.