Small Business Growth Addicts

Branding for Small business - Beyond the Logo!

• Amanda Hughes • Season 3 • Episode 1

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Welcome to episode 1 of season 3 of Growth Addicts! Can you believe it’s almost 1 year since Growth Addicts launched and honestly, I can’t imagine not having the podcast in my life now. Thank you SO MUCH for being here.


We have an awesome episode today for you, joined by Emmelie Coulson, a Brand Designer and Illustrator who is passionate about helping female founders stand out and shout out with bold branding.


Today Emmelie and I talk about what small business branding actually is (spoiler alert, it’s more than just a logo) and how your branding can help or hinder your business.


To get more information on branding and what Emmelie does you can find her on Instagram @emmeliecoulson.design or website:

 https://www.emmeliecoulson.co.uk/

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SPEAKER_03:

Hello and welcome to the Growth Addicts Podcast. I'm Amanda Hughes, your host, and I am delighted to be spending the next hour with you. Thank you so much for being here. I escaped the corporate world with not much more than a burning desire to be self-employed. Fast forward 10 years and I'm running not my first, but my second small business and this time around it's with a passion to share all that I know, all that I've learned and all that I'm still learning with fellow small business owners like you. As the title of the show suggests, I am addicted to growing my small business and I know you are too. That growth means different things to different people though and that's why we talk about a whole host of subjects on Growth Addicts, whether it's a solo episode with just me or with one of my many awesome guests. Between us we share actionable tips, Instagram strategies, real-life entrepreneurial experiences and inspiring stories. So grab a pen, a cuppa, a biscuit obviously and get ready to grow that small business of yours. This is a Growth Addicts Podcast. Hello and welcome to episode 19 of the Growth Addicts podcast. Although it's episode 19, it's actually episode 1 of season 3 as we launch this in February 2025. And another anniversary is, sorry, another milestone is that it's one year since the Growth Addicts podcast launched. That is so exciting. The reason I did the podcast in six months blocks, like in seasons, was because I wasn't sure how it was going to go. It wasn't on my I wasn't on the cards for me at all. It was an idea I had that I just ran with but I'm loving it and I cannot imagine not doing the podcast now. I cannot imagine not having the conversations like the one I'm about to have today. Our guest joining us today is Emily Coulson. She's a brand designer and illustrator and today we are cracking open the branding for small businesses. Cracking that nut wide open. I don't know about you but when I first started out in business over 10 years ago now, I thought branding was a logo. End of. And I had no idea the thought that I had to go into it and of course the more I learned about Ideal Client and putting out what you want to get back and that your branding is actually so important. to attract who you want to attract then it became clear that branding is much more than the logo and so no better person to tell us all about that and things we have to consider when we're doing more branding no matter what stage we're at in business whether it's very beginning or we're advanced so yeah let's speak to Emily and learn more about branding beyond the logo KM Accountancy is a proactive and approachable accountant you've been searching for. Both friendly and knowledgeable, Kirsty is dedicated to making your financial experience seamless. Whether you're a business owner in need of strategic monthly support or you just need help with your tax return, Kirsty and her team's tailored approach guarantees smooth sailing towards your financial objectives. Head to kmaccountancy.co.uk for more information. Morning Emily, how are you? Hi. Yeah, I'm very good. Thank you. Good. Excellent. Thank you so much for joining us today on Growth Addicts.

SPEAKER_00:

Thank you so much for having me. I'm very excited.

SPEAKER_03:

Me too, because this is a big conversation. One, I know that lots of small business owners have got lots of questions about what even is branding, what's involved. So I'm really looking forward to cracking this open with you today. But first off, if you could just let us know a little bit about you and your business, that would be awesome. So

SPEAKER_00:

yeah, I am Emily. I am a brand designer and illustrator. I love helping female entrepreneurs to feel confident in their branding, to feel confident in showing up and also showing off. Because I feel that as women, when we are doing that, when we're showing off, We're often told that we're too much or arrogant to kind of keep it down or keep it small. And I kind of want to change that. So more women are seen and I love to do that through what I think

SPEAKER_03:

I'm very good at. Yeah, I love that showing up and showing off. But also it's really a sad thought that as women entrepreneurs, we're being told to dial it down and keep it small. Where's that

SPEAKER_00:

coming from? I think it comes from me. Growing up, you know, just being in the society of if you're a girl and you were too loud, you were told to calm it down and you needed to be nice and yeah, not have too much of an opinion on things kind of fit in.

SPEAKER_03:

That's sad, isn't it? It

SPEAKER_00:

is. Like I can quite often see it showing in the branding of female entrepreneurs where it's often like kind of toned down colors. It's not the shouty, bold statements that I think a lot of women would want to make.

SPEAKER_03:

Jeez I've never thought about that before but yeah that's that's a really sad thought isn't it? Yes but that's why I'm here. So many of us have an incredible brand and incredible business that we should absolutely be shouting about and this is where this conversation is going to get interesting as to how we can do that through our branding. So tell us first off Emily how did you get involved in brand design? Well, I've always been

SPEAKER_00:

creative, but it's not been the most, I guess, conventional way of getting into brand design. I studied interior design and then couldn't get a job as an interior designer. When I finished, I kind of rolled into an admin job, which was, you know, kind of the standard, comfortable. It wasn't hellish. So I stayed in it way longer than I probably should have. My two kids... knew that I was done having kids after the second thought okay this is the time now for me to figure out what I want to find a job that I like much more or that at least brings me joy that is more creative more challenging and that's flexible as well because I obviously had two young kids to look after I first of all looked for like a job in an employee's role But I just found it so hard or almost impossible to find something that ticks all the boxes. So I thought maybe I can start my own business. I had started kind of two businesses on and off in the time that I was doing admin, which never really came to too much. And then I think I heard the term virtual assistant somewhere, probably on a podcast. Well, actually, I've got like 10 years plus in admin. I can do this. So yeah, I got my first client. I think four or five months after that, I handed in my notice and that was almost three years ago now. So yeah, I was doing like admin work and I think doing more and more kind of graphic design, creative work for them because I felt that that was often something that they didn't feel comfortable in or that they didn't have the skills in. And that gave me more confidence to say like, oh, actually, This is something that I am good at and other people struggle with. So can I kind of pivot my business to do more brand design and more design work? And I've always loved illustration. So that's something that I wanted to put in there as well. So, yeah, I decided to stop kind of marketing myself as a VA and just market myself as a brand designer.

SPEAKER_03:

Wow. Isn't it amazing how these things can just evolve? I love that story. Excellent and I've got a similar story as well where it's just gone from one thing to complete opposite, couldn't be any more different. But at least you've gone a bit of a 360 from a design role back to a design role, so that's good. This conversation today is all about branding beyond the logo. Because I know when I started out in business over 10 years ago now, I thought branding was your logo. And I thought this logo was so important. I thought it was like one of the first things you had to have arranged before you set up in business. Like you couldn't move forward without a logo. I thought it was everything. And now I'm well aware that that's not the case. There's so much more to it. But I would love you to tell us, what is branding exactly? And is your logo even that important? Well, I do think

SPEAKER_00:

it's important, but it's probably not the... The

SPEAKER_03:

be all and end

SPEAKER_00:

all? That's the one. So if you kind of look at branding in a different way as into like branding kettle, it's like putting your mark on something or putting your stamp on something. And yes, your logo does do that, but your branding does include so much more. You obviously have your visual branding, which is something that I work in. Branding also includes like your tone of voice. your mission your values and then if you think of like putting your stamp on something it is turning that into something that people recognize as you so that if they read a message they go oh yeah this is exactly amanda this is how she speaks i recognize this and the same goes with your visuals so yes your logo is part of that but if you only had a logo it would probably be hard for people to recognize you and if you look at social media for example if you look at instagram if you're scrolling a lot of posts don't have the brand's logo on it but if the business has a good branding you will recognize who it is from the visuals that they're using your logo is part of your visual branding but it's not just your branding. I think we'll get into this a bit later, but there's your color palette, obviously your fonts, any graphics or images that you use. And I think if you don't think about these things or if you don't use them consistently, then you lose that recognition from your audience and the recognition and being memorable that builds the trust for people to buy from you.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, absolutely. Gosh, that's really interesting to think that our branding can actually go as far as that, is to build trust with our community. That's

SPEAKER_00:

what it does, is being recognised and going like, oh yeah, I've seen that before. And this whole thing of people need to see you, I don't know how many times it is now, but so many times before they want to buy from you. If they see your post but don't recognise that that is you, you will have to work so much harder to... be recognised and for people to then trust you to buy from you.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah absolutely and it's so interesting there's so much psychology beyond this isn't there? Yeah definitely. You mentioned colours and fonts and the psychology behind that I know there's a lot behind there isn't there? Yeah

SPEAKER_00:

and I think for me the way that I work is that I do like to look into that because I think that if you were to just pick the colours that you like sometimes you just get a clashing feeling color palette, but there's also obviously the whole color psychology behind things. And if you want your business to be, I don't know, joyful and playful and warm, if you pick very cold colors or you pick the wrong colors, then that is not going to portray those feelings to your audience. So they don't get the right feelings of what your brand does or what your business does.

SPEAKER_03:

If you know me by now you know that I love Instagram so much so that I've set up a whole mentor group dedicated to Instagram aptly called Get Seen Get Sales on Instagram and it's completely created for you the small business owner. Within the group we've got weekly how-to guides, content creation guides, weekly one-to-one hours, monthly live workshops, content prompts, you name it so much more. So if you're looking for some extra support in navigating and and more importantly to get seen and get sales on instagram as a small business owner i will add the link to the mentor group in the show notes go and have a look and come and join us and when you start to look at these things you realize yourself when you're looking at brand colors and fonts you can instantly form an opinion

SPEAKER_00:

exactly

SPEAKER_03:

and the first thing that came to mind here was like the nhs it's a really bold chunky font it's blue and white it's sort of corporate formal what sort of thoughts do you get when you see the likes of the nhs branding

SPEAKER_00:

yeah i think what you see as well like it is the with the bold if you look at the font being like very chunky which is often related to like a masculine strong i guess also quite following the rules and not being too wishy-washy. It's all very official, professional.

SPEAKER_03:

And that's, of course, how we want to feel when we look at that branding, isn't it? Yeah. So they're doing it right?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah. If I then think about something that came to my mind was, I don't know if you heard of the Happy Newspaper? Oh,

SPEAKER_03:

yeah. I had a photography client who gives them out with packages. Yeah, Happy News.

SPEAKER_00:

Their branding is predominantly yellow, which is linked to... joy and happiness the font that they use is almost like a very rough handwritten so not like curly like nice handwriting but very rough handwriting which makes it a lot more I guess playful and real it

SPEAKER_03:

sort of makes that that sort of font makes me think like we're friends this is casual

SPEAKER_00:

the opposite of the NHS where it's very serious and we need to get to the point straight away kind of thing where with the happy newspaper it's like like you say like meeting up with a friend for a coffee and having a nice long chat amazing

SPEAKER_03:

isn't it and this is so interesting so so interesting and so we know what branding includes now it's more than just a logo and like you said we're going to get into a bit more detail of the sort of things you actually need but it is beyond that logo it's how you speak and your tone of voice and And bear in mind your ideal client and what sort of relationship you want to build with them, what sort of thoughts you want to evoke and emotion you want to evoke from them as soon as they see you pop up online or even in printed merchandise if you do leaflet or anything like that. But then what can the wrong branding do for us then if we just dive into this and just pick colours, as you say, that we like? Or, you know, whatever we looks good, I guess that can have all of the opposite

SPEAKER_00:

effects. It does. you might attract the wrong clients or you don't push away the ones that you don't want to work with. I think as well, if you kind of go back at the start of our conversation, it can make you feel uncomfortable to share things because you feel like, oh, this is not quite right. And do I want to put a post up with these colors or like, maybe I'll just leave it. I'll change about and I think and what I said as well like that recognition then gets lost and you have to work so much harder to to build that but also there's something that's called like the magpie syndrome where like we said if we just pick colors or things that we a font that we like without putting too much thought into into it or linking it to either our personality or to the brand strategy or your values, then you might like that fund today. But in two weeks' time, you think, oh, actually, I've seen something else that I like. I'm going to try that. And again, you lose that consistency. Plus, like you said, you're not putting across the things that you stand for, that you do, that you want people to feel. You're putting different feelings out that might be the opposite of what you'd try to do.

SPEAKER_02:

Yeah,

SPEAKER_03:

yeah, absolutely. That makes a lot of sense. And then you mentioned you might be attracting the wrong clients. So ideal client is something I'm hugely passionate about, about knowing that and knowing exactly who you're trying to attract, exactly who you're speaking to in all of your marketing. I truly believe without really understanding that everything is just so much harder. To think though that you're branding just your colours, your tone of voice and can attract the wrong type of client. And I'm thinking back to my wedding floristry days. I used to have a wedding floristry business and my sort of branding logo at the time was blue and dark navy with a hint of gold. And it was purely because I liked it. There was no ideal client thought into it whatsoever when I did that at the very beginning. And I did often attract clients that were really high-end, really big weddings and really, really affluent places, which wasn't necessarily what I was looking for. I was looking for more fun, playful, colourful sort of weddings. And now thinking about that, that's probably had a lot to do with it.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, because they see that. And if you'd gone for, you know, maybe the rough handwritten font or super bright colours, that aren't necessarily related to those high-end weddings, then you might have attracted them. People would have seen that and gone like, oh, I don't know if that's the right person for me. I'll keep looking. And the couples that have those very colourful, I guess, non-traditional weddings would come to you because they see that and they'd be like, oh, this is fun. This is different. That's what we want.

SPEAKER_03:

Yes, matching your vibe.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, exactly. Exactly.

SPEAKER_03:

Wow, so important. Okay, so now we know that the logo is not the be all and end all. And actually, once you create a logo, you find how very little you use it. You might share it every now and again on your social media. You'll use it on your website and any sort of printing merchandise, that kind of thing, sort of formal advertising, but you really don't use it much out with that. So how else can we get our sort of colours and fonts across in our branding then if it's not just a logo? What other sort of things do we need?

SPEAKER_00:

Well so like we said the logo but within the logo like I always offer a logo suite. Okay. So you've got like your primary logo and then I offer a secondary logo or like logo alternatives which are similar to your primary logo but in a different shape. So If your primary logo is in a square or a square shaped or a circle, that might not fit everywhere. So if you want to have like one that's more rectangular in a landscape way, that could then be your secondary logo.

SPEAKER_03:

I'm straight away, sorry, Emily, I'm thinking of the differences between Instagram and Facebook, for example. So you might want a sort of portrait size for Instagram, but the likes of a Facebook cover. would be more rectangular size, yeah?

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, if you have a brochure or something and you don't want to just have it stuck in the corner, but you want something in the middle of the page that is a bit longer, doesn't take up too much space. So yeah, just having different variations that you can use in different places. Then I also include a logo mark, which is a very simplified version of your logo. So it's often maybe the initials or if you have an illustration or something in your logo, it's a simplified version of that. And that's often used for a place like your favicon, which is like the, I don't know how you...

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, that's like your little, your website.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, so if you have multiple websites open, you have all your different tabs and it will say what the website is, but it will also have a, a small icon next to it. If you imagine scaling your logo down to that size, just your primary logo, chances are you're not going to see any of it. You're definitely not going to be able to read your name or what it says. So creating a very simplified version for those places is very good you could also use it for your social media profile picture if you're not using a photo of yourself I like to use mine on social media posts as well so it is like recognizable but it's not like my full logo so that's the logo suite and then color palette so you use the same colors all the time and it's best to actually write down the hex codes so you can use the same colours in all the different programs that you use to put your branding. And it's not kind of like, oh yeah, I think it's kind of this shade, but it's all the same.

SPEAKER_03:

And sorry, Emily, could you just tell us what a hex code is exactly for anyone who might not know?

SPEAKER_00:

It's a code that is used to basically recognise all programs where you can pick a colour will use this code so it recognizes exactly what color it is

SPEAKER_03:

okay so in the likes of canva when you choose your color there's a little number sometimes with a hashtag underneath it isn't it that's the one you mean

SPEAKER_00:

that's the one

SPEAKER_03:

excellent okay so it's good to make a note of them then

SPEAKER_00:

yes definitely and then the type like i offer a typography suite or a font suite with three to three to four different fonts one for your headers One for your body text. So those are the two main ones that I would say people need to have. And you can have a subheading and a display font as well. So the display font would be used very occasionally or to really pinpoint something. And it's often a bit more casual or handwritten, where the header is obviously an attention-grabbing text. font. And for the body text, I would always recommend to go with a very readable one because you obviously don't want to lose your message because people find it too hard to read your font. And then using them consistently, not getting the MacPython syndrome and going and finding different fonts to use. I think that is the basics. That's what you have to have. And then you could add things like illustrations, icons, graphics, brand patterns to just add an extra layer, an extra dimension to your branding.

SPEAKER_03:

Excellent. Gosh, it sounds like you can have a lot of fun with your branding. oh definitely yeah absolutely okay might sound like a boring subject but business banking something we've got to talk about is small business owners and something that i'm regularly asked by small business owners is where i do my business banking and i'm always proud to say that i bank with monzo monzo are super easy to bank with it's free to open an account free to have an account with them and they were also awarded britain's best business banking provider in 2024 so if you're looking for a business bank account or you perhaps have a business And then the first thing I'd imagine before you get into all of this, you really like the whole ideal client thing. You really want to understand your ideal client. You want to understand your business, your values, what you stand for. who it is you want to attract. So do all that work first and then start to talk about colours and fonts that might display that message.

SPEAKER_00:

Yes, when I work with clients, I give them this very elaborate questionnaire so I get all this information from them. I think it's also important to include some of your personality, so things that you like. I recently did logo design for a client who used to be a ceramics artist, and I saw her previous work. And one of the things that she creates, I was like, oh, that looks like an A. And I thought, oh, that might be fun to change one of the A's in her brand name to this shape. So I think just to the wider audience, that might not connect. But for her, that was really important because now That logo is really connected to her and what she likes and who she is. You then also feel like in a year's time that that is still relevant. So yeah, just looking at what bits of your personality do you want to include into your branding? What is important? What relates to your audience? Yeah, like you said, your values, your mission, what feelings you want to put across. That then turns obviously into this massive thing which might overwhelm people to say like, well, how am I going to put all of this into my visuals? So I always say like, try to narrow it down to like three or four keywords

SPEAKER_02:

that

SPEAKER_00:

are important to you.

UNKNOWN:

And then from there, start looking at, like you say, color, psychology, images. I often get my clients to start a Pinterest board and show me the things that, because if you say to me like, oh, I like wiggly lights, that can mean something completely different

SPEAKER_00:

me than it does to you so you know show me what kind of wiggly lines that you like not just look at other people's brands that you can find on pinterest but you know try to look at fashion or you know other photography bands nature anything that inspires you and stick it on the pinterest board

SPEAKER_03:

good old pinterest yep

SPEAKER_00:

yes you gotta love it

SPEAKER_03:

oh absolutely

SPEAKER_00:

And then I would say, like, try to narrow it down then to, you know, once you've stuck on everything that you feel like, oh yeah, this is what I like, this is what I like, what actually then links back to those keywords that you picked. From there, try to look at things like, oh, this is what I could include into my logo or my branding or, you know, try to build it from there.

SPEAKER_03:

Excellent. Do you ever have clients who start out with an initial idea and then what you build is actually completely different? What you build together is totally different? Don't

SPEAKER_00:

think so. No. Well, no, actually I did with one client. Yeah. Some clients find it really hard to turn those words into visuals and they might say, oh, this is what I want. This is what I want to show. I love nature and I want it to be like a mountain and this and that. Then you show them what you think they want it. And they'll be like, oh no, that's not what I... that's completely not what I wanted but I think that is also part of the process which I've learned is okay as well because if you know what you don't want you're getting closer to what you do want

SPEAKER_03:

that's very true

SPEAKER_00:

it's then just like figuring out okay well which bits are you absolutely hating or do you really not want to see again we'll take those out are there bits that you actually do like and we'll take those forward or you know and I think it then makes people think as well like oh actually i haven't given it enough thought of what i stand for or what i want to show or yeah

SPEAKER_03:

and i guess that's where the questionnaire that you do at the start is so important isn't it to really get people thinking about what it is they want and don't want

SPEAKER_00:

yeah but even then if they they might see xyz and you show them that and then they were like oh no actually like abc um can we go that direction i'm like yeah

SPEAKER_03:

yeah And it's just part of the process. Yes, exactly. Awesome. Okay, so now as a clearly passionate brand designer and you're very knowledgeable that this is so interesting, what is your thoughts on the likes of DIY branding sites such as Canva? I

SPEAKER_00:

think they do have a place and they are amazing for certain things. I would say they are amazing for creating things like social media posts. If you need to do a presentation or create a PDF or a freebie or whatever, All those things, it makes it so much more accessible for people to do it themselves instead of having to hire a designer and spend the money on that. It obviously might take a lot longer, but those are the things that if you're a small business, you have to just weigh up and see where you want to invest your money. But for me, as a creative, using it for things like a logo design or the branding kit, It doesn't work. So first of all, your Canva creates everything in kind of a pixel format instead of a vector format. So with the pixel, it's basically like a photograph where it's like tiny pixels. And if you blow it up to like a big format, it just gets blurry. Where if you have a vector format, it doesn't do that. It keeps the lines clear. If you change the format of it. The other thing I think with creating a logo in there is that you can't manipulate things as easily. So I use Illustrator for all my logo designs and you can basically just draw everything yourself. You can manipulate fonts and make it more personal. So it's less generic, which I guess is another thing. thing of canva where especially if you're using the templates chances are someone else is using the exact same thing and it's not unique anymore so yeah those are kind of the things for the logo design and then for the typography i think certain fonts if you have canva can only be used in canva like you won't be able to export that to your website or use it on your website, or you have to go and buy the license for that font. There are so many free fonts that you could get, which you obviously can then upload to Canva. That way, I think it's fine. But to start designing your branding completely in Canva, I think it works if you're starting out as well. Like if you don't have the budget to hire a professional designer, which I think is something that's absolutely fine because If you're starting out, chances are you haven't quite figured out who your ideal client is. You might change directions in a year time like I did. And if you've then spent all that money on a logo and you decide, oh, actually, I'm going to change and my name is going to change, you then have to either spend all that money again or get changes made. And if you're just starting it out, it's fine to have a DIY brand. because you're still figuring all those things out that I think are important to have in your brand.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, yeah, absolutely. And thinking about the person, the small business owner who is just starting out then, as you say, they're still trying to figure it out, but they do need logo and colours and fonts and whatever to get out there, get out there perhaps on Instagram, for example. So what would you suggest that they do? Where do they start if they are going to launch into Canva and try and do some startup branding? What do you think they need to start with? Well, I

SPEAKER_00:

think they still need to think about the strategy behind it. So obviously, if you don't completely know who your ideal client is, and I think that's something that also evolves over time. Like my ideal client now is probably not going to be the ideal client I have in like five, 10 years time. Well, at least if you have a bit of an idea and try to find those three key words that you want people to think of when they see your branding and keep those in mind, try to figure out, like, have a bit of a read on color psychology. Like I said, try to build a Pinterest board, maybe find a font that you feel works on that as well. And then I think the main thing that people need to do is to stay consistent. If you've started your logo or you've got your logo, your picture colors, you've got your fonts, just use them and don't stray off them. Don't fall into the Canva trap of finding all the different illustrations and graphics that you can stick on. I think with that as well, try to find the graphics that you can change colors. So you can then change them to your brand colors. So at least... that stays consistent. From precise bookkeeping to

SPEAKER_03:

savvy tax strategies, KM Accountancy have all your needs covered. Say goodbye to financial headaches and hello to peace of mind with Kirsty by your side. Contact KM Accountancy and let Kirsty lead you to financial success. Head to kmaccountancy.co.uk for more information. Absolutely, and I think that's probably quite an underrated way to stand out when you're brand new is to be consistent with your branding. Because it really helps build up the sorts of things we spoke about at the start of, oh, that's Emily. Oh, I recognise that. To help to stand out, to help get some repetition going, stay top of mind and build up that trust, which we're hoping leads towards, you know, buying or booking, whatever that might be. And I think then that's okay if your branding changes down the line. But when you're starting up, it's very important to be consistent in so many areas, isn't it? Including your branding. Exactly. Excellent. Okay. And so if someone cannot think of anything worse than trying to do this themselves, whether they're starting out or not, then you mentioned you can help with a logo suite. Is that somewhere you'd suggest someone starts off?

SPEAKER_00:

Well, so I have just... launched some new packages and one of them is a logo refresh so if you have your brand colors and your typography and you're fairly happy with them but you feel like your logo has been DIY'd and you feel like that's not right anymore I can help to redesign the logo and the variants which we spoke about I'll also have a look at the color palette and the typography just to make sure that that works. So that's my smallest package just now. And then if you feel like actually whatever you created or you don't have anything yet, but you feel like you need help from me, then I have a package that includes, like we said, the logo suite, the colors and the fonts, but I also include illustrations or icons in that as well, because that's something that I love to do and I think makes you stand out even more, adds more personality to your branding as well.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, absolutely. I love seeing your little graphics, your little illustrations pop up. They're really fun. And what sort of cost did your smallish package start from then, Emily, just to give people a rough idea? It's£1,095. Okay.

SPEAKER_00:

I think from the top of my head, seeing as I've just launched these.

SPEAKER_03:

So if you cannot think of anything worse than doing it yourself and you need help, then that might be a good place to start. Excellent. And so where can we find you, Emily, if we're looking for a bit more information about what you do? So

SPEAKER_00:

I've got a website which will have all the information about the packages and some of my previous work as well, which is emilycolson.co.uk. But you might need to look at the spelling.

SPEAKER_03:

That's fine. I'll link your website in the show notes so we can click straight through. I

SPEAKER_00:

am mainly on Instagram under at emilycolson.design Fab.

SPEAKER_03:

And so what sort of things do you share on Instagram?

SPEAKER_00:

Good question. You've thrown me there.

SPEAKER_03:

Can we get some tips on there? Some colour ideas? Yes,

SPEAKER_00:

definitely. I share everything. I share, quite often I share colour palettes because that's obviously what I love. And yeah, like you said, tips, the things that we spoke about today are things that I share, any blog posts that I've recently done. So there's one about typography, if that's something that I feel a lot of people struggle with. I think because it's so massive, there's so many fonts out there that you just get lost. There is, there must be millions of fonts out there. that's anything creative that I do or any personal like some some bits of my personal life as well

SPEAKER_03:

okay so we can get to know you and your business a bit better on Instagram by the sounds of it awesome okay so I'll link both to your website and your Instagram in the show notes so we can find you that was so interesting Emily thank you so much is there anything you think we've missed today that you'd like to add if we go back to the

SPEAKER_00:

start just go go for the bold the boldness go for bold Don't feel like you have to tone it down or use the boring colors. Go with the bright, happy, vibrant.

SPEAKER_03:

Yeah, if that's what you feel suits your brand, then don't be shy, yeah. And is this something, looking at your branding, I feel like that's something that you particularly specialize in is bold, bright branding.

SPEAKER_00:

Yeah, I think going back to why I do what I do and why I love what I do is to push women forward. to the forefront and make them stand out so they're not shying away from standing in the spotlight and showing how

SPEAKER_03:

amazing they

SPEAKER_00:

are

SPEAKER_03:

love that love it fantastic thank you so much emily that's been so interesting and i'm sure it's given listeners really something to think about and some really good actionable steps to go away and and and you know action or think about for their their branding so thank you so much i'm glad we've gone beyond the logo there but also we have established that the logo is important and a lot of things grow from the logo yeah definitely yeah so we gather that understanding of ideal client and mission and values and what our business does what we want to put out there who we want to attract and that sort of forms into the logo and then things are derived from the logo yeah so maybe that's why we all think it's so important because it is the sort of foundation perhaps that everything else comes from yeah

SPEAKER_00:

I think a lot of times and the way that I design definitely does I often do start with the logo and then from that pick the things that I want to highlight or show off more into graphics or illustrations colors makes

SPEAKER_03:

a lot of sense Excellent. Thank you so much. That's been a pleasure speaking to you today. Thank you so much for having me. You're very welcome. And we'll find you on Instagram. Okay. Take care. Bye. Bye. Thank you so much for joining us today for another episode of the Growth Addicts Podcast. I hope today's episode has given you inspiration and tangible tips that you can use to grow your small business in a way that feels right for you. If you loved today's episode, please check out today's show notes where you can find details of our wonderful sponsor, KM Accountancy. and details of how to join my thriving email community so that you never miss an episode please don't forget to leave a review today reviews are invaluable to us in helping us get the show out there every single one is read and very much appreciated until next time