It’s time to be transparent about what it actually looks like to work with a brand designer. Small business owners often go into the process expecting to outsource branding entirely, without realizing how foundational their own role is.
Working with a brand designer does take “design business branding” off your to-do list. But an experienced designer will likely ask you to do some work you didn’t expect – not because they’re passing the job back to you, but because that groundwork is what makes a strategic, well-built brand identity possible in the first place.
I ask new clients four (basic but sometimes tough) questions before we ever start designing – whether they’re branding their business for the first time or rebranding to move in a new direction. (Honestly, this post could’ve just been titled “what’s actually in the Parson Lane onboarding questionnaire.”)
Whether you end up working with me or another designer, I hope these help you get clearer on your own brand before the project even starts.
1. What sets your business apart?
If you already have a tried-and-true elevator pitch, great. If not, you probably already have a more conversational version you give friends, family, or clients when they ask what you do.
Don’t worry about sounding polished here – just tell me what makes your business different from others like it.
If terms like “elevator pitch” or “unique selling point” make you want to close the laptop, forget them. Sit with your business basics, compare them to your competitors, and tell me why someone would choose you over the alternative.
2. What do fulfillment and success look like for your brand?
Profit is part of business success, obviously, but it’s worth separating that from the more personal feeling of success – the sense that you accomplished what you actually set out to do.
What’s the mission behind your business? What’s it for? I want you to be able to answer that in one to three sentences.
Now hold onto that, and picture where your business is a few years from now. What does it look like once you’ve actually gotten there?
Your mission is what your business is and does right now. Your vision is what you hope it becomes.
Mission = what your business does now
Vision = what you hope your business will become
3. How do you want others to describe your business?
We could talk all day about how you want your brand to look, but a better question is how you want people to talk about it.
Do you want your business associated with polish, warmth, or a little bit of fun? If you overheard a stranger describing your business at the grocery store, what would you want them to say?
Questions like this, along with a few style-focused ones, help me get a feel for what you’re actually envisioning, even if you can’t quite picture it yourself yet.
4. Who does your business help and how?
You don’t need weeks of market research to tell me who you serve. General observations about your ideal client are enough to start with.
If you’re just getting started, think about who you’re most likely to attract, or who you’d love to attract. What do those people have in common, and what problem are you actually solving for them?
The problem they’re experiencing doesn’t need to be outlandish. It could be they want locally sourced or hand-made goods that tell a story, but they don’t have the time to become the homesteaders or curators they imagine they could be.
Now that you’ve answered these four questions, you’re ready to begin working with a brand identity designer. I’d be honored if you decide to include Parson Lane in your branding journey.
Ready to start?
Once you’ve thought through these four questions, you’re in a good place to start working with a designer. I’d be glad to be that designer, if it’s a fit.
If you’d rather skip the self-reflection and dive straight in, brand design is where every project starts, and brand messaging goes even deeper if you want help articulating the strategy and language behind your brand, not just the visuals.
