In 2019 I entered into a competition and I actually won!
Since I started my business I always wanted to work with someone to help me with my branding but I felt it wasn't something I could afford to prioritise back then so when I saw that Tickety Boo was running a branding competition I decided to enter. With so many brilliant businesses I didn't think I had a chance so I was so surprised when I was selected to be on their shortlist and ultimately win. In this post, I will speak about the process we went through to get there.
Why I entered
I felt since I started my business that I have been working on and learning more about my brand and where I sit in the marketplace and who I want to appeal to but I never felt confident in how to visualise it and I also felt unsure about how to clearly communicate in my brand voice with authority and still keep the friendly and nurturing tone that is so important to me.
I felt conflicted and would jump from colour and style depending on how I felt on that particular day and there was very little consistency in my brand and the content I shared.
I hoped that winning would help me develop a clearer brand voice and look and this would in turn make me feel more confident in my next steps on my business journey.
The process
I was so surprised and thrilled when Judy phoned me to tell me they picked me, I really didn't expect to win and I was so excited and nervous when I had my first Zoom with the team last summer.
During the call, we spoke more in-depth about me and my business than I could have imagined. I can't remember how many were on that call, I was quite nervous as I really didn't know what to expect but I really didn't need to worry, the call ended up being really fun and I learned a lot about my business by talking to the team about it.
One thing I was nervous about was putting together a brief and how I would communicate what I wanted since I really had no idea what that was. The only thing I was attached to in my old branding was my business name, I feel like it really fits what my business is and who I want to appeal to and what my approach is. Having such a long business name is a challenge from a design point of view and it's why I kept my previous attempt of creating some sort of logo very simple.
I didn't need to be nervous, in our call the team asked me lots of questions and then they set me some homework to create a mood board, you can view it over on Pinterest here, I think it really shows how conflicted I was about the use of colour and style.
From our call, Tickety Boo then created a detailed brief with the overall task/objective to:
Defining the brand to create a coherent, memorable, inspiring and authentic experience. We’ll achieve this through the brand, visual toolkit and tone of voice.
Branding is more than a logo
I don't know how the team took my ramblings and in-consistent mood board and turned it into the two design concepts they presented to me. What they came up with didn't just include a logo but they also helped me define my brand and what I am.
Below I share some of the resources Tickety Boo created for me.
Design concepts
During a very exciting Zoom call, the team presented two design concepts.
Concept 2
My thoughts
During the call when the team presented the concepts to me I felt quite overwhelmed, I loved each concept and could see both fitting in with me. To decide I printed both out, placed them around the house in different lights and lived with them for a few days.
I shared the variations with a few different people and I really appreciate their feedback, it didn't necessarily swing my ultimate decision but it helped me get clear on how others would perceive me and my brand.
In concept two I saw an indie business and I felt the creative was really fun and different and I liked the playfulness of the colours and the logo.
I absolutely love the linked ll's in concept one, I think it's subtle but clear and the collaborative nature of everything I do is so important to me so in the end, I decided to go with this concept. At first, it felt like it would be the safer option and wondered if I was not challenging myself enough but in the end, I felt that it has longevity and that it can fit all my future goals and plans for my business.
After I made my decisions I asked the team to tweak the colours a little bit. I loved them but felt like the yellow was a bit too gloomy. One reason why I love yellow as a colour is that it makes me feel happy and positive so we decided to swap it for a brighter colour. I also surprisingly missed a pink in there as one of my favourite colour combinations is pink and red. Initially, I had said I wanted to steer clear of pink so this surprised me.
I love how the team named all the colours and but so much thought into them.
Below are the final colours we went for.
The yellow to me reminds me of the old town in Stockholm and the red of my grandparents summerhouse when I was growing up and the iconic dala hast. The dark forest green reminds me of nature and I love the contrast with the mint green. All the colours feel like they could fit in a Scandi folk art picture.
The team also created an icon of my logo for when I don't have the space for the full logo and they have so kindly helped me create social media resources and plan how to launch the new branding.
Final thoughts
I am so thankful and feel so very privileged to have had the opportunity to work with Judy and her wonderful team. I know that it's not something that is always within reach for a small business like mine and I am now feeling so excited about sharing the brand and continue to grow my business.
I feel so confident in the colours I can now pick from and still keep on brand. If I'm feeling more muted I will go for the dark green or pink and if I'm feeling more vibrant I can pick from the red and yellow. I can't wait
Without a doubt, this has been a brilliant experience from start to finish and I could not recommend Tickety Boo more highly. If you have the opportunity to work with a design agency, please consider reaching out to Judy and her team.
Plans
Over the next few weeks, Tickety Boo and I will be sharing much more about the process over on Instagram and on all of our social channels.
Judy Andrews is this weeks guest on my podcast, Let's Talk Shop and we will be hosting a competition together later in January. Make sure you are signed up to my newsletter to enter.
For more information about Judy and her team and what they do, have a look at Tickety Boo's website.