How to define your brand's look and feel

What is a 'look and feel' and why does it matter?

Think about your favourite brands. What comes to mind? It’s probably more than just their name. You might picture a specific colour, a style of photo, or just a general ‘vibe’. That’s their brand’s look and feel – also known as a brand identity. It’s the visual personality of your business.

Getting this right is crucial. A consistent look and feel makes your business look professional, builds trust, and helps you stand out from the crowd. It’s how customers will come to recognise you in a busy marketplace, whether they’re seeing a post on Instagram, visiting your website, or looking at your packaging.

The Three Core Elements of Your Brand's Look and Feel

Let's break it down into three simple parts. You don't need to be a designer to make these choices – you just need to think about the feeling you want to create for your customers.

1. 1. Your Colour Palette

   Colours evoke emotions. Choosing the right ones can instantly tell customers a lot about your business. A spa might use calming greens and blues, while a children's toy shop might use bright, playful primary colours.

   Action Steps:

   • Choose 1-2 Primary Colours: These will be your main, most frequently used colours.
   • Choose 2-3 Secondary Colours: These will be used for accents, highlights, and calls-to-action (like "Buy Now" buttons).
   • Think about meaning: What do you want your colours to say? Blue often suggests trust and reliability. Green can mean health, nature, or wealth. Yellow is optimistic and energetic. Do a quick search for "colour psychology in branding" for more ideas.
   • Find inspiration: Use free online tools like Coolors.co or Adobe Color to explore colour combinations until you find one that feels right.

2. 2. Your Fonts (Typography)

   The fonts you use are like your brand's tone of voice in writing. Are you formal and traditional, or modern and casual? Your typography helps set that expectation.

   Action Steps:

   • Pick a Heading Font: This is for titles and headlines. It can be more distinctive and have more personality.
   • Pick a Body Font: This is for paragraphs and longer text. The absolute priority here is readability. Keep it clean and simple.
   • Consider the style: Serif fonts (with the little ‘feet’ on the letters, like Times New Roman) can feel traditional, elegant, and trustworthy. Sans-serif fonts (without the feet, like Arial or Helvetica) often feel modern, clean, and straightforward.
   • Where to find them: Google Fonts is a fantastic free resource with hundreds of high-quality fonts you can use for your website and marketing materials.

   Top Tip: Don't use more than two or three fonts in total. Keeping it simple looks more professional and less cluttered.

3. 3. Your Overall Style and Imagery

   This is about the overall vibe of your visual materials. It covers the style of photography you use, the type of illustrations or graphics you create, and the general layout of your designs.

   Action Steps:

   • Ask yourself: What words describe my brand's personality? Is it minimalist, rustic, playful, luxurious, corporate, or edgy?
   • Create a mood board: This is a brilliant way to gather inspiration. Use a tool like Pinterest to create a private board. Pin images, colour palettes, textures, and other designs that capture the feeling you're aiming for.
   • Think about photos: Will you use bright, airy photos with lots of natural light? Or dark, moody, and atmospheric shots? Will they feature people, products, or nature? Consistency is key.

Putting It All Together: Your Simple Style Guide

Once you've made these decisions, it's a great idea to put them all in one place. Create a simple, one-page document that includes:

• Your chosen colour palette, including the specific colour codes (known as hex codes, e.g., #FFFFFF for white).
• The names of your heading and body fonts.
• A few examples of images that fit your brand's style.

This simple guide will be your reference point. It ensures that everything you create—from social media posts to business cards—looks consistent. This consistency is what builds a strong, recognisable brand that customers remember.