An inside look at my brand design process

Are you a holistic health practitioner or wellness entrepreneur in search of a graphic designer who gets your business? Your DuckDuckGo search led you to the right place! Your work is powerful and has made an incredible impact on my life.

November 2022 was rough. Everyone I knew was sick or had sick kids. My family was no different. My youngest was struck first with a 103 degree fever that lasted about 24 hours. I gave him a homeopathic remedy for viral illnesses. He didn’t need any additional support and moved through it quickly and comfortably. I count that as a win.

About a week later his brother woke up complaining that his head hurt. I didn’t think it was a big deal and went to the gym for a yoga class. When I got home it was clear that he was not feeling well. I gave him the same combination remedy, but unlike his brother, he didn’t get any relief. I took note of his symptoms and researched remedies while waiting to speak to our homeopath. 

I gave him homeopathic Belladonna because he had an intense headache that came on suddenly. I knew from previous conversations with my homeopath that Belladonna is often used for migraines and high fevers. I didn’t think it was a migraine and he didn’t have a high fever but felt it was a good fit due to how intensely he was experiencing the headache.

When I spoke to my homeopath, she affirmed that belladonna was a good match for his symptoms. We stayed with it and increased the potency because his symptoms were very intense. 

That afternoon he started vomiting which was a good sign that he was moving through the illness (literally purging it). I took him to see our chiropractor and switched remedies since his symptoms had changed. He started feeling a bit better and slept peacefully that night. 

The next day he was fatigued and had a higher fever but no longer had the relentless headache. I continued to support him with homeopathy and allowed his body to rest and recover. By the afternoon of the third day he felt better and was ready to play outside!

I love working with a homeopath during these situations. Having someone to talk to and guide me through an illness is incredibly valuable. I felt supported and empowered during a stressful situation.

Experiencing this kind of care along with the results we’ve seen within my family is why I love working with holistic wellness professionals. I want more people to have these experiences and feel empowered to take care of their families.

Branding is one of the ways we can get wellness brands out there together. I carefully craft brand designs in the same way I took care of my son when he was sick. I immerse myself in your business and utilize my combined experience as a graphic designer and crunchy mama to help you increase your brand awareness and visibility.

What is a Brand Design?

A brand design is a fully branded suite of graphic elements that help increase brand recognition. It’s more than a single logo. It’s the complete visual experience of your brand: logo design with variations, colors, typography, photography, and the styling of how all your graphic elements work together. Everything for your wellness brand is designed to work together to help connect you with the individuals and families who need your care.

My Wellness Branding Design Process

So, what is it like to work with a brand designer? Specifically, me? I’ve carefully created a process that is rooted in strategy and collaboration so I can craft the designs you’ve been dreaming of. Let’s walk through each phase.

Brand Discovery

My brand design process starts with two key information gathering activities: a workbook and a strategy call. This is how I begin to get in your head so I can design something that’s perfect for you, and your business, rather than something that you might like but feels generic.

The first thing you get from me is a homework assignment. What?? I give you a brand exploration workbook that prompts you to think about your story, what makes you unique, and how you can connect with your ideal clients. It’s also really helpful if you create a Pinterest board that shows a general direction of where you’d like to go with your brand design at this stage.

Next, we jump on a call so I can learn even more about you and your business. During this call, we’ll begin to put together your brand story, identify the characteristics of your brand personality, and begin to talk about color and visuals.

Finally, I identify the themes that will guide your brand identity and create a mood board that shows the visual direction that I see us heading. I share the mood board and themes with you for feedback so that we head into the design phase aligned directionally.

Design

You may have pictured starting here when you decided to hire a graphic designer. I assure you that the work we did in the brand discovery phase will be incredibly valuable as we move through the creative process. Without it, there would be no foundation for your design and it quite possibly would lead to really random artwork that doesn’t connect back to your business or relate to your ideal audience.

I’m head down for about 1.5 weeks working on your designs. I usually start by looking for fonts that match the style and personality of your brand. This involves sifting through hundreds of fonts from websites like Adobe Fonts, Google Fonts, and Creative Market. I’ll test out fonts that I think might work by typing out your business name so I can see the shape of the letters we will be using.

I’ll also spend some time away from my computer with my sketchbook. I’ll draw ideas for your logo mark, letter combinations, and elements that can be used later for patterns or icons.

I use Adobe Illustrator to bring the fonts and sketches together into a logo design. I spend hours designing logo iterations and testing out concepts for legibility in different sizes and colors. I’ll select the two strongest concepts to present for your feedback. 

Review and Feedback

I like to present my design concepts live on a call. It ends up being really fun for both of us! I’ll show you two full logo systems including color selection and a couple of samples showing the logo in action. We’ll talk about your initial reaction and then you’ll have a few days to provide feedback and decide which option will resonate most with your audience.

Next, I’ll take your feedback and revise the concept you selected. Your brand design package includes two rounds of revisions. I’ll give you prompts to help you verbalize your feedback and choose the best design. If your project includes any additional marketing materials I will design and finalize those items during this time as well.

File Delivery

I fine-tune the artwork to ensure the details are perfect and the files are set up properly before exporting digital and print files for all logo variations and brand elements. Next, I create your brand style guide so you know exactly how to use your artwork in your marketing. I’ll record a video walking you through both the style guide and artwork folders. And, of course I’ll be available to help if you have any questions.

If you’re working with me on a website for your wellness business this is when I will begin designing your website.

Brand Launch

It’s time for you to share your new brand! To make it easy, I’ll create a couple of launch graphics for you to share on Instagram, Facebook, your email newsletter, etc. You can choose to DIY your business cards, signage, stationery, update your website, etc. using the resources I provided or we can work together on any branded items you need. Consider me your go-to design partner from now on!

If you think I’m right designer for your wellness brand, reach out so we can chat!