More Guide Than Designer: What Branding Work Actually Looks Like

For DesignersSmall Business AdviceSelf-care

May 14

When I first wanted to be a branding designer, I had this very clear picture of myself designing from morning to night, 5 days a week. I would be working on logos as I started my morning coffee, colour palettes at lunch and finalised brand files by the evening- then the cycle would repeat every day. I knew client calls would be a part of my work, but I didn’t fully grasp that client communication and collaboration is the foundation of all branding design. It turns out that I’m actually more of a friendly, inquisitive tour guide than a designer. And the work is so much better for it!

i lead the way, but you give me the map

Many clients come to me with a problem they need to solve, or somewhere they want their business to go. Perhaps they no longer feel like their branding is high enough quality for the clients they want to reach, or they are struggling to attract a specific audience. Listening to your problems, who we need to speak to and plans for your business allows me to think about what your branding needs to do to ensure you reach your goals. Then I create a project plan for us that will take us through all of these to ensure we hit every point. To give an example, if you had a coffee brand that you needed design for, and your dream was that you wanted to sell your coffee to indie coffee houses across the East Coast. Our map would focus on strong brand consistency, ensuring a design that feels at home in those stores and attractive to owners of those stores, creating a brand that could have a strong logo and website, but also have a really great packaging experience that delights. With your brief guiding us, I can create a map and project plan that allows us to hit all of these points and create a design that you love, and also hits the brief perfectly.

listening, guiding and correspondence

Once the project starts, you may think that I disappear for a few weeks, then pop back up with your brand completed for you. But this is luckily not the case! Even with our map finalised and our mission for the project clear - I complete our work piece by piece and meet with my clients for weekly calls to collaborate on how everything feels. I pull together presentations that show how the designs come together, I guide my clients through each part of the design, I listen to all feedback, suggest content and provide writing guides, and write careful and clear correspondence to manage our projects. There is a huge focus on listening, guiding and correspondence, which is as important as ensuring the work is great.

you can tell me where you want to go, and i get you there

I often find that clients have a sense of what their brand needs to look like but perhaps struggle to articulate it, or bring it together in their design. They have often been running their business, or have been in the industry, for years and know their audience intimately. So I trust that and I take all ideas, mood boards, Pinterest boards, Notion boards, business plans, notes, audience questionnaires, past client feedback, and anything else you would like to give me into our work. Similar to a good tour guide, I get a real sense of your ideas for our trip and create a solution that encompasses these ideas full, rather than overshadow them or ignore them.

Collaboration makes the work better

I really strongly feel this. By going through each step together, we can build a strong relationship which is open to any feedback. I can explain how each piece of design comes together, what templates to use and when, and I can share how different designs will be perceived by your audience. By understanding our work together in this way, you gain confidence in your visuals, clarity on how to best use your brand moving forward, and everything feels authentic as it’s crafted just for you.

And there’s a lot of fun to be had here! Sketching ideas together, looking at colour palettes, drawing out the structure of your website can be supportive and also exciting. And, as I know your brand so well, I love being able to advise on how you can use social media, email marketing and your website to continue to grow your brand. So our work together can help you for years to come.

clients come back to me for more trips

I have a really high rate of returning clients, which I’m really proud of. These are clients whose branding I’ve completed in the past, and they’ll come back to me for support on new offerings, new illustrations, if new Canva templates are needed, fresh seasonal content, website updates and general support on where their business is at that year. This means that I get to support them in different phases of their business, ensure their branding grows with them, and offer advice and insights specific to the moment.

These clients mostly book a “Design Day” with me. So we will first jump on a call, we’ll talk through how everything feels, then we’ll write out a to-do list together and I’ll complete the tasks in a day. Then we often have a closing call to go through any feedback, talk through future plans and I give my advice on their plans for the year ahead. It feels really nice to still be providing support and guidance to my clients 1, 3, 5 years after we first started working together.

What does all of this mean if you would like to work with me?

This means that the journey is just as important as the outcome. I am the right designer for you if you want a real voice in shaping your brand, if you love the little details and never leaving a stone unturned, and if you find comfort in having someone by your side through the process. Someone who is kind, patient, and here to act as your guide, support and cheerleader through the process and into the years that follow!

If you would like to work with me on your business, you can enquire here.

Hey! I’m Amy, and this is Begin Studio.

Here I create unique, thoughtful brands for small businesses in the UK and beyond. I guide my clients from logo and branding design all the way through to packaging, websites and even the social media launch of their new business. I also run a small blog with resources for designers who are just starting out in the freelance world or are recent graduates.

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