No matter how new or experienced you are in your wedding business, having a solid brand identity is the foundation to a successful business. Website designer and brand designer Danielle Connor shares below the importance of branding in your wedding business and how it can help you attain your goals.

Danielle is a brand and website designer. She attended Vancouver’s renowned Emily Carr University of Art and Design and has worked with dozens of brands, from entrepreneurs to corporations. But Danielle isn’t just creative—she has a perfectionist’s eye, making her websites pixel-perfect.

Brand & Website Designer Interview

What is your biggest advice to new business owners when it comes to branding?

My biggest advice to new business owners is to know who you are, and lean into it. We want your brand to be as unique as you are! What makes you, you? Own your uniqueness! Stay true to who you are, and you’ll connect with your dream clients. Once you’ve got your visual identity, stay consistent. It can be tempting to bounce around and try all kinds of different colours/fonts/voices, but if you’re staying true to who you are, there’s no need to do that. You want to be building the know, like, and trust factor with your clients and you do that through consistent and cohesive branding, from the get-go.

Why should every business have a brand identity?

Every business HAS a brand identity whether you’ve intentionally created it or not. It’s how people perceive your business, what they think and how they feel when they connect with you. So you want to be intentional with what you’re putting out into the world, and again being true to who you are, through a professional brand identity.

Your brand identity is how you show up in the world. You want to be connecting with your ideal clients. If we’re talking about your visual identity – fonts/colours/images can completely change and impact the way those ideal clients see you. That’s why you want to be choosing all of those intentionally, and not letting your brand identity be one that exists by sheer lack of anything intentional.

What are the first steps to developing your company’s brand identity?

The first steps to developing your brand identity is to get really clear on who you are as a brand/business. When I start working with my clients, the first thing they do is complete a branding questionnaire that asks questions like:

–   What are my core values? Business goals? 3 words to describe my brand/business?

–   Who are my ideal clients? What are 3 words to describe them?

–   Who are my industry peers? What do I feel they’re doing well? How can I differentiate myself?

Then from there I have them create a Pinterest board to start getting a feel for what they’re envisioning and what visuals they’re drawn to. Those are the first steps you want to take when creating your brand identity, before moving onto your colours/fonts/logos and visual identity.

What are the elements that make up a wedding business brand? ie) font, colour, logo

The elements that make up any visual identity are:

–   Brand Spirit

–   Mood Board

–   Colours

–   Fonts

–   Logos

That said your “brand” is so much bigger than just your visual identity and its elements. You brand includes how you show up, the language you use, your website, your social feeds, your marketing materials, it’s any time people interact with your business – those touch points all make up your brand.

Why is branding important for a business?

Think of branding like body language – it’s 80% of communication. That’s no small thing! A strong brand will be the difference between clients hiring you and them hiring one of your industry peers. You want a gorgeous brand that speaks to your ideal clients, one that makes you stand out as the expert that you are! Branding is why we hire people, it’s how we connect with them, it’s how we have that intuitive knowing that we want to work with them, and not someone else.

Branding is how you’re seen in the world, and how your audience connects with you. You want to make sure your brand speaks to who you are and is elevating your business by attracting and converting those dream clients!.

How does my business’s name tie into my branding?

Your business’ name is an element of your brand! It’s communicating your brand identity to people. Words evoke emotions, so the words you use in your business name are going to speak highly of your brand to your audience. Depending on the words you choose, you’re going to attract or repel your ideal clients from the get-go – and that’s what you want! You want your brand to be attracting/repelling clients, because not everyone’s going to be an ideal client for you.

In the wedding industry, I totally understand having a business name that’s more than just your own name – although my business’ name is just “Danielle Connor”, and it works for me! Again when choosing a business name you want to come back to those initial steps I mention above – the keywords that describe your brand and the thoughts/feelings you want it to evoke to your audience. All your branding decisions should be intentional and with reason, never off the cuff!

Where do you draw inspiration from when it comes to designing a client’s brand?

Those first steps are where I draw inspiration from – my client’s Pinterest board (along with my own Pinterest exploration!), their branding questionnaire, industry research, and learning more about their business, core values, and audience!

I love getting to chat with my clients on our kickoff call to learn more about what they’re envisioning, see what lights them up and what makes them and their business so unique! From there my creative wheels start turning and I get so excited thinking about how I’m going to create a gorgeous, strategic brand and website that’s going to stand out in my client’s industry, and give them the foundation on which to show up confidently and step into their million dollar business!

How does good branding affect your business’ ability to attract your ideal audience?

As I’ve been driving home, branding is EVERYTHING. We are so quick to judge people/businesses/things when we come across them, and your business is no different. Your ideal clients are going to know pretty quickly (likely within 5 seconds) if they connect with you and would want to work with you. Of course after that initial first impression, they’ll go check out your services, see if what you’re offering is a good fit for them, and engage with you – and that’s where you build the know, like and trust factor. Everything from your visual identity and first impression to your website and your voice impacts your dream clients wanting to work with you. Meh branding will leave you wondering where all your ideal clients are… great branding will have your ideal clients begging to work with you!

What are some things that a seasoned business owner can do to audit their brand identity?

Ask yourself questions like:

–   Does this still feel like me?

–   Am I attracting and connecting with my ideal clients?

–   Do I feel confident showing up fully with my brand? Why or why not?

It’s common to outgrow your brand every 3-5 years, whether that means a full rebrand because your business has pivoted and/or grown, or a small refresh to make sure it’s still speaking to your business and showcasing it in its best light.

What we don’t want to do is get caught procrastinating by constantly tweaking your colours/fonts, so you’re never actually working on your business because you’re on the merry-go-round of brand updates that aren’t really doing anything. 

Something I’ve repeated many times here is being intentional. Intentional with your decisions, design choices, and how you’re showing up. You know whether your brand is starting to feel like it’s holding you back, and by answering those questions above, you can get a better sense of where you’re at with your visual identity.

What advice do you have for a business owner who is considering doing a rebranding?

When my clients come to me ready for a rebrand, it usually means they’ve outgrown their brand, and it’s not doing them any favours. You started out probably DIY’ing it, just getting by, and while that may have been okay when you were first starting out, it’s not anymore. You’re getting to a point where your brand and website are holding you back from that next level business you’re ready to create and step into confidently.

My advice when you’re at this stage of considering a rebrand – because you’ve done the DIY thing and you’re no longer just starting out – is to hire a professional. You’re at the point in your business where you don’t have time to be tinkering around in Canva or designing your website, your zone of genius is elsewhere! Let a professional designer that you love, connect with, create your gorgeous brand and website for you!

How Danielle can help you?

As a website and brand designer Danielle can help you create a fully customized brand and a  show stopping website! In as little as twelve weeks her Pixel Perfect package will take you from DIY to “oh my!” 

From business coaches to wedding planners and wedding photographers Danielle has helped them all! To learn more about Danielle and how she can help you create the perfect wedding brand for your wedding business be sure to follow along on social media at @danielle.a.connor and check out her website!

No matter how long you’ve been in the wedding industry, there is always something to be said about having excellent branding. Once you have a brand that is authentic to you, you will begin to attract your dream clients and get back to doing what you love most! We hope you found this interview with a brand designer informational and  inspiring! If you have more questions for Danielle Connor, leave  them in the comments below and we’ll get them answered for you!