blogging in balance brand standards

brand standards

CONTENTS This brand standards document explores the message, visuals, and expression of the Blogging in Balance brand.

1. Brand Message 2. Design & Visuals 3. Words & Content 4. Live Your Brand

BRAND GUIDELINES 1 BLOGGINGINBALANCE.COM

MOODBOARD

In the mood board, I wanted to capture the environment that your audience is working in - from home, on a laptop. I pulled in some strong navy inspiration and balanced it out with some subtle gold accents and warm neutral tones.

brand message

POSITION

CORE IDEA Blogging in Balance helps women transition to making a consistent income through their blog.

OUR GOAL We want to empower women to overcome the overwhelm and perpetual learning process to take action on their most audacious goals.

HOW WE ARE DIFFERENT We are not an intro to blogging course. We help our people transition from blogging for fun to blogging for profit. We are also not another “course.” We help people take action on what we teach them.

WHAT WE DELIVER We are a membership website that offers training courses and community.


01

BRAND MESSAGE

PERSONALITY

HERO PERSONALITY ARCHETYPE

We want to help people take action towards their greatest goals. We empower them overcome the roadblocks in their way so THEY become their own biggest hero.

Our greatest motivation is to help others achieve their goals.

Our audience FEELS: Inspired, strong, “I can overcome this challenge with massive action,” empowered, determined, motivated.

We are: • Direct • Confident • Clear • Motivational • Disciplined • Strong • Helpful

Channel your inner Katniss (Hunger Games) or Kahleesi (Game of Thrones) when you communicate with your audience.


01

BRAND MESSAGE

POINT OF VIEW

HARD WORK IS NECESSARY The best plan in the world isn’t going to get you anywhere if you don’t put it in action.

IT’S NOT ALL SUNSHINE AND RAINBOWS You probably won’t love every part of your job. There will be times when you want to quit. It’s a normal part of the journey, so expect it and be prepared to work through it.

SUCCESS IS DIFFERENT FOR EVERYONE It’s OK if you want to work part time and earn a part time income. It’s OK if you aren’t striving to be the next 6-figure success story. Repeat after me: It is OK.

GO IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION Hard work and perseverance isn’t everything. You need to be going in the right direction to get the results you are looking for.

CONSISTENCY IS SEXY What most people don’t want to acknowledge when they are inspired by an “overnight success” is that that person has been working their tail off for the last 10 years to get there. Consistent action wins.


01

BRAND MESSAGE

Consistent action & growth beats flash-in-the-pan success

every day of the week.

manifesto

design & visuals

LOGO


02

VISUAL IDENTITY

Your logo “feels” in balance with the lines creating the rectangle shape. The font, Josefin Sans Bold, is very clear to read. The color overlay can be changed to contrast with the background. The B/B monogram can be used as a watermark when a smaller mark is desired.

PRIMARY COLORS


02

VISUAL IDENTITY

These are the primary colors we want your brand to be known for. A strong blue fits your “Hero” brand, and the bright gold and teals should be used as accents.

#3f4d64

#d8dbe0 #b2b7c1 #8b94a2 #657083

#9ed4c3 Gold Clipping Mask

#d8ede7 #8cbfaf 20% 60%

SECONDARY COLORS


02

VISUAL IDENTITY

The secondary colors of your brand should be used as background & font colors.

#f3e4cb #faf6f1 #ffffff

#53585f #a7aaa9 #e1e2e1

PATTERNS


02

VISUAL IDENTITY

I chose the patterns and textures here to accent your brand. They both fit your color palette beautifully with their hints of gold mixed with the cool blues and warm whites.

TYPOGRAPHY

HEADLINES: JOSEFIN SANS ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890


02

VISUAL IDENTITY

Body: Raleway

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

Accent: Bebby Washington

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRST UV WXYZ abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 1234567890

The sharp angles mixed with rounded shapes in your main font, Josefin Sans, give a very clear and confident feeling. Railway contrasts it nicely and is also easy to read and should be used as the body font. The accent script, Bebby Washington, should be used sparingly.

FONTS IN ACTION

HEADLINE LEVEL 1

This is a description paragraph. It explains the purpose of the page and describes the title to the left.

1. Example 2. Example 3. Example 4. Example

“This is a quote from a very impressive person.” -IMPORTANT PERSON

HEADLINE LEVEL 2

This is a description paragraph. It explains the purpose of the page and describes the title to the left. This is a description paragraph. It explains the purpose of the page and describes the title to the left.

• Example • Example • Example

HEADLINE LEVEL 3


02

VISUAL IDENTITY

This page shows what your main fonts look like in action. Josefin Sans (headlines, pull quote) and Raleway (body) are very easy to read and convey a clear, confident message.

ICONS


02

VISUAL IDENTITY

Icons can be used in web design to call attention to specific information. Your green accent color is used here to provide contrast to the strong blues used elsewhere. This green color gives you an alternative accent color to use when gold isn’t practical or pleasing to the eye.

image style

words & content

TAGLINE OPTIONS

Turn your Idea into a Plan

Your wildest dream is just a goal that needs a plan.

Unlock your Boldness

Overcome doubt. Build your dream.

Move Past Planning


03

BRAND COMMUNICATION

TONE OF VOICE

Content and courses from the Blogging in Balance brand should be clear, actionable, and delivered with certainty. Your people don’t need more ideas or options - they need to get stuff done. Empower them with direct language to do just that.

Examples should come from real life situations, not theories. Whenever possible, pair information with a step-by-step action plan.

You’ll sound: • Motivational not condescending • Direct not passive • Clear not confusing • Helpful not cold


03

BRAND COMMUNICATION

The tone of voice you hear from your best friend versus a police officer is going to be dramatically different. Here’s how your should sound.

WORD BANK

• Take action • Beat overwhelm • Little bit of tough love • ImplementApplication • Execute • Move beyond the plan • Work from anywhere • Integrate work & life • Catalyst to help you move forward • Empower you to… • Your wildest dream is just a goal that

needs a plan • Be bold • Consistent action & growth • Ask for help when you need it • Work through the hard parts • Decide what success means to you • You won’t love everything, but it’s worth it • Get to the next level • Work for it • Kick overwhelm and doubt in the butt • Become the blogger you want to be


03

BRAND COMMUNICATION

These are phrases and ideas that came up in our call that should be built into the copy, course content, and other communication. Keep adding to this list whenever you work with someone one-on-one, talk to them online, or issue a survey!

STORIESLOW TO HIGH (HERO STYLE) When explaining the origin story of your brand, be sure to highlight how your hard work (specifically) brought you the success you’ve seen so far. Inspire others to work hard. Share the transformation you have gone through yourself to get to the point where you are today, building this community. Contrast a “before” with an “after.”

WHY STORY Why are you so motivated to help these women move to the next level? Be sure to share the story of what is driving you. It helps people justify your motivations and connect with you.

HUMAN INTEREST Sprinkle in human interest stories and metaphors into your communication so people get to know you. Share about your love of horses, cooking, etc.


03

BRAND COMMUNICATION

live your brand

ACTION STEPS

COURSE CONTENT Build out courses & content with your target market squarely in mind. They have the basics down, but they need to start working strategically to get to the next level. Always include an action plan with lessons. Keep the information at an intermediate level.

BUILT IN GOALS/ACCOUNTABILITY Since we identified that your people are overwhelmed and not sure what to do first, help them stick to and conquer their goals. Build in accountability into the brand and help people get. stuff. done. One idea to do this is to match up people into groups of 4-5 as a “cohort” and require that they meet periodically and keep everyone accountable.

DIRECT COMMUNICATION Your people crave certainty from you. Give them the gift of clear and confident plans, ideas, and expertise so they can move forward without hesitation.

WEBSITE Your first launch priority should be to get a landing page up so you can start building your email list for the soft launch. You’ll want as many people to raise their hands that they are interested as possible so you get an influx of members right when you open the doors.


04

LIVE YOUR BRAND

BRANDEMIESIDEA ENEMIES • Self doubt • Perpetual learning & planning • Not investing time/energy/money in yourself • Riding on someone else’s coattails

NOT TO DO LIST • Present information without an implementation guide • Soften or dilute our tone on what it takes to get work done

WE ARE NOT • An intro to blogging course • A therapist • For “serious” entrepreneurs who want to 10X their business

- we embrace a flexible, sane, and balanced approach to business and blogging


04

LIVE YOUR BRAND

GRAPHICS


04

LIVE YOUR BRAND

This class promotion graphic is an example of how you can combine the elements of your brand together. The design style is simple & strong, with hints of feminine style.

GRAPHICS


04

LIVE YOUR BRAND

The email design is kept fairly minimalistic but includes a few of your signature brand elements so it is recognizable.

Template: banded one column Font: Lucinda Headline: #3f4d64 Body: #53585f Links: #8cbfaf Footer color: #faf6f1 Pre-header color: #3f4d64

Any questions?Contact me:

[email protected]

Brand Strategy & Design by Kaye Putnam

mailto:[email protected]

blogging in balance brand standards

Small Business & Entrepreneurship