Article: Build Your Brand the JC Way: How to Create an Authentic Visual Brand with JC Creative Media's Canva Template Kits
Build Your Brand the JC Way: How to Create an Authentic Visual Brand with JC Creative Media's Canva Template Kits
When we talk about “branding,” we often think of the aesthetics that a brand or business uses. We think of things like colors, fonts, layouts and designs, imagery, etc. All of those things are SO important to build solid brand recognition! And while there is SO much more depth to building a strong brand, your aesthetic is a really great place to start.
Visuals are a HUGE part of how you get noticed both online and in-person - visuals are what trigger brand recognition. Brand recognition means that someone knows your brand at a millisecond long glimpse. The most powerful brands have SOLID brand recognition.
Look at these three highly successful brands: Nike, Coca-Cola, and Apple. As soon as you read the name, you can visualize the brand. We think of the swoosh for Nike. The red can with the classic white text of Coca-Cola. The big apple with a bite taken out for Apple.
But it’s more than that. Those logos and brands also trigger a feeling of what it means to use that brand.
- Nike conjures up athleticism and elitism.
- Coca-Cola makes you feel nostalgic and remember fun times.
- Apple gives you visions of sleekness and sophistication.
That’s what you want in your brand visuals. You want someone to think of your brand, recognize your visuals, and you want those visuals to trigger the feeling or emotion behind your product or service.
To do that, you have to choose branding that follows the core values of your brand. Having a cohesive, beautiful brand that is authentic to your brand foundations makes a lasting first impression. Our buildable brand kits will do just that for you. You can choose the visual branding that matches your values by mixing and matching our template kits until you have the perfect aesthetic. So, here’s how you do that!
Make an Authentic First Impression
It all starts with the Brand Series™. You can think of this as the overall aesthetic. It includes your fonts, imagery, design concepts, and colors based on the vibe you want to put out. Each Brand Series™ is designed with a particular impression in mind. Some offer professionalism and executive appeal. Some offer chic, classy, and luxurious appeal. And some offer a fun, lighthearted, feminine appeal. And there’s more to come! So, choose the Brand Series™ that suits your desired impression best.
Create Your Unique Aesthetic
Each Brand Series™ comes in 3-4 Color Editions that you can coordinate or mix and match. Because each Color Edition falls under the same Brand Series™, you can easily create a uniquely branded theme based on your needs.
For example, let's take our Agent Collection™ for real estate agents.
This Brand Series™ comes in 4 different colors. If you want to go all in on one Color Edition within the Agent Collection™, you can choose all matching templates to really solidify your personal brand visuals.
Or, maybe you want to switch it up! You can also choose to use ALL Color Editions in the Agent Collection™ by matching each social media post, postcard, flyer, newsletter, etc. with the home you're advertising. But, because each Color Edition falls under the Agent Collection™ branding, you don't have to sacrifice brand recognition. The core visual branding stays the same, and you get to coordinate each advertisement with the best Color Edition for visual appeal. Great, right?!
Now let's look at the Aesthete Collection™ for beauty professionals.
This Brand Series™ also comes in 4 Color Editions. You can go all in one one Color Edition for your entire spa's branding by choosing just one Color Edition to work within.
Or, you can switch up your marketing by color coordinating your services. Say you are a spa owner. You can choose all Vogue Edition for injections, all Nudes Edition for wood therapy, all Rose Gold edition for skincare, and all Luxury Edition for body contouring. All of your content and marketing will still coordinate, because it all falls under the Aesthete Collection™ Brand Series™. But, your clients and followers can easily recognize which service you're creating content about based on the color they see. Again, you don't have to sacrifice brand recognition if you want to switch up your colors a bit.
Add Some Feed Filler™ Content
Finally, once you've nailed down your visual branding, you can work in some Feed Fillers™. The thing about social media marketing is that no one wants to be sold to all the time. That's a sure way to lose followers and traction FAST. Instead, you want to work in additional content that makes your followers feel like they know you and you understand them. This is what we call "branding content."
We include branding content templates in all of our marketing kits, but you may also want to consider working in a few Feed Fillers™ too!
Feed Fillers™ are exactly what they sound like. They fill your feed when you don't have time to create in depth content. They also break up the depth of content for your followers. Don’t exhaust the mind of your potential clients and customers by loading them down with information ALL the time. Add in some lighthearted content too! Motivation, inspiration, and comedy gives your brand an aura of fun and relatability. This type of content is crucial for building your likability factor. People buy from people, so showcasing your brand’s personality is a great way to humanize your brand.
We love the motivation, affirmation, and self care Reels for this!
First, Reels, Shorts, TikToks, and micro-videos of all titles are the fastest way to grow on social media because of the current algorithmic priorities. Without getting too deep, these short form videos are pushed out further than any other post type, giving you the opportunity to reach more potential clients (if you do it the right way).
Next, our Reels are designed with a particular strategy that we know to boost your engagement and increase your reach. We've worked this strategy into the design of your Reels so that you don't have to remember the details - you just have to post!
So, let's say you’re a business coach.
You've decided to go with the Pro Collection™ Sterling Edition coaching template kit. The templates are amazing for creating valuable content and marketing posts. But, here’s the thing: you don't want to JUST fill your feed with these beautiful infographics. Yes, they look really amazing and impressive, and they give you an awesome way to provide visual content to your viewers… but you have to keep it fun and lighthearted.
So you can break up the depth of your content by offering motivational quotes or success affirmations in the same Color Edition, or you may even decide to switch it up and add a Sapphire Edition post here or there for a beautiful gray and blue theme.
Now, let's say you typically coach men and you’re ready to expand your feminine audience. Another great option is to add on some motivational quotes and affirmations from the Elegance Collection™ that you feel coordinate with your existing visual branding best. If you're using the Pro Collection™ Sapphire Edition templates, you may want to add in the Elegance Collection™ Crimson Edition positive affirmation Reels.
It works the same for every niche.
A real estate agent may want to add motivational quotes to his or her feed.
And a massage therapist may want to add some self care quotes to his or her feed.
There are options for everyone!
Build it YOUR Way!
The great thing about our visual branding kits is that you can build them out to create whatever vision you have in mind! Mix and match your Brand Series™ and Color Editions until you create a brand that’s uniquely YOU!
But don’t forget…
A brand only becomes a brand by being consistent. Once you choose your brand, stick with it. Try not to load down on all kinds of mismatched templates that have different visuals and strategies. The more you switch it up, the more confused your audience will get. It’s not about finding as much done-for-you content as possible - it’s about finding the set that works, then learning how to grow with that.
For reference, we generally want to stick with the same visual branding for about 7 years. Of course, every business is unique and will have a different precise timeline. However, for the most part, branding is the long game. That’s how you create a brand.
That doesn’t mean you can’t make slight variations - it just means you need to keep it consistent if you want cash in on brand recognition (and believe me… YOU DO!).
You see, if you don’t have coordinating visuals, your clients and customers won’t recognize you. You want them to know in less than a second who is posting this content and what that brand is all about. Don’t compromise your brand recognition for shiny object syndrome.
That’s why it’s so important that you choose visual branding that represents your brand foundations (like your values and market positioning, for example).