Guides
Brand guides
Everything you have to decide in order to build a brand, explained step by step, with examples and with the mistakes that cost the most. Written to be used, not skimmed.
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- Brand strategy: the complete guide, with examplesWhat brand strategy actually is, the five decisions it is made of, and how to write each one on a single page, audience, positioning, promise, personality and tone of voice.8 min read
- Visual identity: what it is made of, and how to build oneThe seven components of a complete visual identity (palette, typography, layout system, imagery, logo, graphic elements and icons) and the order to build them in.7 min read
- Brand guidelines: what goes in, and how to write themThe full structure of a brand guidelines document, chapter by chapter, the rules that get used, the pages that only add weight, and a pre-delivery checklist.7 min read
By subject
- How to name a brand: a method, the tests, and the trapsA five-step naming process, the five types of name and what each one costs you, the tests that eliminate weak candidates, and the availability checks to run before you spend anything.
- How to design a logo: the complete processThe six types of logo, the real process from brief to final files, the tests that kill weak marks early, and the formats you must receive on delivery.
- Brand colour palette: how to build one properlyThe structure of a palette that works (one accent, two neutrals, state colours, proportions, accessible contrast) and the codes you have to fix in the guidelines.
- Brand typography: choosing typefaces and pairing themHow to choose a brand's typography: how many families you need, how two typefaces actually pair, the type scale, licensing, and the checks to run before committing.
- How much does a logo cost, and a full brand identityReal price bands from generators to agencies, what each tier includes, why the range is so wide, the hidden costs, and how to avoid paying twice.
- Rebranding: when it is worth it, when it is not, and how to do itThe legitimate reasons to rebrand, the ones that do not justify the cost, the difference between a refresh and a full change, and a rollout checklist.
- How to build a brand from scratch: a guide for small businesses and freelancersThe seven steps in the order that works: positioning, name, logo, colours, type, materials and guidelines. How long each takes, what you can do yourself and where paying is worth it.
- AI logo generators: how they work, what you get and when they are worth itThe three kinds of logo generator (template gallery, AI-generated image, vector engine), which files each one gives you, what rights you have and how to recognise one that leaves you with nothing usable.
- Designer, agency or AI generator: how to choose who makes your brandThe three routes compared on cost, time, what you get, rights and risk, with the situations where each is the right choice, the combinations that work and the questions to ask before you sign.
- The brand brief: what it must contain, with a template and a worked exampleThe nine questions a good brief answers, a template ready to fill in, a real example for a coffee shop, what does not belong in a brief and how to use it with a designer, an agency or a generator.
- Vector logo or PNG: the file formats you need to haveSVG, PDF, EPS, PNG, JPG, ICO: what each one is, where it is used, what to ask of a designer or a generator, and the complete list of files a proper logo package contains.
- What is a brand kit and what must it contain (the complete file list)The difference between a brand kit, brand guidelines and a visual identity, the folder structure you hand to a designer or a printer, the mandatory files and how to keep it current.
- Colour psychology in branding: what each colour says and how to choose oneWhat red, blue, green, yellow, black and the rest communicate in a logo, what the serious studies say (and what they do not), why context and culture outweigh the chart, and a four-step method for choosing your brand colour.
- How to write a brand slogan: the method, the five kinds and 30 examplesThe difference between a slogan, a tagline and a description, the five kinds of slogan with examples, a six-step method to get from 40 candidates to one, the tests that eliminate weak slogans and the common mistakes.
- How to register a trademark in Romania (OSIM) and the EU: steps, costs, timing and the mistakes that lead to refusalWhat you can register (name, logo, slogan), the prior search, the Nice classes, the procedure step by step, indicative costs, how long it takes, the difference between the company register, OSIM and EUIPO, and the common grounds for refusal.
- Personal branding for freelancers and consultants: your own name or a company name?How to decide between working under your own name and creating a brand, what a freelancer's identity contains (a visual signature, not a corporate logo), the materials that matter (LinkedIn, portfolio, proposal, invoice) and the mistakes that make an independent look like a fake company.
- A website for a small business: the six sections that matter and how to build it without codeWhat a company website must contain (and what it must not), the structure of the home page in the order a customer reads it, how to apply the brand identity, the no-code options and the real costs from domain to hosting.
- Branding for a cafe, restaurant or bar: the complete guide, from logo to menuWhat to decide before the logo, how to choose colours and typefaces for a venue, which materials truly matter (sign, menu, packaging, Instagram) and the mistakes you see in every town.
- Branding for a medical practice, clinic or dental surgery: trust before aestheticsWhat a practice's identity has to communicate, why the cross and the tooth are mistakes, the colours and typefaces that read as competence, the advertising rules for medical services (Romania as the worked example) and the materials that matter (website, door, coat, patient record).
- Branding for an online shop: what makes you trustworthy in a list of resultsWhat matters for an online shop (trust on the first visit, consistency across marketplaces and ads, the packaging that arrives at home), how to build the identity around the product and the list of materials from the logo to the delivery box.