Copywriting and Design Work Together For Your Brand
I’m super excited today because I’m interviewing the amazing Kat Potter of Little Black Kat Creative.
We’re doing this because you need to know how copywriting and graphic design work together.
Both impact how people feel about your business, which means they go hand in hand with building your brand.
For example, as a graphic designer, Kat specialises in how your brand looks.
And as a copywriter, I concentrate on how your brand sounds.
But without them working together, your brand will be as bland as a cracker without vegemite.
Kat is an incredible graphic designer and a killer illustrator. Who brightens your brand with custom-designed graphics and illustrations.
She unleashes your brand personality design as I do with your words.
And together, they bring everything to life, creating a brand that’s unique to you.
In this interview, you’ll learn,
- What a visual brand identity is and why it matters
- How design and copy work together for your brand
- How the design process works
Kat shares plenty of her tips and tricks on branding and design for your business.
Welcome, Kat!
So glad to have you here.
Firstly, when it comes to your brand, what’s a visual identity?
It’s basically what your business looks like.
So it’s anything to do with a business that people can physically see, like
- Your logo
- Website
- The style of imagery you use in your photography and illustration
- Signage
- Packaging
- Stationery
- Flyers, brochures, booklets
- Online newsletters
And well, so much more! Of course.
Excellent, so then, why is visual identity important when it comes to a business’s branding?
Great question. If you want people to value your business, you need to look professional. And if you’re going to attract your target audience, your visuals need to appeal to them.
By having consistent visuals that appeal to your target audience, they’re going to remember you.
And you’re going to be able to build up trust with them. …and people buy from a business they trust.
So true. What are some of the steps you take to come up with someone’s brand visuals?
Well, I have a bit of a process I follow,
- Discovery
- Research and strategy
- Design and presentation
- Delivery
I’ve written a blog that explains this in detail. You should check it out.
But as far as the actual creating goes, here it is in a nutshell…
I get the client to fill out a brief. I read the brief and discuss it with the client in a meeting or over the phone,
I then go away and using the information on the brief. I research their competition, target audience, industry and brands they admire. And then, I’ll also have a look at any examples they provided.
I give the client a mood board that shows and explains my vision for the brand.
Once approved, I get started on logo concepts. I present the top 3 to the client, and we go back and forth on email with any changes.
Then I start work on any other design collateral/marketing designs the client requires. And from here, we go back and forth on email with any changes.
Once everything is approved, I package it up in super organised and labelled folders and send them to the client.
Quite similar to your copywriting possess, huh?
Yes, for sure. How interesting!
My next question then is,
how do you incorporate the brand personality in the designs?
Brand personality relates to the human traits and characteristics we give to a brand. It’s important because people buy from businesses they relate to.
So I work with my clients to uncover their brand personality.
We look at their values and how they want customers to feel about their product/service. We also disscuss their mission, vision and what they want their business to be known for.
Then I ask clients to give me 5 feeling words that describe their business.
To create their colour pallet, I use colours or combinations of colours that work well together to show those feelings (colour psychology.)
I do the same thing with fonts. I look at different fonts and try to pair fonts that show those feelings.
When it comes to the images, I select ones that match. I look at both the subject matter and style.
For example, illustrations with a softer, more feminine business might match a hand-drawn style. While a bright, bold business might suit flat and colourful digital images.
That’s amazing. It’s a similar process to creating a brand voice for businesses as well.
You see, this is why we needed to do this blog. Design and copy genuinely do work hand in hand for a brand, huh?
So then, for someone who’s never worked with a designer before, what’s the process?
Firstly, you can check out my full branding design process here.
But for general illustration design projects, simply send me an email. And also, tell me your required time frame.
I’ll get back to you with my current availability and ask some questions about your project.
If you’re happy with the time frame and have requested a service from my price guide, I’ll email you an invoice.
Once you make the payment, I can schedule your job into my production time table.
Then I get to work, and I’ll present your proofs, and we’ll email back and forth until you are 100% happy with the final design.
There are generally 2-3 rounds of revisions included in your quoted cost.
I find this’s usually all that’s needed. But on the rare occasion, additional revisions are required, they are available at $99 per hour.
Once approved, final payment will be required and once paid, I will either email files directly or place them into a shared folder.
Awesome. Thanks so much for sharing your design process with me and talking about all things branding.
But now the big questions.
How do copywriting and design work together for your brand?
Yes, of course. Well, text should be easy to read, right? So then a designer needs to lay it out the right way.
Believe it or not, It’s my job to make sure the reader wants to read the copy. And the colours and imagery need to be chosen to reflect the tone and content of the copy.
Before someone begins reading, the imagery gives them an immediate idea of what the copy is saying.
There’s also what’s called “design hierarchy”.
This means using appropriate fonts, sizes, and spacing, so the copy’s essential part is read first.
And there are reading patterns to consider here too, so how the page is aligned is also essential.
So interesting.
So then, why do you need the copy before working?
When it comes to the illustration side of what I do, I need to know what to draw, so I rely on the copy for this.
If I’m designing the layout for a brochure, flyer, booklet or anything, I need to know how much text I’ll be working with. So I know how to set up the design.
I know it’s not always possible, but I also prefer to be given the final approved copy before working on the design.
Your designer is designing based on the text provided. If you start making significant changes to your copy, the design will no longer work or fit.
This then means the design will have to change to accommodate the copy changes. Furthermore, this can lead to extra and unexpected design costs. (and a stressed-out grumpy designer! lol!)
The rule here, get your copywriter or someone else to check the copy first!
Yes, I love this.
And noted, you don’t want a grumpy designer, right?
Now before you leave,
how do you use copy when it comes to designing or illustrating?
The copy is what sets the tone for the whole design.
When illustrating, I’ll read the copy and pull out the primary and relevant bits to use as a reference for the image I’m drawing.
It will be quite literal in some cases, allowing the reader to see what the text is about instantly.
While in many cases, you can use illustration to add more depth to the “story”.
How are copywriting and design similar?
Well, when it comes to Branding, they both have the same goal.
To help bring out the business personality, but one uses words and the other images.
Designers and copywriters need to understand the same things about the business brand before the creative stuff can start, which is why our briefing process is so similar.
Why is it essential to have all of your brand elements working together?
Constancy.
When your brand is consistent, people will start to recognise and remember you. This recognition builds trust in people who will then (hopefully) turn into customers.
And finally,
what does effective branding do for your business?
If we’re looking at copy and design together, both of these impacts how your target audience will feel about your brand. It also allows people to see you as different from your competitors.
Excellent branding shares your story, creates brand loyalty, and builds your credibility.
And all of this combined helps you to develop connections with people who have similar values.
Thanks so much for this, Kat,
There you have it, my friend.
How copywriting and design work together to bring your business to life to create a unique brand for you.
What are your thoughts on banding and your business?
Not sure if you’re hitting the spot?
Not to worry, because I’ve got the branding checklist for you.
Download it now and see how your branding stands up and stand out from the crowd.