Name, logo and colours in one day — a brand without an agency

A small business brand is not an 80-page brand book. It's the answer to one question: "if I saw something of yours without the name on it, would I know it was yours?"

To answer yes, you need four decisions. Here they are, in order of importance, with how long they actually take.

Decision 1: the name (2 hours)

Rules that save regret:

• It's pronounceable first time. If you have to spell it over the phone, you'll spell it a thousand times.
• It doesn't lock in the future. "Maria's Soaps" is lovely until you decide to sell candles too.
• The domain is free. Check before you fall in love.
• No company in your field already uses it. Five minutes in the business register.

Three approaches that work if you're stuck:

1. Word + word. Two ordinary words fused into something new.
2. A real word, shifted. Short, memorable, already living in people's heads.
3. Your own name. Great for craft and personal brands, bad for something you might sell one day.

Give yourself two hours and a deadline. The name you pick after two hours will be roughly the name you'd pick after two weeks — minus the two weeks.

Decision 2: the colour (30 minutes)

One primary colour. Not a palette of seven.

How to choose quickly:

• Look at five competitors. If they're all blue, don't be blue.
• Pick a colour that works with your product photos rather than fighting them.
• Check it on white and on dark.
• Check contrast with text — if it isn't readable, it isn't a colour, it's a problem.

Then add exactly two helpers: one dark (for text) and one very light (for backgrounds). That's the whole palette. A second accent colour comes only once the primary is already recognisable.

Decision 3: the typeface (30 minutes)

Two maximum. One for headings, one for text.

Practical rules:

• The body typeface should be boring. Boring gets read.
• The heading typeface can have character — that's where it belongs.
• Check the character set you need. Half the beautiful typefaces handle non-Latin scripts badly, and your site may need one.
• Check it on a phone, not just a monitor.

If you're hesitating: one well-chosen pair from a free library looks more professional than something expensive used badly.

Decision 4: the repeating element (1 hour)

This is the decision almost everyone skips, and it's the one that makes a brand recognisable.

One element that shows up everywhere:

• A shape — rounded corners, a particular kind of frame
• Illustration or icons in one style
• A way of photographing — always the same background
• Even a way of writing — how you open every email

At Brandolog it's the blocks — everything in the interface is a soft-cornered cube with a darker edge underneath. It isn't genius. It's just everywhere.

Your element has to be something you can repeat without effort. If it's complicated, you'll abandon it by the third time and the effect disappears.

The logo: the most overrated decision

The hard truth: for a small business, the logo matters far less than consistency.

Three levels, all perfectly acceptable:

1. Just the name, well set. Good typeface, correct spacing, one colour. Looks clean and never dates.
2. Name + a simple symbol. A simple shape related to what you do. Works if the symbol is recognisable at 24 pixels.
3. A drawn mark. Made by a designer. Makes sense once you have revenue.

The test: shrink the logo to favicon size. If it isn't recognisable, it isn't a logo — it's an illustration.

How to apply it consistently

This is where everything is won or lost. Make a list of the places and walk through it in an hour:

• Website
• Social profile pictures
• Packaging or stickers
• Email signature
• Invoices
• Business cards, if you hand them out

Same name, same colour, same typeface. Everywhere. That is literally the entire secret.

What NOT to do

• Don't change the logo every three months. Just as you get bored of it, people start recognising it.
• Don't chase trends. That 2021 gradient is already dating websites.
• Don't make a brand book. If you're one or two people, one file with the colours and typefaces is enough.
• Don't delay launch over the logo. Ship with a text logo and replace it later. Nobody ever lost a customer over a typeface.

---

One day. Name in the morning, colour and typeface after lunch, repeating element in the evening. Next morning you have a brand — not perfect, but yours and consistent, which matters far more.

Then comes the part that actually sells: ten design mistakes that kill sales.