I received an unexpected message from someone asking about my branding, and I couldn't help but chuckle. I thought, "What branding?" But it turns out, they genuinely wanted to know who I used for branding, and that's quite a flattering compliment.
Before I embarked on The Confidence Bar journey, I laid down the cornerstone by crafting the logo, mission statement, and core values. This foundation needed to be rock-solid, the heartbeat driving the growth of the business. It became my unwavering commitment - I would die against this sword! Maybe a little too dramatic Rana (haha). Once your mission and values are solid, you step into the choices of colours (so many bloody colours)!) and imagery, which is the more exciting part.
Colour Palette: My choice of colours was inspired by skin tones. I intentionally avoided the conventional white, black, or yellow. I settled on a rose tone to embrace all skin types for my main colour. At that time, everyone seemed stuck on blues and whites, which didn't resonate with me. I was reluctant, fearing failure, but I reminded myself that my appearance didn't fit the typical mold of an aesthetic provider. So, why should my brand? Our foundation color is rose gold, complemented by a hint of green, a homage to the lush grass of New Zealand that's so breathtaking it can move you to tears and make your eyes hurt with the bright glare!
Imagery: My inspiration draws from my birthplace, New Zealand, and the rich Maori culture, blending our heritage with the natural beauty of the landscape. I injected a touch of playfulness too, breaking away from the clinical, sterile aesthetics. For The Confidence Lab, I embraced a mad scientist vibe, and for The Confidence Bar, a mix of metals, woods, and a few unexpected elements like animal heads. Strangely enough, I've never used vision boards or Pinterest for this - I imagined this as a beautiful project holding, smelling and loving on fabrics, woods etc but I simply didn't have the time. It's more about surrounding myself with things that resonate with me and create positive feelings – something I'm rediscovering as I share this with you.
Our logo is a daily reminder of our identity, stemming from the Maori koru pendant that my son wears around his neck, gifted by his grandmother.
What's incredible is that I didn't fully realize that my brand visuals were organically communicating these core values to our audience. It's grown that way because it genuinely our foundation.
Currently, Ian (my better calmer half) and I are working on a new website, even changing our fonts. Interestingly, our team leaned towards the more feminine, flowing text rather than my preference for clean and seamless. I believe in incorporating our team's input, after all, it's their workplace too. Watch this space for some girlie text chose by our team (too girlie for me).
I'm excited to unveil the new website soon. I'll be back here to share insights into crafting your core values, a process that evolves over months and can be reshaped by challenges along the way. Recently, I added "honesty" to our core values – something you'd assume is a given, but even the most obvious principles need to be reinforced. This is a blog post that is very important to share.
Over and out from me for now, with love, Rana