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Green businesses have a positive impact on society.
September 08, 2010
This is part three of a series of three. Catch up on part one and part two.
In the case of my business, that means looking after my staff well, sourcing our consumables responsibly, ensuring that the print we sell is environmentally friendly and putting something back into the community with our Flourish Foundation. If I’m honest, this is at the heart of me, which is why it’s come through in my business. I haven’t yet put together a “green mission statement”, and I probably should. I know that one of the reasons that our clients come to us is for our authenticity and values – but do I need a mission statement to get that across?
The short answer is probably not. Everything about the way we’ve built Flourish communicates these values, partly because we fall into the Autumnal colour personality, which is the most “green” of the lot. All of our print is recycled and uncoated and our muted, warm colours suggest sustainability, community and integrity. But marketing your green credentials takes more than a bit of fancy design and an understanding of colour psychology.
It’s about making sure that your communication is consistent. Follow us on twitter and you’ll find the very same person that you meet in the studio, warm, supportive and with integrity. Read our blog and you’ll find the same transparency and “giving” nature as you find in our workshops and one to one sessions. I guess I don’t scream green because green is inextricably linked with what we do. How about you?
What is a brand manual and why do I need one?
November 24, 2009
Does your business have a brand manual? Perhaps you're not quite sure what a brand manual is or why on earth you need one. Let me shed a bit of light on the situation.
Your brand manual is the guide that keeps all of your design on the straight and narrow. It's the document that shows you what your 'house fonts' are, which palette of colours best represent your business. And it shows everyone who designs for your business how to make sure that each piece of collateral look like it's come from the same company. No easy task I can tell you!
It would be easy to accuse brand manuals of making your business design boring, stifling even. But that's not what they're for. Brand manuals allow your designer to be more creative by focusing on the bits they can add value to, rather than changing the font for the sake of being different. Brand manuals help keep your business identity intact. They help you build trust and reassurance with your customers because everything you produce has a common style or theme. That doesn't mean it needs to look the same, but just like it's come from the same company.
Every business needs a brand manual. They will save you time, they'll save you money and they will help you project a better image. What's not to like?
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