You may have come to realise that a rebrand of your business is necessary, but where do you start when you don't have the budget for a full and strategic rebrand? Let's explore the small but effective tweaks that can be made in the interim to elevate your brand on a budget. Page contents Simplify Avoid using panic offers Review your colour palette Review your typography Haromonise imagery Simplify High end brands are never messy or confused, they are clear and simple. Evaluate your website, marketing and social media - are you trying to cram in too many messages? Simplify your communications and keep designs clean. Embrace more white space, as it provides viewers with visually relaxing areas that allow them to absorb the messages you are conveying. Avoid the excessive use of graphics, patterns, filigrees, and clip art unless they have been designed professionally for your brand and matches your aesthetic. These elements can clutter the visual appeal, potentially undermining your credibility. Eliminating them can significantly enhance the overall look and feel of your website and communications. Avoid using panic offers This happens a lot in the hospitality sector but can also be an issue in other industries. Quiet times can make business owners anxious so they reduce prices, put on multiple offers and competitions to try and engage customers, but this can in fact cheapen your brand. To maintain a premium image, aim to offer seasonal and relevant promotions only, avoiding running multiple offers simultaneously. Review your colour palette Is your colour scheme out of control? Do you have a defined palette that you stick to? Brands may get lost in the crowd if there is an overload of visual elements - the world is full of colour and chaos, which is why using a monochromatic, duotone, or limited colour palette in our communications can actually boost visibility. There's a reason why many of us believe we look better in black and white photographs! If you are confident in doing it yourself, you can refresh your colour scheme by utilising the colour and brand tools available on our resources page and seeking inspiration from platforms like Pinterest. Alternatively, consider enrolling in our brand basics mini course for £10 to kickstart your rebranding efforts. Review your typography Fonts can date, especially if we restrict ourselves with system fonts. Gone are the days where we all had to conform to Arial or Times - Google fonts, Canva and Adobe have opened up a world of typography that can be viewed online - meaning we can choose the typography that best suits our brand. When updating your fonts, consider what vibe they communicate and whether that is in alignment with your brand personality and values. To achieve a high end look, a designers hack is to expand the leading of body copy (the space between lines) and the tracking for titles (the space between the letters). Check out the typography tools on our resources page for help in understanding font psychology. Harmonise imagery Amateur or inconsistent image style can give a lower end brand away. Even if we believe our own photography is great, it's always worth reviewing images with similar content on platforms like Pinterest to see how others conceptualise the same themes. I like to start with a mood board, gathering visually related images that share similarities in tone, filter, colour scheme, or composition style. Ensuring that your chosen images complement each other and appear cohesive as a collection is crucial for enhancing and elevating the overall aesthetic of your designs. Check out my mood board mini masterclass to learn the best ways to create a mood board. If you've decided it's time to elevate your brand and would like to work with me direct, please get in touch with fiona@roccoco.uk . Or, if you are interested in working on your brand identity yourself and would like the skills to do so, register your interest for our entrepreneur's course on Brand Alchemy for your Business.

A freelance designer’s working life if one of feast or famine, we adapt to demand, moving fluidly between busy times and quiet, trying to remain calm when projects are scarce. Our pricing structure is based on the nature of freelance work, yet it can be challenging to justify these rates to clients who perceive us as expensive. What if you could increase how much you earn, without having to raise your daily rate? Page contents The freelance life Does this scenario sound familiar? Enhance the discovery phase using the brand alchemy method What is the brand alchemy method? The results Time to up-skill to expert level Expertise behind the course The freelance life Freelancing can be a rollercoaster - we love the busy times, working from anywhere, choosing which clients to work with, we hate the unpredictability of demand and having to do the boring admin jobs. But what if there was a way to create a safety net for slower periods without raising our daily rate and even boost demand among existing and new clients as a result? Does this scenario sound familiar? You receive an enquiry for a brand project and if you're free to take on the job, you might send a brief sheet or form to complete, or the client might send you a summary of what they need via email. Then, you go back and forth with questions and answers about the project before providing a fee estimate. Once the quote is accepted, there may be additional time spent requesting files, guidelines, fonts and any other assets relevant to the project you will be working on. None of this back and forth feels chargeable, despite it's time consuming nature, we're not lawyers after all! Typically, the costs you recover tend to be equivalent to the design time invested in the project. While the estimate can be accurate at times, there are instances where it falls short or feels less than appropriate, occasionally resulting in a loss if projects drag out. However, imagine a scenario where you could be compensated for all the time spent during the briefing period and also secure additional work as a result. Enhancing the discovery phase using the brand alchemy method For many freelance designers, a significant portion of the discovery phase goes unpaid for, introducing clients to the brand alchemy method allows them to recognise your specialised skill set, expert guidance and the value these bring to the process. The brand alchemy approach emphasises the importance of blending a designer's expertise with the client's knowledge of their brand to ensure that the project brief becomes a collaborative endeavour. This is achieved through a detailed brand audit that harnesses the power of brand psychology. As a result, designing effective solutions becomes easier, hitting brand briefs first time, preventing lukewarm, uncertain responses from clients or numerous revision requests and re-dos. What is the brand alchemy method? The brand alchemy method is the missing link between a client's brief and the designer's solution. It provides the foundation that supports all brand creation thereafter. Based in psychology and used by the biggest agencies for decades, it begins with identifying your clients brand personality or archetype. Together you can help them to discover their attributes while reviewing their brand values to ensure all is in alignment. The result of this informs the tone of voice, the most appropriate colour palette and even the font choices that you as the designer can interpret using the brand alchemy method. The results Clients become eager for this approach to be used across all brand touch-points, providing the freelancer with more work. Clients receive positive feedback and praise for their new brand image, leading to a higher referral rate - I have been told many times by clients that I am the only designer that's ever "got them"! This may sound like a fantasy, but it has been my experience since developing the brand alchemy method. I have been implementing it for 7 years now with a 100% success rate and I am excited to share it with other freelance designers who are either experiencing a lull in demand or who are ready to take their brand knowledge to the next level. Time to up-skill to expert level By taking the brand alchemy course, designers can learn how to utilise this approach to effectively engage clients right from the start, establishing yourself as a brand expert and persuading clients to follow your guidance during a brand audit. This assessment offers crucial perspectives that clients might overlook, making it the key element that empowers designers to successfully meet the project requirements without the need for multiple design options and/or edits. The magic of brand alchemy lies in your ability to utilise the audit findings to create brand solutions that consistently nail the brief! Expertise behind the course The Brand Alchemy course for designers is packed full of industry experience that you won't find online - participants will learn brand psychology techniques and a unique method of applying them to a brand brief. My expertise as a brand specialist comes from working with, and freelancing for; Wimbledon AELTC, Ralph Lauren, Warner Bros, The Golf Open, Links of London, Vodafone, Creative Assembly, Schwarzkopf, Sony Music and Honda (to name a few). To learn more about the transformative power of brand alchemy and enrol in the designer course, visit the website . The Brand Alchemy for businesses program will launch in the upcoming year. If you are a business looking to grasp this method and implement it in your own brand, sign up now to express your interest and enjoy a discount on the Brand Alchemy for businesses course. You can also work with me direct on your brand project by getting in touch today.

Brands are complex entities that cannot be fully understood from one perspective. The crucial role of psychology in branding should be viewed from the perspective of the corporation that owns it, and from that of the consumer. Branding psychology is the tool that connects these two worlds, creating a unified and lasting brand experience.  Page contents What is brand psychology? From the perspective of the company From the perspective of the consumer Brand psychology methodologies Brand archetypes The sequence of cognition Brand alchemy What is a brand expert? What is a brand psychology? Psychological connections define the human condition; our senses, memories and perceptions significantly influence decision-making before our conscious preferences are revealed. Advertising and marketing firms have dedicated decades to perfecting a mix of memorable jingles, enticing products, dopamine-triggering strategies, and hypnotic anchoring, but brand psychology starts prior to these marketing efforts, drawing inspiration from the brand concept before any other materials are developed. Therefore, it is crucial and imperative to establish it correctly before embarking on the building of a brand. A brand expert is a creative brand specialist who understands the importance and value of brand psychology, along with the ethical obligations associated with its application. By employing brand psychology techniques, professionals like myself can harness the power of visual language to make lasting impressions on the intended target audience. From the perspective of the company The brand is not the company itself; rather, it serves as a tool for the company to compete in the market. It is an outward-facing entity that helps the business create a favourable image with its customers. Through intellectual property like logos, taglines, slogans, and distinctive product designs, it distinguishes itself from competitors. It also provides distinctive value that goes beyond the functionality of the product or service and contributes to enhancing the brand perception when compared to others. Brand psychology becomes a crucial role when the company wishes to appeal to the consumers. From the perspective of the consumer To the consumer, a brand is a set of automatic associations from the semantic to the emotional. Semantic associations refer to the connections we make cognitively based on a brand's unique attributes, values and our own subconscious preferences. Emotional associations are based on how a brand makes us feel. Brands that truly excel in consumer loyalty are those that focus on establishing strong connections with users beyond the utility, function or advantages of their product or service. These brands tend to have honest and authentic values, an interesting, ethical or purposeful origin story and a clear understanding of their user experience. They then use these to shape the brand image using brand psychology as the visual tool with which to communicate. Brand psychology methodologies There are a number of tools and techniques that brand experts use to communicate the essence of a brand's personality but chiefly it begins by selecting a brand archetype to reflect the brand's values, strengths and weaknesses. From here, a personality will start to emerge, with key traits being used to inform shape, colour palette, typography, graphics and image style. In design terms we refer to this as brand theory and the sequence of cognition. Brand archetypes Beginning with brand personality, a primary archetype can be selected that embodies the brand, it's voice and it's motivations. These archetypes were conceptualised by Carl Jung, the eminent psychologist and colleague of Freud. By identifying with one of these archetypes as a business, brands can communicate with their intended audience with clarity, creating a common and strong thread that holds together the brand story, message, tone, intonation, aesthetic and values. Thus fostering a deeper connection with audiences beyond mere transactions. This gives customers an expectation of who they understand you to be and this makes them feel safe. The sequence of cognition The sequence of cognition refers to the three foundational elements of a logo and how the mind unifies them to form a whole, conveying significantly more meaning than the sum of it's parts. Understanding the sequence of cognition is the difference between using a homemade or stock bought logo versus a thoughtfully crafted, impactful symbolic design that subconsciously conveys a brand's personality and values. These three foundational elements are shape (logo mark or icon), colour and content (brand name and font). Shape - we associate different shapes with unique meanings, for example circles convey community, partnerships and endurance while straight edged shapes convey strength, stability and balance. Colour - we associate tints, tones, shades and hues with unique personality traits. Youthful brands that wish to convey imagination and insight are best represented with light and bright colours while dominant brands that are market leaders should utilise strong pure hues to convey these attributes. Content - when deciding on a brand name, it should be brief, impactful and unique. Popular brands often opt for single-word names with positive psychological associations. The choice of typography can also impact how the audience perceives the brand. Selecting a font that reflects desired personality traits will reinforce the subconscious impression of the logo and brand identity. Brand alchemy Brand alchemy refers to the culmination of the personality, tone of voice, vision and values using the application of brand theory to the brand identity. When all these elements are perfectly in sync, the brand identity is whole, and every aspect of its creation should strengthen our subconscious associations with the brand. What is a brand expert? A designer's job is to take a creative brief and work within a set of existing brand guidelines to deliver an "on brand" solution that sits comfortably alongside other brand collateral. While many designers excel at creating beautiful logo concepts and identities, they may lack the brand psychology expertise needed to form subconscious connections that reinforce a brand 's personality with its intended audience. A brand expert is a creative or designer who has acquired the knowledge of captivating the subconscious mind through the visual language of brand alchemy. If you are a designer, wishing to learn more about brand psychology and how to apply the strategies mentioned in this article, feel free to explore the courses page or visit the brand resources page for free templates and brand tools. If you are a business wishing to work with a brand expert to rebrand your business or conceptualise your new venture, please get in touch to book an appointment today.

Expert in brand elevation, Fiona Hamilton has worked with B-Corp brands, NGO's and impact brands using the brand alchemy method. Impact brands As a signatory of the sustainable creatives charter, I collaborate with impact brands—businesses and organizations dedicated to making a positive difference in the world. Whether are B-Corp certified or grant-funded, these clients possess compelling brand narratives that resonate with their audiences, fostering empowerment through knowledge and paving the way for meaningful change. Creators Counsel With an impressive client and collaboration list, it was essential to set Creator's Counsel apart from other media law firms, showcasing their creativity, rebellious nature and strong ethical representation. View project Willow & Eve Brand audit, alchemy, strategy and development for preloved clothing boutique in Arundel and Rustington. Working closely with the founder, we embarked on capturing the "heart" of the business. View project Golden Leaf of London The Golden Leaf charity project - creating modern living art by lacing urban areas with ribbons of vegetation creating unique living sculptures while committing to a more sustainable world for future generations. View project The Blood Care Foundation Rebrand and website design for charity based in Switzerland who provide clean, screened blood to it's international members in cases of emergency when travelling abroad. View project Megaphone Creative Renaming and rebrand for social impact media agency Megaphone Creative, who amplify voices for social and environmental change with beautiful and meaningful films, documentaries and photography. View project One Zero Energy Collab with Horses Mouth on the logo design for One Zero energy with subsequent full brand identity, website, event templates and strong tone of voice - empowering communities by harnessing the power of their own homes. View project Oxford Consultants for Social Inclusion Competitor analysis, audit and brand alchemy for OCSI and sub brand Local Insight, creating a fluid identity that sit comfortably together as mother and daughter brands. View project

Working with clients worldwide, augmenting brands from multiple industries, using expert brand identity creation, bespoke UX design and brand guardianship. Brand alchemist beginnings With seventeen years of industry experience collaborating with high-profile clients and freelancing for agencies in London and Brighton, I created the Brand Alchemy Method to address the gap I perceived between a client's brief and my creative response. This method serves as an ideal bridge, linking the brand's story and personality to its visual identity, ultimately enhancing the relationship between the client and designer in the process. I work with clients worldwide, using my methodology to augment brands from multiple industries, using expert brand identity creation, bespoke UX design and brand guardianship. Explore my work to view the results. Impact Brands View portfolio Lifestyle Brands View portfolio Explore my work

A full brand audit was performed for this start up media and entertainment law firm based in Oxford and Australia. Creator's Counsel A full brand audit was performed for this start up media and entertainment law firm based in Oxford and Australia. With an impressive client and collaboration list, it was essential to set the business apart, showcasing their creative and rebellious side. A visual identity was created which included a unique approach to the website design application using animated line drawings and skewed strips. Roccoco provided UX design, copywriting and newsletter as well as brand assets including design templates and brand bible. "Thanks again for all your work. It’s a been a real joy working with you, we are thrilled with our branding and website and our clients have been incredibly complimentary." Emily Barber, Solicitor & Co-Founder, Australia