Branding isn't something that's easily pulled together when you're an artist; it can be difficult to portray your music into something visual. We've worked with a number of artists on developing and maintaining their brand direction, including Lunar The Kid, Good Scott and Sonny Tennet. So we're going to provide you with some tips on how to jumpstart this process for your own brand!

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What is brand direction?

A brand direction is a visual representation of you and your brand, which is why having a solid visual identity is super important. A good brand direction is one that communicates everything about you, with the idea that those that come across your brand will be able to understand your music without any need for explanation.

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‍Figuring out your 'vibe'

The first step to creating your brand direction is figuring out how you want to be seen and recognised by people.

Start by asking yourself a few questions:

1. What does your music sound like?
2. What do you think your music makes people feel?
3. What is the first thing you want people to think when they see your brand / what 'vibe' do you want to give off?

These questions can help you figure out what your audience will think of you when they come across your brand. You can then work backwards from there and put it into an image format; figure out a few key and some associated words / colours / images which fit into that.

Once you've gone through these questions you can then start thinking about the below:

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Colour Palette

There could be an entire blog post dedicated to colour theory...colours have a remarkable way of generating certain emotions and feelings. This is why determining the feelings you want to invoke in your audience beforehand can be a huge help in creating your colour palette.

For example, if you want to paint yourself as an upbeat, cheery pop artist, you would go for bright, vibrant colours to represent your brand as they match the feeling of your music!

Jessica Mauboy's 'Glow' is all about self-empowerment, becoming a better version of yourself, and fulfilling your potential. Throughout the 'Glow' campaign, the colour palette featured throughout the single artwork, press shots and music video involved a strong golds and reds. The reds communicating power, strength and presence, with the golds conveying the idea of being successful as well as being a great visual representation of the word itself - 'glow'.

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The Logos

In line with your vibe, think of a logo as you in graphic form. Your logo needs to effectively communicate the feelings /thoughts you want people to experience when they come across your brand.

While a logo, logo mark and logotype might all sound like the same thing, there are some differences between the three that should be noted. A simple way to understand it is:

1. a logo mark is a purely image based graphic
2. the logotype is the font / typography associated with the brand and
3. the logo is typically a combination of these two.

Lizzo's logo is a great example of a typographic logo that perfectly captures the artist's  vibe. The logo features the artist's name in bold, funky lettering, with some letters stacked on top of each other. This does a great job of communicating exactly the kind of music Lizzo makes, bouncy, bold, R&B/Rap music reminiscent of the 80s and 90s.

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Font and Typography

The typography and font is the style of lettering associated with your brand. Different fonts (serif, sans serif, script - to name a few) elicit different emotions depending on their style and look. So say you're a highly energetic, in-your-face punk/rock musician, it would be best to opt for a strong, impactful font that has a bolded weight as it is the most suited to your brand direction.

CWF's own Vanessa Amorosi is a great example in terms of typography - the handwritten, script font that was used to represent her name on the 'City of Angels' album  earlier this year perfectly captures the stripped-back, soulful nature of the music. Straight away, you know that this body of work isn't a booming pop album, but rather a more relaxed, refined piece.

While a brand direction can be fleshed out further from here, consider these the first few stepping stones that should be taken in developing your brand identity. Getting these first few little steps right will provide a really strong framework for building out a brand direction that is authentically (and effectively) you!

If you'd like to find out more about how we can help with artist branding, please contact us at hello@comeswithfries.com

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