Firstly, why bother?
You're busy on jobs or booking new work, getting the administrative stuff out of the way... it's easy to let things like brand consistency slip, but you shouldn't. Creating an instantly recognizable brand is an important tool for establishing trust and credibility, which in turn helps with both new business and returning customers. Here are 3 easy tips for glaziers to help you get started.
Number one on the list is, of course, your logo. It should appear on all of your materials (especially quotes and invoices which people tend to keep) with roughly the same dimensions (i.e. not really stretched or really squashed) and always in the same colors or supplemented with a black and white version. We have horizontal and vertical versions of our logo so we always have an option that fits:
Essential for brand consistency is your use of color. Pick 'em and stick to 'em! Your brand colors should appear on your website, signage, business cards, paperwork, email signatures - everywhere. Don't pick so many that you dilute the effect or create confusion, try two signature colors then a shade of gray or black for the bulk of your text. If it works for your brand, pick a fourth color (use sparingly) to highlight important information. We use orange as a highlighting supplementary color:
Palleton is a nifty tool to find complementary colors. Play around with the color wheel and see what combinations work for your business.
Lastly, your use of font is crucial in establishing consistency. You don't need anything fancy - in fact, the simpler the better. A classic font that comes with your computer by default (like Arial) always looks professional. If you prefer something a little more creative, use it for headings to draw attention but keep the body text plain and easy to read. Whatever you decide on, make sure you're using it across all of your materials.
You don't need to hire a graphic design agency to ensure you're achieving brand consistency across your materials. Set yourself a short set of brand guidelines that focus on your logo, company colors and fonts, and you'll be building a recognizable, trustworthy brand in no time.