Hello, you DIY-er, you.

I’m so glad you’re here. Just by taking a peek at this Tiny Brand Checklist, you are showing up for your business in a big way by committing to visual excellence and style, and I am here. for. it.

What is a Tiny Brand?

A Tiny Brand is a curated collection of fonts, colors, and design elements. I’m literally obsessed with them. Tiny Brands don’t rely on custom design the same way that most visual brand identities do, which you could view as a good or bad thing. But for an entrepreneur just starting out or one in need of a quick refresh, it’s the perfect solution. I call it “Brand Curation” rather than custom design: get everything you need for a cohesive visual brand identity without the price tag of a totally custom designer-made brand.

Even with the simplicity of brand curation, crafting a Tiny Brand means you’re not just relying on pretty visuals. You’re implementing a strategy, curating an appealing brand presence, and designing a cohesive experience across each your brand touch points, from your website to your social media, products, marketing materials, and every digital and physical platform in between. Ultimately, by crafting a Tiny Brand you’re building trust with your audience and positioning yourself as the expert.

The Checklist

The Tiny Brand Checklist is the tool you’ve been looking for to help you DIY your branding and do it well. It’s the exact checklist I use to craft Tiny Brands for my clients and walks you through the elements of a visual identity so you can create your own Tiny Brand as a starting point for your business.

Consisting of four sections, the checklist helps you design a visual container for your brand. I have heard from Tiny Brand Owners that a Tiny Brand is like a capsule wardrobe — it ensures that you have the tools to not only understand your style, but also how best to show up in style. This checklist will help you identify what that style is and how to choose the best visual elements to capture it.

STRATEGY takes you through some business basics, like your “why”, your mission and vision, your business goals, etc. This becomes the filter through which all decisions for your business should be made, including your visuals.

VISION helps you craft an initial mood board and color palette that will guide the rest of your visual choices. The mood board captures how you want your brand to feel and the color palette supports that vision.

CONCEPT has you choose fonts and design elements that align with your brand vision. This phase includes plenty of experimentation. The more options you explore, the better feel you’ll have for what will work and what won’t work. A few guidelines are given for font selection and typography best practices.

And finally, STYLE brings everything together. This is where you see your strategy come to life. Collect your fonts, colors, and design elements into a style guide for easy reference, create branded examples to help guide future design efforts, craft logos for your brand, and decide on any pieces of marketing collateral you’ll need to create right away.

As a result, what you’ll walk away with is more than just a lovely color palette and some fonts. You’ll have a decision filter for the future of your business. You’ll have guidelines for how to use your visual brand assets. You’ll have peace of mind and confidence in sharing your work because you’ve put in the time to craft a visual style that truly enhances your message and attracts the right people. And, my favorite part, you’ll know yourself better.

Click the button below to grab your Tiny Brand Checklist!

The creative process of branding transforms you from an unsure and unclear business owner into a confident and proud brand, and this checklist is just the beginning. Want to experience the entire Tiny Brand framework? Get your own Tiny Brand right here!