Let’s talk about a brand I really enjoyed designing: « Brown T », a marketplace that targets modern, independent Afro-descendant women who take care of themselves.⁣

In this series, I take the time to describe the process behind the brand design for small businesses that trusted me and my creativity to bring their vision to life.

About Branding

A good definition of branding is the considered intent for the positive role a company wants to play in the lives of the people it serves and the communities around it.

— Neil Parker

Branding is a prominent part of your marketing strategy as it helps visually introduce yourself to your public when you first start your business.

Your brand influences every aspect of the public’s perception of your company. Having brand guidelines in place builds trust, recognition, loyalty and reputation.

In the long run, it also ensures that your brand remains in your audience’s memory.

About A Brand: Brown T

Brown T is a marketplace committed to promoting Afro-feminine know-how in clean cosmetics and fashion.

They want to create a circular economy in the Afro community in Europe and elsewhere.

Their goal is to promote and enhance female entrepreneurship and the genius of black/mixed-race women.

The Branding

The logo

The primary logo consists of the brand name: “Brown T” coupled with the word “MARKETPLACE” as a baseline.

It can be utilised in three of the five colours of the brand palette and placed on various coloured backgrounds.

The submark

The submark is a variation or simplified version of the primary logo.

It is usually used on small media and allows for a more complete visual identity.

For Brown T, the submark consists of a combination of a capital “B” and a small “Tt”, placed in a round brown circle 😉

The colours

Based on the colour psychology, each colour has a meaning and can project specific messages and feelings onto your audience that will affect day to day decisions.

So by studying colours and using them accordingly, you can make people “feel” a certain way about your brand.

As such, the colours chosen for Brown T are warm and luxurious and remind us of the different black and brown skin shades.

The typography

Zephyr is the primary type I selected for the logo and the headings in documents and visuals. 

It’s a « modern serif font », a mix of old and new with soft curves and high contrast glyphs.

The secondary type, used for subheadings, body texts, captions and more, is a Google font named Lato.

Again, nice contrast between fonts is the key to a good font pairing.

The mood

The overall mood of the brand is centred around the empowerment and upliftment of Afro-descendant women.

Brown T wishes to encourage black women’s economic, social, and cultural development.

So the whole imagery needs to draw the audience to the various facets of « black girl magic ».

 

The goal

The purpose of branding in marketing is to build trust and loyalty among your customers.

Indeed, your brand provides a way for your customers to remember you, create an identity for your company, and distinguish it from competitors.

I know I have said this countless times, but having a good branding strategy in place will help you clearly define:

• “why” you exist → your brand purpose;
  
• the qualities you aspire to as a company → your brand values;
  
• what you need to do to achieve your goals → your brand mission;
  
• where you hope to be if you stick to your purpose, values and mission → your brand vision.
  

In conclusion

Brown T wants to cater to the business needs of Afro-descendant female entrepreneurs by offering a platform that will increase their visibility.

I’m happy that they chose YY Webdesign to give life to their brand, and I must say I loved working on this project 🙂

And as I often say, investing in good branding will always pay off. It’s time to invest in your brand!

Thanks for reading ☺️