THE BUDGET-FRIENDLY BRANDING TOOLKIT FOR FREELANCERS & FOUNDERS
DIY Branding with meaning and method
The training course and resource toolkit to empower business owners and freelancers to confidently create their own visual identity without the upfront cost of hiring a designer. We all know that AI enables you to DIY branding but does it empower you to create branding with true meaning and depth?
If you’re ready to take the step to build an identity with meaning and method that stands out from the crowd (and the bots!) the BETA version of the toolkit is launching later this year. Join the waitlist now to keep up to date when it launches.
Feel confident
Grow your confidence in creating consistent and beautiful assets for your brand
Feel proud
Of the business (and now brand!) that you have built
Feel represented
Create a identity that reflects the quality of the product or service you provide
You know your branding needs work but feel stuck and overwhelmed with where to start…
With the increased accessibility of tools such as AI and Canva, many business owners like you are choosing to design their own visual identities. Tech is enabling anyone to pick up tools and design brands themselves. However, access to these tools means people are enabled but not empowered to use the tools available to them in the most meaningful and effective way for their business. The DIY Toolkit will empower you to design your own visual identity from scratch, saving you time, money and energy to focus on building your business.
Yes, you could utilise an AI tool and ask it to generate you a logo and suite of assets in mere minutes. However, the result will not be rooted in meaning, and will lack the depth your brand deserves. The bots may promise speed but you may find yourself hours later still agonising over why it still doesn’t feel or look right for your brand. This training will guide you through the process at a steady pace to leave you with an identity rooted in meaning and method.
Who is the toolkit designed for?
Freelancers and Founders ready to give time and thought to their professional identity
Small business owners in need of a visual brand but that don’t yet have the budget to work with a designer directly
Early-stage startups working on an MVP
Learn how to think for your brand
You will learn:
How to get started through research and where to search for inspiration
How to turn insights about your audience, market and brand personality into actionable ideas to inspire your identity
How to translate your ideas into tangible brand assets
How to come up with an engaging and memorable concept for your identity
How to create a visual plan to inform your designs
How to choose colours meaningfully and with consideration for accessibility
How to select typefaces that represent your brand voice and help tell your story
How to design a logo that feels innately you
How to build brand guidelines that are simple and usable
How to start building a bank of templates that will save you time so you can focus on what you do best
How to maintain your brand on an on-going basis
This is for you if…
You have big ideas for your brand but you don’t necessarily know how to execute those ideas
You dabble in design but are not proficient and would benefit from some guidance and education along the way
You want to create a brand identity that stands out from the crowd for the right reasons
You are testing things out, iterating and learning as you go and need a “scrappy” DIY approach to your branding while you get things off the ground
Want ownership and creative control over your brand but are overwhelmed and don’t know where to start
It is not for you if…
You would rather work directly with a designer. If this is you, feel free to get in touch about working with me 1:1
You are not ready to invest £495 in your brand
You’re not ready to push your skills and creative thinking outside your comfort zone
You’re an established brand or business with 5+ years behind you or funding backing you. In this instance, if you’re thinking about refreshing your visual brand, get in touch
What’s included:
3 x detailed modules:
Module 1: Meaning
Intro to design strategy and holistic brand design
The 5 A’s:
Ambitions
Audience
Awareness of others
Attributes & Archetypes
Alignment
Module 2: Method
Creating a visual plan
Choosing colours
Selecting the right type
Designing the logo & symbols
Building out your brand assets - shape, texture and iconography
Module 3: Making the most of your brand
Creating helpful brand guidelines
Building a bank of templates
Bringing it to life in the real world
Maintaining your brand long-term
1:1 Slack access to Maddy, a designer with 8+ years of brand experience and a D&AD award for her work
Access to a community of business owners who are in the same brand-building boat
Workbook, resources and downloadables to support you as you work
Training videos on how to make the most out of your new assets
Lifetime access to the course content
+ You will have the option of adding a 1:1 troubleshooting session with me after you have worked through the toolkit
BETA price £495 (can be paid in full or instalments)
A strong brand can help your business to:
Stand out in a crowded market
Increase sales
Grow a community
Build your personal profile
Position yourself as an expert
Grow brand awareness
BUT, it’s no good just having a brand that only lives in your guidelines or style sheet. Knowing how to implement your brand in the real world is what will help take your business to the next level. I can help you to not only learn how to design your brand from scratch, but you will also learn the tools you need to apply and maintain your brand on an on-going basis.
FAQs
-
Yes, you can still join. We will be covering a lot of foundational thinking relating to your brand which will help ground your design decisions moving forward in solid rationale. If you already have core assets such as a logo that cannot be changed, we can work on building out the rest of your brand assets to strengthen your existing brand and add more flexibility to what already exists.
-
The toolkit is designed so that you can dip in and out however you wish to. You can work through all of the content in order, or you can pick and choose which bits you want to cover. It is here to support you in whichever way you choose and at whatever pace works best for you.
You will have lifetime access to the course content and recordings of the live sessions as well as free access to any bonus materials added in future.
-
You will have access to the Creative Community Slack channel for 6 months as part of your toolkit purchase. From there you will have the option to join the monthly membership for just £10 pcm.
-
Yes. You can either pay in full or in 2 monthly instalments
-
Yes. Any live sessions will be hosted on Zoom and recorded for you to access in your own time.
-
You can join the waitlist to be notified when door to the toolkit open (Autumn 2025)
-
There are plenty of “how to” courses when it comes to branding. My vision with The Design it Yourself Toolkit is to enable brand owners to confidently create their own identities and ongoing design materials from a place of strategic thinking and a methodology that is tried and tested with hundreds of my clients.
I didn’t want this toolkit to feel like “just another course” that you pay for and that never gets completed. You can work through the whole thing in order or you can dip in and out depending on where you are at with your brand. It is designed as a toolkit to sit alongside your business, rather than a one-time course that you may never come back to.