The Tibs Design Studio Blog

BRANDING AND STRATEGY ADVICE FOR INDEPENDENT CREATIVE BUSINESSES

Hi there! I'm Tibs. I'm a brand designer who is passionate about helping independent creative businesses thrive. This blog is where I'm sharing everything you need to know about branding and strategy for your small business.

Recent Blog Posts

Where to sell your products online

November 2, 2024

We’re honestly living in a really exciting time when it comes to selling products online because it’s possible for almost anyone to start up a small handmade business from the comfort of their home. But with all this possibility theres also a lot of decisions that you have to make about how you market and sell in your business within the online landscape. And with more products in the market everyday, every decision needs to be strategically made in order to help you stand out.Based on my work and research as a brand designer for small creative businesses, here’s a quick guide to some of the popular online selling platforms.

The age of authenticity in branding

October 23, 2024

If you’re in the thick of marketing your small business, you will have no doubt heard about how important it is to be authentic and relatable in order to gain traction while marketing, especially on social media. The trick is finding the balance between human connection and professionalism. When you strike the right balance of authenticity and professionalism, you can build deeper relationships with your customer base, make your brand more memorable and trusted, and humanize your brand in a way that makes it more approachable.

Using brand rituals to foster connection and loyalty

October 16, 2024

You don’t have to be religious or spiritual to engage in the practice of rituals as a small business owner. A ritual can be defined as a series of actions which are either performed in a specific order or with a specific cadence, or both. However, rituals are not just the daily tasks of your life, for rituals often come with a sense of importance, solemnity, and purpose. For a small business, you have the opportunity to turn tasks like a monthly workshop, a social media series, an onboarding process, a packaging process, a newsletter, etc. into powerful brand rituals that connect you with your customers and build brand loyalty.

Why I'm a Brand Designer for Small Businesses

March 25, 2024

I'm sharing a little bit of my story and my "why" in today's post. Running a small business isn't easy but for me it's so, so, worth it. I think we all desire to do something meaningful with our time and I'm no different. In my last career, I was working in healthcare tech and on some indirect level I was helping make a difference in patient care through that job. It wasn't enough for me though because I really wanted to be in the thick of it, making direct changes, directly impacting lives. I also wanted to do more creative work. Enter my dream career: brand design! Now I partner directly with small business owners to help them with visuals and messaging that makes their business stand out. Here's why I chose this specific path of owning my own one-woman design studio.

Storytelling as a Small Business Owner

March 18, 2024

There are two stories that you need to tell as a small business owner: your own story and your customer’s story. Telling your story allows you to demonstrate authority in your field and highlight connection points with your customers. Telling your customer’s story shows your customer that your product/service is for them and telling this story should be a large part of your marketing material. Most small businesses make the mistake of only telling their story and not telling it in a way that focuses on that authority and connection.

Your Canva Logo Must Go

March 11, 2024

In this post, I’m going to give you four reasons why it’s time to say goodbye to your Canva logo. And to be clear, when I’m talking about a Canva logo, I’m mostly looking at the folks using Canva templates for their logos or using Canva illustrations in their logos, but this advice extends to anyone who doesn’t have a professionally designed vector logo.

Branding Advice from Unexpected Sources: Walt Disney World

March 4, 2024

I was at Walt Disney World a few weeks ago and my brand designer brain could not turn off! Despite WDW (let's not even talk about Disney as a whole!) being a giant and your small business being, well, small, I still think there's a lot you can learn from them! Who knows, maybe I'll turn this into a series where we take advice from other unexpected, questionable sources. Here are three pieces of branding advice you can take for your small business from my experience at Walt Disney World.

Book Recommendation: Building a StoryBrand

February 26, 2024

My biggest takeaway from the book: Storytelling is a powerful tool but we have a tendency, especially as small business owners, to make ourselves the hero in the story when the hero has to be our customer. When you read this, work as you go! You will get the most out of this if you stop after each chapter and do the work before moving on to the next one. After reading this book I’m seeing the teachings from it everywhere. Successful brands are doing this and the power to recognize what makes great brands successful is half the battle of getting our own brands to that point.

Is Your Logo Holding You Back?

February 12, 2024

The way your business is perceived is a major factor in how successful you will be. And your visual identity is a major part of how your business is perceived. As someone who owns a small business myself, I can understand the attachment you might feel to your logo, especially if it was the first logo created for your business. However, in order to grow we sometimes have to let things go. Your logo might be holding you back if you’re relying on it for too many things, it doesn’t look like it was professionally designed, or if you’ve been using it for a long time.

When and How to Approach Rebranding

February 5, 2024

Many small business owners that I talk to aren't sure or are intimidated by the idea of a rebranding project. They don't know where to start or if they're even ready for a project. If that's you, this blog post should hopefully help you figure out when and how to approach a rebranding project. Branding is a really important investment for your small business and it’s necessary if you want your business to grow. I'm going to cover the basics of how to tell if you're ready for a rebranding project and how to approach and get ready for that project.

Your Brand Values are Boring

January 29, 2024

I see the same values over and over again and they generally don't tell me anything about what to expect from a business that isn't already super obvious. For example, I see the value of "Quality" all the time. And while it's great that you have a quality product, wouldn't all of your competitors say the same thing? And haven't your customers heard that word thousands of times already from other businesses? While it's coming from a place of sincerity (I'm sure you do have a really high quality product!), the messaging comes across flat because you're using generic, overused, boring terminology. As part of my brand strategy services, I work with clients on defining their brand values to make sure that they can actually create all that magic I mentioned above. In this post, I'm sharing my advice on how to create brand values that won't have your customers yawning.

The Basics of Color Psychology

January 22, 2024

As a small business owner, you should know the basics of color psychology. Before we get started, a definition for you: Color psychology is the study of how colors impact human behavior and emotions. In design, marketing, and branding, it focuses on strategically leveraging colors to evoke certain responses from consumers. While this is a highly nuanced field of study, the basics are all you really need to make sure your visuals are communicating what you want them to be. Colors have the power to shape the thoughts and actions of your customers. Read on so you know how to wield that power with intention!

Why Brand Design Must Come Before Packaging Design

January 15, 2024

This blog post is for those businesses who have been around for a bit and are looking for an upgrade to their packaging. If that’s you, I’m so glad you’re thinking about updating your packaging to something more strategic. As you can guess by the title of this blog post though, I am going to tell you to hold your horses on the packaging design until you have a solid strategic brand identity in place. By creating packaging after you have a brand identity in place you'll be much better suited to differentiate your product, stay consistent, make a good first impression, and build up your brand recognition.

Secrets of Long-Term Success for Product-Driven Businesses

January 8, 2024

I'm going to be real with you: long-term success for a small business is not easy to achieve. Continued success requires scaling and growing your customer base and ensuring your customers keep coming back to you. I'm about to spill the tea on a keys to building relationships that last way beyond the first purchase: storytelling, killer branding, delighting your customers, and offering limited releases. There's a lot you can do by yourself (and a lot you're already doing by yourself, I'm sure) but don't be afraid to outsource and get help from experts. If you're interested in making sure your brand stands out through your visuals and a unique value proposition, let's talk!

The Face of Your Product-Based Business

January 1, 2024

If you think you can get away without showing your face as the founder or owner of a product-based business, you’re wrong. Ok, maybe you could get away with it, but you’d be missing out on a huge opportunity to stand out, build trust, and make important connections. It can be tempting to let the “product speak for itself” but know that your voice is more powerful and can amplify the attraction and trust from your potential customers. To be showing up as the face of your product-based business, you need to be present in person and online as yourself and be actively telling your story, sharing your expertise, and talking about your products.

Top 5 Mistakes to Avoid in DIY Branding

December 9, 2023

Are you thinking about DIY-ing your brand? Read this first so you can avoid the top five most common mistakes that small businesses often make when DIY-ing their brand. From stopping at just a logo to relying too heavily on trends, not designing for your audience, inconsistency in usage, and DIY-ing when professional help is needed. Take this expert advice and use it to elevate your brand strategically and unleash the full potential of your DIY brand.

The Importance of Branding for Small Businesses

December 7, 2023

Branding is a crucial for growth in a small business. In a crowded market, strategic branding helps you stand out, build trust, and connect emotionally with customers. Having a unique visual identity is less about aesthetics and more about finding your voice in the noise and creating a memorable first impression. Trust, consistency, emotional connection—these are the keys to turning one-time buyers into loyal advocates, and all of these are things branding can help you with. Not convinced? Read on and see how I can help you make the process as joy-filled as possible.