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Creating a new web design, whether for yourself or someone else, starts with your brand board. What is a brand board? Simply put, it's the visual communicator of your brand's character, values and personality all wrapped up into one nice looking piece.
What to include in your brand board
1. Primary logo
This is your brand's main image. Some brands have sub-logos or different variations of their logo as well. These can be used to help set the tone of the entire website.
2. Color Palette
Colors convey a certain vibe and feeling which also contributes to the site's overall aesthetic. You can have three to five colors represented throughout your branding. Too many more than that and you may find your site starting to look chaotic and unorganized. Here's an example of a color palette I recently did for a local non-profit medical center featuring five different colors:
Pro Tip: On your brand board include the HEX # for each color which makes it easy when designing your site to ensure you have the exact colors needed.
3. Fonts
Choosing the right fonts also helps clarify your brand and image and should be included on your brand board. There are two typs of fonts: serif and sans serif. Sans serif fonts are like the one I'm using here in this blog post. There are no fancy small lines on the ends of each character. A serif font would be Times Roman, Playfair Display, Georgia, or any other font that uses the small lines on each character. Be sure to choose a font that best represents your industry. Most chunky, thicker sans serif fonts are used for a modern, clean look, while the popular hand-scripty fonts popular today are used in more feminine branding. Here are examples of serif and sans serif fonts:
4. Textures and Accents
Finding the right textures and accents pull your brand board's overall look together. These would be things like a wooden background for a Farm-to-Table site or polka dots in the background for a feminine site. They aren't the main style but help complement the primary images and feel of the brand.
5. Style Inspiration
This is the brand board section where images convey feeling, vibe, and aesthetic without words. It delivers the mood of the brand incorporating colors and styles the brand represents. Be choosy about which images you put in this section. They should reflect all of the other elements you have incorporated on your brand board so be sure they are relevant to the project.
Here's an example brand board I recently did for my client BlueEyedPics:
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