FAQs | Island Creative

Do you have questions? We have answers.

BRANDING

+What is a brand?

People often confuse brands with logos, slogans or other trademarks. Put simply, your brand is what your prospect thinks of when he or she hears your brand name. It’s everything the public thinks it knows about your name brand offering—both factual (e.g. it comes in a robin’s-egg-blue box), and emotional (e.g. it’s romantic). When done right your brand should be something people not only see but feel.

Brands are perceptions and live in the mind. They live in the minds of everyone who experiences them: employees, investors, the media, and, perhaps most importantly, customers.

+Why is branding worth the investment?

Branding is the secret weapon of most companies.

A business’s branding is more important than you might think. On the outside, your brand may seem like it consists only of elements such as logos and colours, but your brand is actually the entire identity of your business. Your brand gives you personality.

Branding has always been a vital part of business, but it may be more important now than ever before. With social media, consumers get exposed to new brands every day. This can be great for consumers who have plenty of options and are able to do research to find the best one, but it makes it harder for businesses.

Effective branding allows you to:

+ Helps people identify and recognise your business, products and services

+ Stand out from the crowd – allowing you to differentiate from the competition

+ Connect with your customers emotionally

+ Communicate to your consumers what to expect from you making your products easy to choose

+ Attract top quality talent

+ Build trust from many different stakeholders

+ Provide value for your employees

+ Create loyal customers

+ Be clear with your organisation’s strategy and stay focused

Branding is more than just a design on a product, a logo or a tagline. It’s about customer experience, brand promises, company philosophy, personality and culture. It’s what sets you apart and this difference, and how it’s portrayed is what makes companies leaders in their industry. It’s a strategy for growth and success.

+What is the difference between a brand and a logo?

When most people think of a brand, the first thing that comes to mind is a logo. There is general perception that logo design and branding are the same thing. While a logo is indeed a key brand element, and typically the most immediate visual association with a company, there’s more to a brand than a logo. A logo identity system and a strong branding system or guidelines are both crucial when marketing or promoting a consistent image, message and voice, but a brand speaks for itself.

+What are brand guidelines, and why are they important?

Brand guidelines, brand standards guide, branding guidelines, style guides, brand books, brand identity guidelines, whatever you call them they are clearly defined standards that communicate how your brand should be presented to the world. They help businesses ensure consistency and demonstrate what the company stands for, what it does, and who they are.

Brand guidelines are a set of tools and rules on how to use your branding elements. The guidelines are used by designers, writers and anyone else using your brand’s elements.

Whether your business is large or small, brand guidelines are critical in helping your brand work effectively. They avoid confusion, set standards and provide brand consistency.

+What’s included in brand guidelines?

Since no two brands are exactly the same, the elements included in your brand guidelines may not look the same as a different brand’s guidelines. However, there are three common elements included in every brand identity guidelines:

The colour palette that your brand uses.
The different typography associated with your brand including the various typefaces and families.
The different versions of your logo design and how they are to be used.

While those three elements are included in almost every set of brand guidelines, there are other elements that can be included.

The elements in brand guidelines depend on the elements that make up your brand.

+What are brand touchpoints?

A brand touchpoint is simply an element or place where a potential customer will experience your brand.

Examples of physical touchpoints: Shop fronts and interiors, catalogues, direct mail, print ads, documents such as letters and contracts, and much more.

Examples of digital touchpoints: website, social media platforms, blogs, email newsletters, online directories and digital documents.

WORKING WITH ISLAND CREATIVE

+What separates Island Creative from other brand studios or agencies?

We become students of every brand we serve because understanding who you are at the core is the only way we can help you achieve sustainable results. We view culture as the foundation of your brand, modelled through the other 4 dimensions of your brand: story, product/service, experience, and identity. And we utilise design sprints to come up with innovative solutions to complicated problems in a much shorter amount of time—because cookie-cutter solutions just don’t cut it.

+Do you work with international clients?

Yes we do. Although currently based in Hong Kong, we have clients all over the world so are used to working between different time zones. Being in a multicultural society and having experience in different parts of the world allows us to understand the different cultural distinctions that may be critical to you and your brand.

+Is it hard to work together if our time zones are far apart?

We serve clients all over the globe with no time zone issues from the US and Canada to Europe and Australia.

+How many other clients do you work with at a time?

In order to provide the level of quality and dedication that we believe our clients deserve, we only work with 1 – 2 clients at any given point. This allows us to work much more intimately with our clients and move much faster as our response time is sooner and our ability to implement changes or edits is almost immediate.

+Is Island Creative LGBTQIA+- friendly?

We're committed to empowering all people. Your gender identity and expression, sexual orientation, ethnicity, age, religion, and/or disability status are all valued at Island Creative.

+Do you offer an NDA?

Yes, many of our clients for reasons of their own request that we work under a DNA

+Do you only work with new businesses?

We work with both existing businesses and those looking to start out. At any stage of your business we can help you to refine your branding. Sometimes it’s just a refresh of an existing brand, other times we take a complete brand audit to see where you need to amend your current touchpoints to ensure you have a cohesive brand experience.

WORKING WITH ISLAND CREATIVE: Services

+Do you offer logo design?

Branding is more than just a logo. Before we start the design process we’ll have a “discovery meeting” or call and you’ll be asked to complete an in-depth Branding Questionnaire. We believe that in order to work your branding must have a strong foundation built on customer-focused strategy.

Strategy

+ Brand Strategy, Purpose and Positioning

+ Brand Guidelines

+ Naming, Messaging and Brand Voice

+ Brand Portfolio and Architecture

+ Communication Strategy and Content Planning

+ Launch Planning

+ UI/UX

+ User Journeys and Brand Experiences

Creative

+ Brand Identity and Logos

+ Brand Naming

+ Collateral and Branded Assets Design

+ Photography

+ Instagram Styling

+ Creative Copywriting, Proofreading and Editing

+ Wix, Squarespace and Shopify Websites

In addition to the standard branding services, we offer:

+ Art direction (Styling, Creative Consultancy, Design Direction, Photography Direction and Shoot Styling, Environmental Design)

+ Interior Branding and Design

+ Sustainability services, including suitability coaching, strategy and design

+ Semi-custom brands (coming soon)

+ The Island Academy (signature courses) (coming soon)

Click here for more information on our services

We offer signature packages including:

+ One-on-one Coaching

+ Signature Branding + Bespoke Add-ons

+ Community Partnerships

Click here for more information on our offerings

+Which package should I choose?

Every business is different and has different needs. Not quite sure which features you absolutely need and where you can get the best bang for your buck? Give us a shout at jo@islandcreative.asia We’re straight shooters. We’ll work with you to figure out the package that will meet your needs and gives you the best return on investment.

+Can I upgrade my package?

If you decide you want to upgrade your package before we begin, we can always update your invoice. Once we get started, we’ll have to complete the package that you’ve chosen. For our brand packages, we have Brand Collateral and Social Media add-ons.

+Do you maintain websites once created?

Yes! We understand that you need to focus on doing what you rock at, running your business. Leave the maintenance to us, this may include; publishing or editing blog posts, updating content, adding testimonials, updating product photos, revising product descriptions, adding or removing inventory, performing general updates, etc.

+Do you help with naming and copywriting?

As a matter of fact, we do! Our team will work with you to develop a unique brand voice that is consistent across all platforms and mediums; one that speaks to your target audience and represents your brand values. Feeling stuck on your website copy? We also work with strategic, sales-oriented copywriting for websites, landing pages, marketing campaigns and more. For more information please get in touch.

WORKING WITH ISLAND CREATIVE: Payment

+How much do you charge?

As all of our clients and their projects and needs are unique, as our costs. The costs depend on the scope of the projects. During our initial meeting or call we will discuss your specific needs and goals. Once the parameters of the project have been set, you will receive a quote.

+How do payments work?

We offer a few different payment options depending on what works best for you. Our standard payment structure is as follows: Once we have a set date to start your project, and we’ve been through our contract, you will receive an invoice for a 50% deposit (this is non-refundable). When the project is complete, you will receive an invoice for the remaining 50%.

We offer payment plans where the payments can be divided up into 4 payments if this works better for you, but a deposit is always required to hold your time on our calendar. Other payment plans are available upon request.

Typically, we offer a one-off fee for the project which includes a set number of amends. Any further changes will be charged on an hourly basis.

We’re happy to offer payment based on a project basis or we can craft an agreement with you for ongoing work. If you’d like to take it slow, we can start with a 1-3 month agreement to see how we work together.

WORKING WITH ISLAND CREATIVE: The Process

+What do I need before the project begins?

You need to have a solid vision for your business and a basic knowledge of your dream audience you‘d like to attract.

+What format will my files be in?

We will send you JPEG and PNG files. When required we will also send you AI, PDF or PSD files.

+What if I need more amendments?

There is a cost for additional amendments outside of those outlines in the project scope. The price depends on the number of amendments and the scope of the project (e.g. logo revisions or website design revisions).

+What's included in a Full Logo Suite, what are the different logo terms and what do they mean?

A Full Logo Suite includes various file types for print and the web– applicable to anything.

Primary Logo – this is the MVP of your brand. It should be used most frequently, whenever space allows.
Secondary Logo – This is the logo you’ll use when the primary logo doesn’t fit or feel right in a chosen context.
Submark – A simplified version of your logo that can easily be used on a smaller scale.
Favicon - The favicon is a small square image that represents a website in web browsers.

All of your logos will fit cohesively with the entirety of your branding.

+Do you offer ongoing contracts or relationships? Can I hire you at an hourly rate?

We offer both work on spec and ongoing contracts with our clients. Through our Virtual CMO, we’ll work alongside you and your team to grow your brand and business. Some clients need ongoing graphic design work for their Instagram accounts, some only need a small project to set up their brand identity. Other clients require a complete rebrand or branding project covering many aspects from their website design to full collateral creation and environmental design. As all of our clients and their brands are unique, so are our working relationships.

Typically, we don’t offer hourly rates. We bill either by project or on a monthly retainer. This ensures you get our best work and you know what you’re getting ahead of time. We strategise and design with intention, meaning that every decision we make is purposeful.

+How much involvement is required from the client?

Some clients want to be involved in every step of the process. Others want us to handle it all for them and just to let them know when it’s done. We just need you to come to us with a vision of where you’d like to go.

+How long is the process?

Every project varies in scope. At the start of the project we will discuss your ideal completion/launch date and work towards that.

+I'm ready to get started. Now what?

Shoot us an email and we'll get in touch

Have more questions? Get in touch and we'll help