As a graphic designer, there's nothing more rewarding than building a brand identity from scratch. When we were approached by Excellent Reporting to create their branding guide and website design, we knew it was an opportunity to blend creativity with precision--something their mission exemplifies. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at how this branding journey unfolded.
Understanding the Client
The foundation of any strong brand lies in understanding the client's vision and mission. Excellent Reporting is dedicated to empowering small businesses with transparent, actionable financial insights. They transform complex financial data into something clear, simple, and approachable. This became the cornerstone of their brand identity: clean, accessible, and trustworthy.
Their competitors, like QuickBooks Online and Sage, may offer financial tools, but Excellent Reporting goes beyond--bringing a personal touch, focusing on clarity and simplicity. They bring a personal touch and genuinely care for their clients' financial well-being. This unique approach inspired the design's emphasis on building a brand that customers can confidently put their faith in.
Defining the Personality
We wanted the brand to be as approachable and colorful as the solutions Excellent Reporting provides its clients. The keywords they provided--colorful, exciting, clean--guided every decision. This meant crafting a visual identity that was professional without feeling dull, vibrant without being overwhelming, and sophisticated without being intimidating. This is the perfect balance that small business owners need.
The Logo
The heart of branding is the logo. We wanted the logo to visually communicate the financial clarity Excellent Reporting provides. The result was a design where the "X" forms a line graph, the "LL" forms a bar graph, and the darker "excel" stands out from the logo as a whole. These elements symbolize financial insights, while the use of varying shades of green ("ROI Green," "Capital Green," and "Equity Evergreen") reinforces trust, growth, and financial stability.
The logo is versatile, with horizontal and vertical variations, as well as a minimalist brandmark. This ensures the brand can adapt to any medium--from website headers to social media profile pictures.
The Color Palette
Choosing the right colors was crucial. Green, the dominant hue, symbolizes growth, relaxation, and security. A complementary Liquidity Blue embodies trust, loyalty, peace, and confidence. Ratio Red is a highlight color for courage and confidence (and it's important to have a red when visualizing data). An array of neutrals ground the design. The result? A palette that's professional yet dynamic, instilling this crucial confidence in clients.
We also provided pairing suggestions to ensure the brand's colors can create striking combinations without compromising readability or accessibility.
Typography
Typography plays a silent but powerful role in branding. For Excellent Reporting, we selected Lexend for headings and Merriweather for body text. These typefaces strike the perfect balance between modern and classic, just like their services. Lexend's clean lines make headlines pop, while Merriweather lends a touch of tradition and seriousness to longer text.
Brand Assets
Brand vector assets are important to expand your brand's potential in design. These images can be used as bullet points, backgrounds, overlays, and so much more. Drawing from the financial reporting theme, we created five of these assets for Excellent Reporting to breathe more life into their design potential.
Bringing It All Together
The final branding guide outlines every detail--from logo usage to example graphics and branding rules. We even included a section with design tips to ensure their materials maintain a polished, professional look.
The result of this project is a cohesive brand identity that embodies Excellent Reporting's values. This guide equips them to create marketing materials and client presentations that are instantly recognizable and deeply impactful.
In addition to the branding guide, we designed some promotional materials for Excellent Reporting: a business card design, banner design, and social media templates. When purchasing a branding package, you have the opportunity to add these materials on to your project.
The Website Design
Once the branding guide was complete, it was time to convert it into a brand-new website. Our goal was to create a simple website that was attractive and easy to navigate. Excellent Reporting also had the opportunity to comment directly on the website to make revisions. You can view the website at excellentreporting.com.
Why This Project Stands Out
Creating the brand for Excellent Reporting was both a challenge and a joy. This project required us to balance creative expression with practicality, ensuring every design element has a purpose. From the bold logo to the thoughtful use of color and typography, each decision supports the company's mission to simplify financial reporting and empower their clients.
Curious about how a strong brand can elevate your business? Let's collaborate! Together, we can bring your vision to life with design that connects and inspires.
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Send us an email at luminarymediaservices@gmail.com.
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