Creating a Company Brand Without a Budget

By Jarratt Isted

Jarratt is the CTO of HelpDocs, a company focused on helping companies improve their self-serve support. When he’s not writing code, you’ll find him hopping to another country with a small back-pack.

Stepping into a mall is one way to get some serious brand envy. Wherever you look there are dozens of glistening logos plastered above custom decorated shops and bumbling alongside fellow shoppers as they walk with their bag of newly purchased goodies.

Each window display invites you to step into their world of utopia. Whether that’s sipping the perfect Italian roast, putting your best self on for your night out at the weekend, or promising that this bigger slab of the screen will change your productivity forever.

This is company branding. Immersing your customers into your vision, your purpose. Giving them a taste of what you can do for them. The thing is, this type of branding takes time, years of skill, and a budget you almost certainly don’t have your hands on.

After 3 or so years working in the world of startups, I’ve had many branding breakdowns. Many logos and color palettes I’ve created have been hastily and forcibly removed from my design file. Trawling through design inspiration sites is my poison. Why is everyone else better at branding than me?

First time branding always sucks

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