<span style="font-weight: 400;">Have you ever scrolled through Instagram or wandered through town and felt like you were seeing double? It’s almost as if every boutique, café, and online store are siblings from the same brand family. Rose & Honey, Lily & Pine, Petal & Bumble… Sound familiar? And let's not even get started on the identical color schemes, fonts, and social media vibes! It's a real challenge to make your small business stand out in this sea of sameness.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">But why is this happening? Well, it’s due to an array of different things such as seeing what other businesses do and copying that, </span><a href="https://theincmagazine.com/5-smart-tips-to-reduce-your-business-expenses-without-affecting-quality/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">cutting down on budgets </span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">by using templates (and templates are huge everywhere include with logos too), and even brand advisors will recommend this approach too. Overall, more and more businesses across a whole array of industries are starting to look a little too similar. But don’t worry you can still avoid blending in! So, here’s what you need to know!</span> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Unleash Your Inner Creativity </span></h3> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Sure, some names sound delightful, but so do a dozen other variations that are probably already taken. Think outside the box! Your business name is the first impression you make. It should reflect your brand’s personality and uniqueness. Brainstorm words and phrases that are meaningful to you and your business vision. Combine unexpected words, invent new ones, or use a name that tells your brand’s story. </span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The key is to create something memorable and distinctly you. So what does this mean? Well, don’t sound similar, for example, “Peony and Honey,” “Ivy and Cane,” “Dusty Rose Consulting,” or something like that; it’s really generic, and it’s going to eventually become outdated. </span> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Don’t Be Afraid to Color Outside the Lines</span></h3> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Now, onto the fun stuff: colors! While pastel pinks and muted tones are currently trendy, they’re also everywhere. Why not dare to be different? You don’t even have to dive into color psychology like all the fast food chains, but you don’t have to stick with what’s popular, either. </span> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Learn More About Fonts</span></h3> <span style="font-weight: 400;">Fonts are another area where businesses tend to converge. Those lovely handwritten scripts and clean sans-serifs are gorgeous but overused. Do you see the issue? So, instead, why not explore different typography styles and mix them creatively? You can even reach out to a typographer to help you out with all of this, too.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">For example, if you’re working on product labels for your business and you’re using a </span><a href="https://www.fastprinting.com.au/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">print shop</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> for your promotional materials (tags, boxes, thank you cards, you name it), do you really want these to look like everyone else’s? How do you expect to stand out? So that’s why you’ll need a typographer; who knows, maybe they can create a whole new font just for you. It’s literally possible! </span> <h3><span style="font-weight: 400;">Design with Distinciton</span></h3> <span style="font-weight: 400;">When it comes to your website and social media, it's crucial to create a cohesive yet unique look. So, this means that you’re going to have to avoid cookie-cutter templates and invest some time in customizing your online presence. Basically, stay very far away from Canva! It could help to hire a</span><a href="https://tarynlanglois.com.au/"><span style="font-weight: 400;"> brand designer</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> just so you can make sure it doens’t look similar to other businesses. </span>
