Right alongside the rush of excitement that comes with starting a business can often be a little fear of the journey ahead. If you’ve ever asked yourself “can I really do this?” know that you’re not alone. Founder fear is totally normal.
In celebration of Entrepreneurship Month this year, we set out to reassure entrepreneurs that you absolutely can do this. Not only that—the journey can be plenty of fun! We found that of all the steps we take when starting a new business, one of the most fun and doable can be building your visual brand.
We asked our global community of designers to create three awesome visual brands from scratch. These visual brands were inspired by business ideas dreamt up by kids. And for a little added challenge (because, why not?!), we also gave them just around a week to get it done.
With the business ideas and time crunch sorted, our designers were off to create inspiring, stunning and fun visual brands from scratch. Read on as we reveal the visual brands the designers came up with, and discover how easy it is to build your own with the right talent and professional expertise.
The challenge: bringing ideas to life with design
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The challenge began by finding three truly imaginative and wild business ideas. The wilder, the better. We wanted to prove that all ideas can be brought to life with design.
Where better to find a crazy idea, than the magical minds of children? We asked three imaginative kids, “If you could invent anything, what would it be?”
And—voilà! From magical turbo-charged sneakers and teleporting headphones to glow-in-the-dark trees, designers turned these ideas into these three fun visual brands.
1. Vroom Sneakers by Arty
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“What if I could make anything? What about shoes that make me run fast like Sonic [the Hedgehog]?! Vroooom!”—Arty, 4 year old
Our first brand imagined by 4-year-old Arty is Vroom Sneakers: a line of sports footwear for kids that can make them run faster, and jump higher.
The brief was simple. Along with a description of the business idea, we shared examples of logo designs we liked and asked designers to keep the tone of the brand playful. We wanted to ensure that it would appeal to an audience of adventurous and energetic kids—just like Arty himself.
Over the next few days, we received dozens of brilliant responses. Then, like magic, a design submission from self-taught artist Al (al54) brought Arty’s idea to life: a cartoon retro-inspired logo, featuring a sparkly-eyed shoe mascot.
Al says, “From the first read of the brief, I got this crazy idea of making a shoe mascot with a nod to classic rubber hose hot rod illustrations. After some sketching in Photoshop, I came up with several options—some of them were a bit creepy, some of them were rather friendly looking—and as you can see, it eventually hit the spot.”
Al’s advice for entrepreneurs who are ready to get started with their visual brand? Keep it simple, and have fun with it! “I’m not really that good at giving advice,” says Al, “but hey—let’s just create cool things together.”
Show off your brand’s personality with a custom retro logo from a professional designer like al54.
2. Glow in the Dark Trees by Nicola
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“The street light on my road went out, and mum and I talked about what if the trees could light up instead? With fireflies or something like that, instead of electricity”—Nicola, 11 years old
The second brand we created from scratch, imagined by 11-year-old Nicola, is Glow in the Dark Trees. These are naturally glowing, illuminated trees that are an environmentally-friendly, greener replacement for streetlamps.
Once again, we gave designers a simple brief, asking for a textured, dreamy and nature-inspired design. We asked that the brand speaks to an audience of young adults who care about new and innovative ways to take care of the planet.
The winning design by Ana (ananana14) breathed life into Nicola’s idea. “It felt liberating to quiet the logic down and let my imagination run completely wild,” Ana tells us. “I simply let my hand guide, which resulted in a whimsical shape and concept. This is probably why I had such a blast working on this!”
In her advice to entrepreneurs, Ana says, “Seeing your first design draft delivered to you is going to help you visualize your idea really becoming a business, and fill you with enthusiasm and energy to continue powering through.”
With your designer, you will always feel like you have an ally on your side
Show off your brand’s personality with a nature-inspired, earthy logo from a professional designer like ananana14.
3. SpaceJump Headphones by Riley
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“When I turn on a song, but then it can take me anywhere in the world”—Riley, 8 years old
Our final brand inspired by 8-year-old Riley is SpaceJump Headphones. This range of headphones allows their users to teleport across space and distance, instantly.
Lindsey (gothlux), an experienced identity designer and illustrator, stepped up to the challenge and created a visual brand featuring a groovy illustration of a character alongside psychedelic-inspired typography.
“Communication is key!” says Lindsey, in their advice for entrepreneurs. “Consult and enquire about your designer’s process, and check out their portfolio to find out if they are the right fit for you and your project.”
“My work is just really weird, fun, and alternative. I love anything that relates to subcultures and history—specifically gothic music, fashion, and media.”
Show off your brand’s personality with a groovy or trippy logo design from a professional designer like gothlux.
A checklist for building your own visual brand from scratch
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It takes courage to make the first steps in your entrepreneurial journey, to commit to your idea and to believe in yourself.
Feeling ready to add a new spark of passion and creativity to your business idea? Get started with your logo design or branding with the help of our design community!
Here’s a simple checklist to begin working through as you begin building your own visual brand from scratch:
- Basic business information: you’ll want to be sure of your business name and slogan. Any other information you can provide will be helpful too, like your brand values or mission statement.
- Brand personality: whether your brand is quirky and playful like Vroom Sneakers, or dreamy and nature-inspired like Glow in the Dark Trees, you’ll also want to feel confident about the personality traits that should shine through in your logo design. Here’s more on how to create a strong brand personality.
- Color scheme: what colors do you want in your logo? If you’re looking for more guidance here, check out our complete guide to logo colors.
- Inspiration: have a search online for other logos you like, so you can share them with your designer.
- Dos and don’ts: create a list of what you know you do or don’t want in your logo.
- Timeframe: determine any essential deadlines, so your designer will know what they’re working towards.
Once you’ve ticked these off, you’ll be ready to start designing your logo! The good news is that there are plenty of ways to get it done. Check out this handy guide on how much you should spend on your new logo design.
