The Art of Branding: Create Authentic Brands Using Adobe Express

1. The Art of Branding: Create Authentic Brands Using Adobe Express: Art and Branding are not that different. Hi. My name is Pamela Cleo, and I'm a communication artist and visual storyteller. I run my art and design studio with a poetic and conceptual approach that allows me to give visual form to ideas to simplify projects that think outside the box. Some of my clients include doctors without borders Germany and ID Barcelon. Just as a painter meticulously applies its brushstro Branding entails a thoughtful selection of colors, fonts, imagery, and messaging to convey brand's essence and values. Branding is about narrating a tale that resonates with viewers. Much like a sculptor refining their masterpiece, branding involves honing and shaping a brand's logo and assets to craft impactful and memorable visual stories. In this class, you will learn how to create authentic brands that tell a brand story with impact using Adobe Express, all in one app for fast and easy content creation. This class will prepare you with the right tools and insights to evoke emotions, forge connections, and leave a lasting in even if you're a season designer seeking to delve deeper into conceptual branding, this class offers invaluable insights. After taking this class, you'll be able to create branding projects that transform brands into authentic memorable experiences. We will go over the essential aspects of branding and brand identity creation. Begin with a thorough understanding of the differences between branding, visual identity, brand identity, brand assets, and a logo. Moving forward, we'll delve into the intricacies of shaping the shape and the personality of a brand, as well as making a value proposition Vn diagram and a brand archetype wheel. Additionally, you'll learn to give visual form to your vision through drafting while simultaneously mastering the fundamental tools of Adobe Express. I'll write a bonus section on vectorizing images using Figma, enhancing your design on Adobe Express. By the end of this class, you will be familiar with Adobe Express, and you will master the art of designing unique brands through a comprehensive replicable process. Are you ready to embark on the journey of authentic design? Join me in the art of branding. Can't wait to see you in class. 2. Class Orientation: Today's main class project is to get you familiar with the forms available in the class resources. We will briefly go over the intake form, the value proposition VN diagram, the brand archetype wheel, and the Illustrated guide to follow along the class's main topics and process. Remember, our class project is the creation of a brand idensity from scratch. My goal is to make you feel empowered and confident to build a brand of your choosing from zero. Now is a great time to start thinking about the kind of brand you want to create. Can be your personal brand, a rebranding proposal for a brand of someone you know, or a fictional brand that excites you. For example, a subscription box of art supplies and healthy snacks. I'd love to see that in the world. What's great about the class project is that you will learn about creating authentic brands with a brand identity that highlights their uniqueness as we go along, and together we will develop the conceptual voice of the brand you're crafting. I will guide you through a process that will allow us to shape a brand identity with a logo, wordmark typography and color palette after an in depth process. I will guide you every step of the way through the difference between branding brand identity, visual identity, brand assets, and a logo. A branding intake form, how to shape the voice and personality of the brand you're creating by summing up your brand in one sentence. Creating a brand archetype wheel, how to create a concept board, how to develop a mood board from a concept, developing a first draft, how to start giving form to a vision. Learning the basics of Adobe Express, shaping your vision on Adobe Express. Bonus vectorizing images on Figma to import to Adobe Express, creating a basic brand book on Adobe Express. With in depth process we will cover, you will be able to create brands that forge connections, evoke emotions, and leave a lasting imprint. You will be able to shape brands with Adobe Express and Figma, if you so wish to shape brands into authentic, memorable experiences. Make sure you have pen and paper, and I'll see you in the next lesson. 3. Class Resources: Remember, in the class project, we will create a brand identity that includes a logo, a color palette, and a typography. Before going to the software, we will develop an in depth conceptual process to shape the voice of your brand and later apply it to the visual system that is a brand identity. It is important to go to the design software last because the way you make a brand authentic is by tuning in to what it does uniquely. Don't worry. There's a process for doing this. First, we will fill out an intake form I use with my clients. Note that you can fill out the form as the real or fictional client or develop a brand for someone else and have them fill it out. The answers on this form will give us great insights and possible concepts to develop further. Once we have the form filled out, we will use the information in it to complete our event diagram value proposition. With this completed, we will sum up your brand in one sentence. After this initial steps, we will create a concept board to go deeper into what the brand is and what it can become. After researching the words and choosing one or two main concepts, we will create a mood board to set the R direction of the brand identity. Then we will go over powerful branding shapes and begin sketching the initial draft of our logo. After that, will dive into Adobe Express to get familiar with this software and start designing the logo of our brand with a typography and color palette selection. In the bonus section, we will quickly go over how to vectorize custom shapes and Figma and import them to Adobe Express. Once we have completed these steps, we will create a basic brand book in Adobe Express. With branding, there are no absolute rules. As you practice, you might realize that this ideation process might change a bit in order. What matters is that you build a solid foundation to shape the story of your brand visually. This is how we guarantee our authentic voice will come through. If at any point you feel inspired or get an idea inside, write it down in your sketchbook or hand notepad. I don't go anywhere without a sketchbook, and that's where I reason. Before going on to the next lesson, make sure you have downloaded the class resources guide and have the links to Adobe Express and Sigma read. See you in the next lesson. 4. The Difference Between Branding, Visual Identity, Brand identity, Brand Assets, and a Logo : In this lesson, we'll go over the different elements that make up a brand identity. We'll go over the differences between branding, brand identity, visual identity, brand assets, and a logo, and we'll look at the roles and significance within the branding landscape. We'll navigate through brand semantics, empowering you to discern and articulate the core essence of any brand with clarity and precision. Branding versus visual identity. Branding encompasses the holistic, strategy, and perception associated with a company, product or service. It englops everything from the brand's values, mission and personality to its messaging and positioning in the market. Visual identity, on the other hand, refers specifically to the visual elements that represent a brand, such as its logo, color palette, typography, and imagery. While branding focuses on the overall impression on emotional connection a brand cultivates with its audience, visual identity is a tangible manifestation of this intangible concept. It serves as the visual framework through which the brand communicates its identity and values to the world, playing a crucial role in shaping how the brand is perceived and remembered. Visual identity is the same as brand identity. I personally prefer the term brand identity, as brand is a word most people are familiar with versus visual identity, which can be more familiar to people in the design world. Brand assets versus logo. Brand assets is a wide range of visual elements and collateral used to represent a brand, including but not limited to logo, typography, color palette, imagery, and graphics. These assets work together to create a cohesive visual identity that communicates the brand's personality and values across different touchpoints and channels. The logo, specifically, is a central component of the branding identity and serves as a recognizable symbol or mark that represents the brand. It is often the first point of contact between a brand and its audience, playing a crucial role in establishing brand recognition. While other brand assets support and reinforce the brand's identity, the logo stands out as a distinct and memorable emblem that encapsulates the essence of the brand in a simple and recognizable form. It's important to remember that a logo is part of a brand identity, but it's not its totality. Now, you're ready to get started on crafting the voice of your brand. Now is a great time to start thinking about what kind of brand you want to create. It can be your personal brand, a real brand you've been meaning to create a rebranding proposal for a brand of someone you know or a fictional brand that excites you. For example, a subscription box of art supplies and healthy snacks. I will guide you every step of the way, and I'll be working on a brand I've been meaning to create for a while, which will serve as the class's case study. Make sure you have the class resources ready and I'll see you in the next lesson. 5. Art of Branding Intake Form & First Steps of the Branding Project: In this lesson, we will go over the branding intake form available in the class resources. The reason why you want to start with writing when designing a brand is because navigating with your eyes closed can be quite a challenge, and designing without all the necessary information presents a similar struggle. The responses on this form will bring to light the unique story, requirements and vision of the brand you'll be creating. If you're creating the brand for a project you've had in mind for a while now, you will be filling out the form as a client, as well. The form works either way. You can also give it to the owner or person in charge of the brand to be created. This form helps us develop a holistic view of the brand's vision and mission. You can print it or fill it out on your preferred software. I use this form all the time when working with clients. It's my first step to getting inside their head and trying to understand what they mean. What I actually do is have them fill out the form on their own, and then we have a video call to go over their answers, where I ask them what they mean by fresh, for example, because words are perspectives and we all have very different definitions for a same word. You can skip the call step if you're the client for the project you're creating. Just bear this in mind for future cases where you might be working for someone else. Also, try to read as detailed as possible when filling out this form. This is the form you'll find in the class resources. Feel free to print it or have it read it digitally. If someone will be filling it out for you, you can create your own version of it on Google Forms and get a live document you both have access to. Before we go into the form itself, let me contextualize you about the brand I'm going to create as the class case study for the purpose of applying what we learned throughout the class. My brand's name is Lena residencia, which translates to the good residence. It's an art residence I am creating with my mom in the mountains of Colombia outside of Cali. You might not always know where the naming of a Branding comes from, but if possible, it's very helpful to know this bit of information as it will provide valuable insights. For the case of Lena residencia, the name comes from the house complex where it's located. The name of it is Yarbaena, which means peppermint in Spanish and also would translate as good herb. Buena is part of the word, and that's where the name of the residence stems from Yirauena Buena residencia. I haven't developed the branding of Yerbauena yet, but it will have a lot of common with LaenaRsidencia, the brand identity I will be developing in the classes case study. I filled this form out as the client a bit before. Feel free to pause the video whenever you need to read or reread something and take your time when filling out the form. You can see I was very detailed with the responses. The form is a place where more is more, as we'll expand now to later on synthesize in our brand identity process. After filling out the form, re read and highlight the terms that draw your attention either because they suggest images or start showing up as possible concepts. A concept is a general idea about a thing or group of things. Don't worry about this too much, as the purpose of this form is to understand the project's needs and vision. Can see that I've highlighted silence, sanctuary, creation, intentional, introspective, blooming, fertile, slow. Before moving on to the next lesson, make sure your intake form is completed, that you've dedicated a bit of time to re read over it and have highlighted important keywords. Make sure you have the Venn diagram value proposition from the class resources ready. In the next lesson, we will be filling this out. 6. Value Proposition Venn Diagram: In this lesson, we will go over the Venn diagram value proposition available in the class resources. This chart will help us create a synthesis of the intake form we previously filled out. And it's also a great tool to have at hand for your communication systems and pillars. It's very valuable to remember your brand's Ys so that you can create from here. Creating from your Y will give you lots of ideas because you will be responding to the reason your brand and business exists. Let's have a look together at Laon Residencs Vn diagram. I just filled out. You can see in the why I wrote, because slow life has a positive impact on creativity. Destinated time and space for creating is very desirable. This project aims to support the living expenses of the adopted cats and dogs with the fees paid by the residents. Bringing people to Lauena Residencia will show them a slow way of living. Residents will create art aligned with the values of Lauena residencia. LaenaRsidencia will be part of an art ecosystem honoring the beauty and quiet of its remote location in the What section nrtisticRsidence, to art studios, a small community, a project with social artistic impact. Is it for artists and creators, people that want to dedicate time to develop a product they are working on. In the middle of the Venn diagram of the what, the why, the for who is your vision. What makes your brand unique? Drawing from this, we're going to go ahead and fill out the bottom part of the form to sum up your brand in one sentence. La Gena residencia is an art residence who helps artists connect with nature to connect with their creative power. What's your brand sentence? I'd love to see the process development of your brand's identity alongside the final class project when we get there. Do you notice how your brand is starting to have a voice of its own? Make sure you have completed the Venn diagram value proposition form, and have the brand archetype wheel ready from the class resources. And I'll see you in the next lesson. 7. Brand Personality Archetype Wheel : In this lesson, we'll go over the brand personality archetype will. This tool helps us develop further the personality and voice of our brand. With it, we can begin crafting compelling brand personalities. Just as individuals have distinct traits and characteristics that shape their identities, brands too can embody unique archetypal qualities that resonate with their audience on a profound level. So let's do a quick brand archetype overview. The Rebel. The rebel archetype embodies nonconformity, freedom, and defiance against the status quo. Brands associated with this archetype challenge conventions and inspire individuals to break free from societal norms. Examples include Harley Davidson, Apple in its earlier years, and Virgin. The Jester. The ester archetype symbolizes humor, spontaneity, and playfulness. Brands embodying this archetype entertain and delight consumers injecting joy and laughter into their lives. Examples include Coca Cola, Old Spice, and M&Ms, the lover. The lover archetype embodies passion and intimacy. Browns aligned with this archetype evoke emotions of love, Romance and connections. Examples include Victoria's Secret, Godiva, and Chanel, the caregiver. The caregiver archetype represents compassion, nurturing, and support. Brown's embodying this archetype demonstrate empathy and care for their audience, positioning themselves as dependable and trustworthy allies. Examples include Johnson and Johnson, UNICEF and Campbell's. The Everyman. The Everyman archetype symbolizes relatability, authenticity, and inclusivity. Brands associated with this archetype resonate with the common individual, portraying everyday experiences and values. Examples include Ikea and Levis. The innocent. The innocent archetype embodies purity, simplicity, and optimism. Brands embodying this archetype evoke feelings of nostalgia, innocence, and hope. Examples include Coca Cola, Dove, and Disney. The leader. The leader archetype represents authority, influence, and vision. Brands aligned with this archetype inspire confidence and trust, positioning themselves as leaders in their industry. Examples include Rolex, Mercedes Benz, and Microsoft, the Sage. The Sage archetype symbolizes wisdom, knowledge, and insight. Brands embodying this archetype offer valuable guidance and expertise to their audience, establishing themselves as authorities in their field. Examples include Harvard University, Tet Togs, and National Geographic, the magician. The magician archetype embodies transformation, innovation, and enchantment. Brands associated with this archetype inspire awe and wonder, offering transformative experiences and solutions. Examples include Disney, Apple, and Test Lound, the hero. The hero archetype represents bravery, courage, and resilence. Brands embodying this archetype inspire audiences to overcome challenges and achieve greatness. Examples include Nike, Superman and BMW. The creator the creator archetype embodies originality innovation and expression. Brands aligned with this archetype inspire creativity and self expression in their audience. Examples include Lego, Apple, and Adobe. The explorer. The explorer archetype symbolizes adventure, curiosity, and discovery. Brands associated with this archetype encourage their audience to break free from conventions and explore new horizons. Examples include the North face, Jeep, and Red Bull. Each archetype offers a unique perspective and set of characteristics that can inform and enrich your brand identity. Let's go over my example. By going over the answers from the intake form and VN diagram, I have identified that the archetypes that best align with Lana Residencias brands values, personality, and target audience are the caregiver, the creator and the explorer. Take a moment to fill out your brand's archetypes and remember nothing is set in stone. You can always go back to it and change it if you realize another archetype is more suitable as you go along. Now that you have completed your archetype will, you're starting to see how your brand will present itself and communicate. You're now ready to start working on the concept board. Make sure you have pen and paper ready, and I'll see you in the next lesson. 8. Creating a Concept Board: In this lesson, we will create the concept board for your brand identity. You don't need a specific template for this because this is just an ideation tool. So pen and paper is fine. What's great about this is that it allows us to really connect with the essence of the project and have a solid concept to create a moodboard with instead of going to generic mood board, search words, common places, or random shapes that don't necessarily have a connection with the magic of the brand. Meaning it's authenticity, what makes it unique. Make sure you have the intake form, the Vn diagram value proposition, and the archetype will at hand. Take a look at my example and take a moment after to create your own on a sheet of paper. I always like to start on paper, but of course, there are digital free tools like Miro that make mind mapping easier to follow. I'll show you my sketch first and then the clean final version in Miro for better legibility. But either one is fine. What's important about this step is that we get image insights from the process we have been working on. I like to start my concept board with the name of my project or brand in the middle. My brand's name is LauenaRsidenca, which translates to the good residence. The name of LauenaRsidencia comes from Yerbauena, the name of the house complex where it's located. Erbauena means peppermint in Spanish and also reads as good herb. Buena is part of the word, which means good, and that's where the name of the residence comes from. Yerbaenaena residencia. It's very valuable to look at definitions, synonyms, antonyms, and etymologies. This is great for ideation, as words are symbols for concepts and things and knowing what lies behind a word is a very fruitful process. Now I'm going to go to my intake form and read over it. Most importantly, I want to read over the highlighted parts. Which of these are more potent and appealing? Let's do the same definition, synonym and etymology process we did before. Synonyms open different pathways if we feel we can dig from one side further. A concept board is a powerful tool for dissecting complex ideas. They are great for conceptualizing as they allow us to open ideas and terms into more approachable units. This enhances association and helps us to ground the ideas by approaching the relationships through analogies. Let's take a look at the concepts I've chosen. Silence, sanctuary, creation, intentional, introspective. I looked for the synonyms and etymologies and from all of these, the ones that resonated more with the voice of LaenaRsidencia, are sanctuary, creation, and intentional. Now that we are clear on the concepts, we are ready to start working on our mood board. Before going on to the next lesson, make sure you have dedicated time and research to completing your concept board. Make sure you have finished your concept board, and I'll see you in the next lesson. 9. Creating a Mood Board: In this lesson, we will create a mood board from the concept board for brand inspiration. A mood board serves as a visual collage that captures the essence, mood, aesthetic and creative direction of a brand or project. It's a powerful tool used to convey ideas, evoke emotions, and guide the visual direction of a project. A mood board is a visual representation of a brand's personality, desired aesthetic, and as the term says, mood. It typically consists of a curated collection of images, colors, textures, typography, and other visual elements that evoke the desired mood and communicate the brand's essence. Moodboard serves as a visual reference and inspiration guide throughout the branding process, helping to ensure consistency and coherence in design decisions. We've taken the time to craft a concept board, so we won't risk using overused images or being too literal. We want our brand identity to stand out from other contemporaries and collaborators in the industry, and we are more creative than that. In the example for my case study, some images I directly want to avoid are scribble, brush, art palette, a house. It's helpful if you take a couple of minutes to think about the images that immediately come to your head or your browser when you think about the business area or descriptor. We are creating authentic brands for a reason. And even if you're making, say, a muffin brand, it'll have a twist, a richer story behind it. So we don't necessarily have to use a muffin and the logo. It can be something a little bit more creative than genuine to your story. You have two options, saving the images from the browsers you're consulting and laying them out on the board later on your preferred software, or you can do it on Pinterest. Pinterest is a free, popular platform for creating visual inspiration and creating mood words. If you don't already have an account, go ahead and set it up with your email. To begin, you can create a new board dedicated to your brand or project. Then start pinning images that resonate with the desired mood, style, and aesthetic. You can search for images using keywords related to your brand and just to your theme, and save them to your board for AC reference. Be sure to mix and match images that capture different aspects of your brand's personality, from color palettes and typography to textures and visual motives. And make sure to type in the keywords from your conceptbard. This is where it starts getting juicy. For example, I'll search for my keyword, sanctuary, as well as sanctuary plus conceptual illustration. I love this search prompt because it allows me to start searching for a vibe instead of an image that already exists. You can also look for the mood you want to create. My mood is playful, connected, inspired. Once your moodboard is complete, you'll have a comprehensive visual reference to inform and inspire your branding decisions. Crafting a personalized digital moodboard. You can create a personalized digital moodboard by saving images from various sources and organizing them into a cohesive collase. Begin by collecting images that align with your brand vision, whether from online sources, stock photo websites or your own photography. Remember that moodboards are not only a source of inspiration but also a valuable tool for communicating and refining your brand's visual identity. Whether created using Pinterest or created from your own collection of images, Moodboards provide a visual roadmap that guides the branding process and ensures consistency in design decisions. Before we go on to the next lesson, make sure you have your mood board ready. You can print it or have it ready digitally, and I'll see you in the next lesson. 10. Intro to Powerful Shapes : In this lesson, we will go over how powerful shapes can enhance the impact of a logo. Shapes play a pivotal role in logo design, serving as the building blocks for crafting memorable and effective visual identities. From geometric precision to organic fluidity, each shape possesses unique attributes that contribute to the overall weight, flow, legibility of a logo. If you take a look at some of your favorite brands logos, they most likely have an underlying geometric shape behind them. This is because shapes are fundamental elements in logo design, providing structure, balance, and visual interest. Let's begin by examining some of the most commonly used shapes and their inherent qualities. The triangle. Triangles are dynamic shapes that convey energy, movement, and progression. In logo design, a triangular composition can create a sense of directionality and drive, guiding the viewers eyes towards a focal point or key message, the circle. Circles are universal symbols of unity, wholeness, and continuity. In logo design, a circular shape can evoke a sense of harmony, inclusivity, and community. Circles are inherently balanced and symmetrical, creating a feeling of completeness and cohesion, the square. Squares are stable, solid shapes that convey strength, reliability, and order. In logo design, a square composition can create a sense of structure and stability, instilling confidence and trust in the brand. In Western cultures, we read from left to right, and this directional flow can be used in logo design to guide the viewers eyes and create a sense of progression or movement. Take a look at my logo. It uses that direction to use the break to extend the directional flow. General good practice is to opt for shapes that strike a balance between visual interest and clarity. Before we go to the next lesson, make sure you have analyzed a couple of brands of your liking and looked at their logo to try to understand the underlying shape underneath it. Make sure you have all the forms from the previous lessons, pen and paper ready because we will begin sketching in the next lesson. 11. Developing a First Draft: In this lesson, we will go over how to start giving visual form to your vision. Maybe you already have some ideas as to how you want your brand to look like. Look at your concept board and moodboard. What patterns do you see? It's okay if you don't know yet which direction your brand identity or logo will take. Let's sit with the concepts and the images we have created. Remember that much like a sculptor refining their masterpiece, branding involves honing and shaping a brand's logo and assets to craft impactful and memorable visual stories. It's a process that requires tweaking and tuning, just like anything, you get better with practice. Nonetheless, there are some clients or projects that require more iterations, and that's okay. I like to think of my branding service as a bridge between my client and the vision, and that requires clarity. Before I show you my process for sketching the classes case study, I want to say that it is essential to start with pen and paper in the creative process. Working with pen and paper encourages free flowing ideation without the constraints of a digital tool. The tactile experience of pen and paper fosters a deeper connection between the mind and the creative process, allowing ideas to evolve organically and uninhibitedly. Let's have a look at the process of my sketch. I wanted it to be playful, to reminiscence a triangle, not only for its stable shape, but because a triangle looks like a house and like a mountain without being it directly. I'm interested in this metaphor. Also, I wanted to have a body because residents are a fundamental member of this artistic residence program. The body is shaped like a triangle to hint at the person being their own home and then being at La one residencia as their home. I included a flower to show the connection with the land and also to signify nature as shelter to nurture a creative process. The intentionality part I will use more in typographic elements, making the word mark very neat and elaborate. I also like the idea of using the word mark as a stamp, making the most of the name being the good residence. Almost like a stamp of approval. The initial analog stage not only stimulates creativity but also helps clarify ideas and concepts more efficiently, laying a strong foundation for the digital design phase. If you have sketched different options, choose your favorite one and keep the discarded ones at hand as they might come into the game later. I love to share and see creative processes because a finished project is never the same as the original idea. Bear this in mind. It demystifies creativity. Are you satisfied with your initial sketch? Take your time polishing it. You can also look for more references for either form or content. A good practice is knowing that if you take references from lots of sources and not just one, it's called inspiration and not copying because we never want to do that. Always honor and respect other people's creations and use them as starting points to nourish your creations. Before going on to the next lesson, make sure you have your mood board and your sketches ready. Also, grab a camera. Your phone's camera is perfect, and I'll see you in the next lesson. 12. Getting Familiar with Adobe Express : In this lesson, we will be getting familiar with Adobe Express, a software where we'll be creating our brand identity. Go ahead and click on the Adobe Express link provided in the class resources. Adobe Express is an all in one app for fast and easy content creation. Its reversion is very robust. You can upgrade if you want, and it's worth mentioning that if you have an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription, Adobe Express is included in it, so you already have access to all the perks. Go ahead and click on Get Adobe Express free. No credit card required. We love that. Note that you can use it on a web browser or also download the app. Continue to set up your account with your email, and you'll be in your Adobe Express workspace. The side bar on the left is a direct access to Import sections. On the plus tab, you can create new files or formats. The home t takes you to the main navigation page, the brands tab to creating a brand. This is where we'll go in a bit. In the Explore tab, you can browse templates you can customize. The schedule tab lets you plan and schedule on different platforms. In the learned tab, you will find handy tutorials. Let's go ahead and click on brands and click on Create New Brand. I'm typing in the name of the artist residence I'm creating resident something worth noting is that you can also create logos and assets on other software and import them to Adobe Express to easily manage your content creation and make this easier for your client or yourself. To get started, go ahead and create a new space. You can do this by clicking on the plus sign. You can select a template or create a custom artboard. Let's go ahead and choose Logo. Take a photo with your camera or your phone of the sketch you have developed, and let's add it to your workspace. This will help as a guide to create our brand identity. Drag and drop the photo onto your Adobe Express page and adjust the size as needed. Play with fonts and shapes. A good practice is to stick to clean, easy to read fonts and never use more than a combination of two typographies. In the elements tab, you can add graphic elements to your artboard. Adobe Express has lots of simple and complex shapes which you can color in and group. Yet it's worth noting that this software does not let you create new shapes from scratch. To start working, create your workspace by choosing the size on a homepage or by clicking on the plus symbol on the left side. You can start on a workspace from zero or from a template. Add text, go to the Tools menu on the left side. Click on the Text tool and then on the add text button. Once created, you can edit it from the same menu that appears after adding the text. You can add elements by simply clicking on the elements button and selecting the desired element. Once added, you can edit it in the same menu. To create your own libraries, you want to import your own files and fonts so you can create a library to store them in. To do this, go to the left panel and click on the your stuff button. In the brands and libraries part, click on the plus icon and select Create New library. Once done, you will be able to import all the elements you are going to use and you will be able to work faster with them later. You can, of course, add your own graphics. If you are familiar with other Adobe software that allows you to do this, go ahead and use that. But if you're looking for a unique shape, I'll see you in the next bonus section where we'll see how to create vector shapes in FICMa and import them to Adobe Express. Make sure you have created a logo as far as you're able to, and I'll see you in the next lesson. 13. Vectorizing Images on Figma to Import to Adobe Express (bonus section): M in this bonus lesson, we will briefly go over how to create custom images in vector form IFICMaT later on import them to Adobe Express. There's no need for you to use this software if your brand identity doesn't require it. But it's something that I like to teach because it's a free tool that allows you to create custom shapes you might not be able to create otherwise. In Adobe Express. The reason why you want to work with vectors is because they won't lose any quality when scaling and will look neat and clean, even if exported as PNG or JPEG files. Zooming, C, no pixelation. You can select the shape tool from the top tool bar. Select the shape tool you want to use. Common options include rectangle, ellipse, line, polygon, et cetera. Draw the base shape by clicking and dragging on the canvas to draw the basic shape that resembles the object you want to vectorize. You can adjust the shape, the size, the position, and other properties of the shape by using the selection handles and adjustment options in the right panel. You can refine the shape if necessary. If the object you're vectorizing has more complex features such as rounded corners or additional details, you can use the shape editing tools to add or adjust nodes and manipulate the shape as needed. You can create more complex shapes. If you want to create more complex shapes, you can use the pen and pencil tools in the top manibar. Adjust the opacity of the image. In order to work better, you can lower the opacity of the image you are using as a guide from the panel on the right. With the image selected, a section called fill will appear on this panel. By changing the percentage that appears in this section next to the image, you can adjust its opacity. Once the vector is finished, you can either delete the image or you can hide it by clicking on the I icon in the same panel. You can group arrange. When you're satisfied with the vectorized shape, you can group it with other related shapes and arrange them in layers as needed in the Layers panel. Think of vectorizing your image as tracing it over with a cleaner connect the dots by clicking and dragging until the next point and make sure that the shape is close if it's going to be filled in with color. Export your vectors, do so by selecting the vector in the tools panel on the right side. Look for the export option. From there, you can export it as a PNG, JPEG, SVG or PDF to keep the vector characteristics exported as SVG. To keep transparency behind the image exported as PNG. Now, you're able to upload your images onto Adobe Express. Make sure that you have saved your files in SVG format. This keeps the vector form. Once you have saved the vectors in FIGMa, you can add them from the graphics part in your library to Adobe Express. Walla. That's it. Now, your custom shaves are part of the library. Now, let's fine tune our logo. Even though your logo might have color, it's important to start with a black and white version and make sure that there's always a black and white version of your logo because this is necessary for printing purposes and formats. Less is more in terms of logo color combinations. You might want to sit with it or ask for a second opinion between multiple versions. I recommend not having more than three because this might distract you. Now that you're set with a logo that speaks to you, you might want to create variations of it with just the word mark, the symbol, the slogan or a combination of them. Keep this at hand. Congratulations. You made it. You're done with the creation of the brand identity. In the next lesson, we will create a brand book so that you can manage your brand. 14. Creating Your Brand Guide on Adobe Express : To in this lesson, we'll go over the essential process of crafting a basic brand guide to lay the foundations for cohesive and consistent brand communication. We'll explore how to create brand colors that evoke the desired mood and resonate with your audience. Select typography that reinforces your brand's personality and enhances legibility and develop logo variations that maintain visual integrity across different applications and contexts to effectively communicate your brand identity and values across various touchpoints. How to create a simple style guide in Adobe Express. One option to create your style guide is to use a template already created in Adobe Express. Choose one that suits your banding or the style you want to follow. In this template, replace all the elements with those of your band and make all the changes you see necessary until you get the final guide. If you don't find any template that completely fits your idea, you can also look for inspiration on websites like Pintrest and use an image from here as a template. To do this, import the image into Adobe Express. Adjust this to the desired size and lower the opacity to be able to work on it. Place the elements according to the base and make the changes you see necessary. First, present your visual identity in a large format so that it can be clearly seen. If there are variations of it, add it in a smaller size. Then start distributing the different elements. Colors. Create as many squares or circles in another case as corporate colors your brand has. If your brand has primary secondary colors, you can differentiate them using different sizes. Do not forget to name each of these colors if possible, at least in hexodecimal system, hex to create these squares, select elements from a menu on the left. In the same section, go to the shapes section and in the rectangles area, select a square. Once the square appears in the work area, select it and in the field section, give it the desired color. You can import your own color samples or choose from the library from the custom section. When adding the color code, you can look it up in Adobe Express. In the custom section. You can see both the hexadecimal and the RGB system. Typography. To present your typography, put the letter A in uppercase and lowercase together. In addition to this, it is recommended to also add the complete alphabet in a smaller size or a sentence containing all or almost all the letters of the alphabet. Be sure to mention the name of the typeface. If your brand has more than one typeface, it is probably a main typeface and a complementary typography. The main typography is usually one that makes up your logo. The one that you use to write your brand's name. The complementary typography is the one that is used for other types of text, for example, a menu in the case of a restaurant. It is recommendable to have a complimentary typography that is simpler and more legible than the main one, since it will be used in smaller and longer texts. In addition, it offers a greater visual hierarchy. Graphic resources. If you have different brand graphic resources, you can implement them either individually or by showing how each of them is used. When making your style guide, make sure that the different elements are well differentiated from each other. You can do this by leaving enough space between them, or if necessary, by using separation lines. To export the guide, go to the top right area and select Download. Here you can choose three different formats, PNG, recommended for images, JPEG, recommended for small file sizes or PDF, recommended for documents. As your brand identity begins to take shape and grow, keep an eye on its trajectory. Embrace the fluidity of the creative process while staying anchored to its foundational elements. Cultivate a flexible mindset, allowing your brand to adapt and evolve. Remember, the journey of a brand development is dynamic and ever evolving. Stay connected to your brand's unique voice and vision and witness as it unfolds and captivates the world. Now you are ready to launch your brand and share with the world. 15. Conclusion: Congratulations. You made it. You have completed the art of branding, and now you know what goes into the creation of an authentic brand and how to create your own. We learned how to start shaping the brand and put ideas in order. We reviewed the difference between branding, visual identity, brand identity, brand assets, and a local. We completed an intake form, defined its value proposition, created its concept board and mood board, reviewed powerful shapes, and drafted a sketch, and learn how to create the brand in Adobe Express and Figma in the bonus section. And we created a brand style diet. Now you know the basics of brand identity design and how to use the right tools to create authentic brands in a cohesive and coherent way. Branding design is not about creating a logo at random, but it is something much deeper and premeditated. The art of branding in depth process will help you give visual form to your vision through drafting while simultaneously mastering the essential tools of Adobe Express, to create brand identities over and over again. I trust that this class has given you greater clarity to structure your branding ideas, awaken your creativity, and allow you to understand how to shape brand identities. May this knowledge propel you towards building solid and coherent brands? I'd love to see how your brand identity is slowly forming. Feel free to upload your screenshots, no matter where you are in the process. We'd love to give you feedback and see your work. If you like this class, please leave a review and follow me. Tack your creations with Art of branding. I hope you feel inspired to continue creating brand identities and powerful designs with authentic voices. Thanks for joining me. See you next time. Can't wait to see your brand in the world.