One of the most important aspects of any business is branding. Branding goes beyond just logo design, it encompasses a company’s image and how they interact with customers on social media, in person, and online. In order to maintain a strong, consistent brand, it’s important to have the right marketing tools that can help you produce cohesive materials like logos, ads, and website content.
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Behance
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Dribbble
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BP&O
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Designspiration
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Pinterest
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Mindsparkle Mag
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Instagram
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Typewolf
The Best Places To Find Inspiration For Your Brand
When it comes to finding inspiration for your brand, there are a lot of different places you can look.
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However, not all of them will be equally helpful. To get the most out of your search for inspiration, you should focus on a few key places that are known for being particularly helpful in this regard. Here are some of the best places to find inspiration for your brand:
- Your competitors’ brands. One of the best places to look for inspiration is your competition. See what they’re doing well and try to improve upon it.
- Industry leaders. Another great place to look for inspiration is from industry leaders. See what they’re doing and try to emulate their success in your own way.
- Your customers. Perhaps the best source of inspiration is right in front of you – your customers! See what they like and don’t like about your brand and use that information to make improvements.
- Other businesses outside your industry. Sometimes the best ideas come from those who aren’t even in your industry. Take a look at other businesses and see if you can find any ideas that you can adapt to your own business model.
- Trends in society at large. Finally, keep an eye on trends in society at large. This can help you spot opportunities for your brand before anyone else does.
Here are the Top 8 Websites for Visual Branding Inspiration in 2022:
1. Behance
Behance is a website for creatives that make it easy to showcase and discover the world’s creative work. Behance is included with Adobe Creative Cloud, so there’s no additional cost to publish your work on Behance. You can follow your favorite designers and interact with them to keep up-to-date on their latest projects.
Pros:
- Connects you with other creatives
- Included with Adobe Creative Cloud subscription
- Algorithm favors projects with the most likes
- Follow your favorite designers to see their latest work
- Easily showcase your own work
Cons:
- Can be difficult to stand out from the crowd
- Not everyone uses Adobe Creative Cloud
- Some people find it difficult to use
2. Dribbble
Dribbble is a website that features beautiful images of design work by the top talent in the design field. The site allows designers to upload pictures, videos, and sketches they make. They were founded in 2009 with the intent to showcase amazing work from some of the best designers around.
Pros:
- Great platform for designers to showcase their work and get hired
- Easy to use and navigate
- A strong community of designers
- Well-designed and looks professional
- Invite-only, so it has an exclusive feel to it
Cons:
- You need an invitation to join, so it can be difficult to get started on the platform
- Can be overwhelming because of the sheer amount of design work that is posted
3. BP&O
BP&O is a blog created by Richard Baird that shares curated design inspiration, primarily branding, logos, and packaging. Baird, a designer himself, features only high-quality, inspiration-worthy designs. BP&O goes beyond just sharing beautiful images. Every post includes context behind the work and thoughtful commentary.
Pros:
- Only high-quality, inspiration-worthy designs are featured
- Context and commentary are included with every post
- The blog is updated regularly with new content
- It’s easy to browse through the designs and find what you’re looking for
- The site is well-designed and user-friendly
Cons:
- Some of the designs may be too avant-garde for some viewers
- The site isn’t updated as frequently as some other design blogs
- There isn’t a ton of variety in the types of designs featured
4. Designspiration
Designspiration is a search engine for inspiration, providing endless scrolling feeds of design inspiration. Designspiration offers collections of designs based on different categories, such as branding, where you can find lots of designs related to what you’re looking for. It’s perfect if you’re not sure what you want and need to scroll through a lot of different items until something catches your eye.
Pros:
- Find design inspiration for your work
- Endless scrolling feed
- Search by keyword
- Free to use
- Mobile app available
Cons:
- Not as many designs as Pinterest
- Some designs are low quality
- No way to filter results
5. Pinterest
Pinterest might be your main source of inspiration, whether it’s for branding and design or handmade gifts. It’s also a great place to find DIY projects, party ideas and more. But since it has become so popular, it can sometimes be hard to find the content that you really want. To make the process easier, this website supplies you with handpicked, high-quality images that are all related to areas you specify in advance.
Pros:
- Huge selection of brand design inspiration
- Updated regularly with new work
- Popular platform means more exposure for your brand
- Easy to use search function
- Free to use
Cons:
- You may need to wade through some mediocre work to find the good stuff
- Can be time-consuming to scroll through all the results
- Not all designers are on Pinterest
6. Mindsparkle Mag
Mindsparkle Mag began in 2011 as a way to share creative inspiration with the global design community. The magazine features a curated selection of design inspiration in fields ranging from graphic to architecture and everything in between. Mindsparkle Mag has grown into an online magazine and community platform for designers, sharing creativity and imagination with its readers.
Pros:
- Aesthetically pleasing layout and design
- Features high-quality, inspiring content from a variety of design fields
- Easy to navigate and explore
- Regularly updated with new content
- Global community of designers
Cons:
- No physical magazine option
- Some articles are behind a paywall
- Can be overwhelming with the sheer amount of content
7. Instagram
Instagram is one of the best avenues for finding quality branding inspiration, whether you’re a design novice or a seasoned pro. With a staggering one billion users, it’s no surprise that many top designers are using Instagram to showcase their portfolio work. As with Pinterest, the best way to utilize Instagram for inspiration is to curate your feed by following top designers and design accounts.
Pros:
- Easy to use
- Aesthetically pleasing
- Great for finding inspiration
- Allows you to connect with other creatives
- Can be used to promote your work
Cons:
- Changes in algorithm can make it difficult to reach your audience
- Can be time-consuming
- Requires a strong visual aesthetic
8. Typewolf
What does typography have to do with branding inspiration? Almost everything! Typography selection and usage makes all the difference in branding, graphic design, and web design. And one of the best resources available for all things typography is Typewolf. Founded in 2013 by Jeremiah Shoaf, Typewolf curates fonts, lookbooks, and educational resources for designers.
Pros:
- Helps with branding and design
- Provides a curated selection of fonts
- Offers lookbooks and resources for inspiration
- Easy to use
- Affordable
Cons:
- Limited selection of fonts
- Some features are pay-only
- Not as well-known as other font resources
How to Create a Brand
Assuming you have a business or product idea, there are a few key steps to creating a brand. The first step is to come up with a catchy name for your business or product. Once you have a name, you need to create a logo. A logo is a visual representation of your brand that will be used on all of your marketing materials. After you have a name and logo, you need to develop a tagline or slogan that succinctly describes what your brand is all about. Finally, you need to create some initial branding collateral, such as a website, business cards, and social media profiles.
Types of Brands
There are many different types of brands out there. Some are big, some are small, and some are in between. Here are a few examples of different types of brands:
- Big brands: These are the household names that everyone knows. They have large budgets for marketing and advertising, and they typically sell products that are widely available.
- Small brands: These brands may not be as well known, but they can still be very successful. They typically have smaller budgets for marketing and advertising, and they may sell products that are more niche or specialized.
- In-between brands: These brands fall somewhere in between the big and small brands. They may have moderate budgets for marketing and advertising, and they may sell products that are somewhat widely available.
Conclusion
There are so many ways to get branding inspiration online, and it’s often free or low-cost to get started. With a little creativity, you can create a brand that will be remembered by customers and help your business succeed. Whether you’re just starting out or you’ve been in business for awhile, don’t be afraid to explore the possibilities of online branding inspiration. And if you need help getting started, feel free to contact us—we’re always happy to help!
