I AM DIY

identity alignment model - diy edition

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Starting a new business (or rebranding an existing one) is a BIG DEAL! We're super stoked for you and here for you if you encounter any issues your roadblocks. Email us at hello@meccabrandinglab.com anytime and we will get back to you within one business day.

Before you dive in, it's important to remember that this process requires an open mind and open heart. There is a very high chance that you've not explored your brand in the ways you're about to embark upon.

Things to keep in mind:

Throw out every rule you think applies to design (that's what we did)!

The traditional graphic design industry is tied into the "old" marketing paradigm that focuses heavily on R&D (research and development) on their audience; how to get into the minds and lives of the person they're trying to sell to, develop a niched "avatar" and work backwards. We personally feel this is out of alignment for brands to succeed and flourish authentically, as many business and people portray an offer, message or mission that isn't fully aligned with their own personal beliefs. How can you sell something to someone that you wouldn't personally use and stand behind? It happens ALL. THE. TIME. The result? Unsustainable businesses that flounder and fail.

The I AM process was developed to CHANGE that model and begin communicating EXACTLY who you are and WHY you're selling your specific product/offer/service/solution.

THIS IS A LOOOOONG SURVEY. If you don't have adequate time to fill it out, there's a possibility you could lose the information if you navigate away for too long. Consider keeping a notebook and write down your answers on paper before submitting.

SUBMISSION IS OPTIONAL - you may want to work through the entire process on your own with no further support from us. If that's the case, feel free to use the steps on your own. HOWEVER, if you'd like to submit your information for us to build you a custom logo, website or social assets, you must submit the questionnaire in full.

Ready to dive in!? LET'S GET STARTED!

STEP ONE - SELF INTERVIEW

* Indicates required field

Name *

First

Last

Email *

Question #1 (JOURNEY) - Reflect on your journey; what series of events or moment of awakening did you experience to end up doing what you're doing now? Have you dreamed of this career since you were a child? Or did you stumble upon life-changing information? What's the story behind you and your business?

How did you come to be where you are today? *

Question #2 (PERSONALITY) - How would the five people closest to you describe your personality? Not sure? Ask them!

How would you describe yourself? *

Question #3 - (PASSION) If money was no object and you didn't have to work another day in your life, what would you do day to day? Really think about it; imagine all of your beach-lazing is out of the way and you're free to do absolutely ANYTHING, what would you do?

What kinds of activities give you energy? *

Question #4 (GIFTS & TALENTS) - What natural, in-born abilities* do you have that you've been recognized for or that you rely on in your relationships and career? Examples: "People always seem to come to me for advice", "I'm highly intuitive", "I'm a natural problem-solver", "I'm very empathic/empathic", etc.
*Note: some of these may be mislabelled and unrecognized by others. For example, "I've always been too much, too loud, too excited, too ambitious, too masculine" etc. Being told you were "too _____" is also another indicator of a special gifting you may possess.

What are your natural skills you've had since you were born? *

QUESTION #5 (POSITIONING) - What makes you different from other people and businesses who may sell the exact same product or service as you? What's your 'secret sauce'? What uniqueness do you bring to your offer than differs from the rest?

How are you different from the pack? *

QUESTION #6 (IMPRESSION) - What do you hope your audience will interpret from your brand? When prospective clients or customers experience your brand for the first time, what impression are you hoping to leave?

What do you want your audience to feel? *

QUESTION #7 (IMPACT) - What impact do you hope to have long term through this business? What is the motivating factors behind your mission to deliver this product/service/offer to the world?

WHY are you doing this business? *

STEP TWO - ANCHORS EXERCISE

Go back through your initial interview answers; read them aloud to yourself and feel into what you've written. Ask yourself: Is it true? Is it real? Is it authentic? If not, adjust your answer or add to it as needed. If so, close your eyes, meditate on the theme (in brackets and written below) and ask yourself/spirit/God/universe what ONE word would you use to describe and summarize your answer? Sit quietly and wait for the word to surface. Write down the first word that pops into your head - these are the Anchors that represent each theme:

#1 - JOURNEY *

#2 - PERSONALITY *

#3 - PASSION *

#4 - GIFTS & TALENTS *

#5 - POSITIONING *

#6 - IMPRESSION *

#7 - IMPACT *

Be sure to write these down* for yourself to keep top of mind when moving through the remaining exercises, and to remind yourself of your WHYs moving forward.
*Some people have them painted or printed as artwork and framed in their office as a reminder to stay in alignment, always!

STEP THREE - IMAGERY EXERCISE

"A picture is worth a thousand words"
- English Adage

The next step in communicating your anchors to your audience is through imagery. It can be difficult to share complex thoughts, feelings and ideas simply by writing them down or speaking about them, but a photo or piece of artwork can invoke the feelings words alone cannot. This is why imagery is so important in your overall brand identity!

There are two ways you can go about this step:

Version 1 - Meditate on each Anchor word and visualize what each word looks like as a scene or object. Then seek out imagery that translates that as close as you can find, or

Version 2 - Open search your Anchor words in databases such as unsplash.com or pexels.com and be inspired by what comes up. Allow yourself to scroll and be captured by more than one image. Save up to 3 (no more than 4) photos that you feel communicate your Anchor word well for YOU. Then go back and choose ONLY ONE that invokes the feeling of the word closest (or simply captures your eye the best).

KEY POINT - these images are for YOU to use for your mood board as visual representations of your Anchor words. You do not need to consider how others may interpret the imagery.

IF YOU PLAN TO SUBMIT YOUR IMAGES: Save each image with the name of the Anchor word and upload to a Dropbox folder or Google Drive and email access link to hello@meccabrandinglab.com, OR email directly to hello@meccabrandinglab.com.

IF YOU PLAN TO CREATE YOUR OWN MOODBOARD: Save each image with the name of the Anchor word and upload to your app of choice, such as canva.com [ACCESS FREE TEMPLATE HERE] or picmonkey.com.

STEP FOUR - COLOUR PALETTE

Once your moodboard has been compiled, save a copy and upload into https://html-color-codes.info/colors-from-image/ for a fun, interactive way to isolate colour shades and experiment with what feels good for each anchor. Simply click on the blue "Upload File" button and select your moodboard. Don't worry! The image will pixelate (become blurry) on purpose - the tool is designed to display 100 pixels per mouse click. You can then select from the preview square different colours and the Color Code box below it will display the hexcode (a web-based code that best represents the colours you see online).

The concept here is to allow yourself to be "pulled in" by an aspect of each image. Look at each image one by one, remembering what Anchor word they represent. It may not always be a colour; it may be a texture like wood, water, cotton, or glitter, or an element like a silhouette, reflection or sunbeam. These concepts can be translated into graphic elements you can use for social posts, website design and more. Takes notes on what speaks to you about each image:

Image 1 - JOURNEY *

Image 2 - PERSONALITY *

Image 3 - PASSION *

Image 4 - GIFTS & TALENTS *

Image 5 - POSITIONING *

Image 6 - IMPRESSION *

Image 7 - IMPACT *

Out of the elements you've pulled from each image, which captures your attention and draws you in most? For each image, click your mouse over the area of that photo and isolate a shade you feel both grabs your eye and communicates the Anchor word associated with that image. Example:

Work through each image and paste your final hexcodes* into the boxes provided in the canva template or paste below:
*Note: remember, there's no rules stating you have to have one colour per image/Anchor word. I've left enough room for that, but you may only end up with 5 or 6 colours, especially if more than one image has similar shades in it (which is a great indicator that it's a perfect colour for your palette)!

Hexcode 1 - JOURNEY *

Hexcode 2 - PERSONALITY *

Hexcode 3 - PASSION *

Hexcode 4 - GIFTS & TALENTS *

Hexcode 5 - POSITIONING *

Hexcode 6 - IMPRESSION *

Hexcode 7 - IMPACT *

STEP FIVE - FONTS

The last step (besides logo design) in creating your brand identity is figuring out which typefaces/fonts you will use in your graphics, website, social templates and more. This can be the main thing that sets your brand apart from everyone else's by combining a unique set of fonts specific to your Anchors.

Firstly, consider which Anchor is the MOST important; the one you want to ensure your audience picks up on FIRST. This is called your DOMINANT Anchor, and it will help determine what your HEADING font will be (more on that below).

Which Anchor is MOST important to you? *

Second, which Anchor out of your remaining six Anchors, is the MOST important (aside from the first/dominant anchor)? This is called your SUBDOMINANT Anchor, and it will help determine what your SUBHEADING font will be.

Which Anchor word is SECOND most important? *

Third, which Anchor out of your remaining five Anchors, is the MOST important? This is called your BODY Anchor, and it will help determine what your COPY font will be.

Which Anchor is THIRD most important? *

These Anchors can be used to open-search in font stores such as creativemarket.com or elements.envato.com, or open-source (free) databases such as Google Fonts or FontSquirrel. The main reason you may want to purchase a font versus select a free/open-source one is that MANY people use the free/open-source fonts, and less purchase custom ones. Purchasing fonts can help your brand stand out from the mainstream, AND support font designers who spend countless hours developing beautiful typefaces, only for people to pirate and re-sell their hard work.

FONT TYPES AND THEIR ANCHORS:

Once you've successfully chosen fonts you feel communicate your DOMINANT, SUBDOMINANT and BODY Anchors best, you can try them out in Canva, or install them on your computer to experiment in Pages, Microsoft Word or other programs. Combining your DOMINANT and SUBDOMINANT fonts in your business or personal name can be an excellent typographical logo option.

and you're done!

You've successfully worked through the entire I AM process! By clicking SUBMIT, your information will be sent to our team and a copy forwarded to you.

We hope you've enjoyed the exercises and learned some things about how to stay authentic and in alignment with WHO you are and WHY you're on mission.

If you've struggled with any of the above, please don't hesitate to email us at hello@meccabrandinglab.com with your questions!

Submit

DO YOU HAVE A SPECIFIC IDEA FOR YOU LOGO?

After working through the I AM DIY, you may have been inspired by your imagery and/or words for your logo design - if that's the case and you'd like our help designing your logo, please fill out the following logo form:

FILL OUT LOGO QUESTIONNAIRE