Unsure how to go about with the expectedly limited budget for a start-up, we sat down with Branding Expert Sylvia Cardim de Melo, founder of Strawberry Brand Studio, to understand the best way to move forward when building your brand.

According to Sylvia, the branding journey starts within. It involves asking yourself very existential questions to understand why you set up the start-up, to begin with. More specifically, it requires you to answer the following questions: What fundamental human tension am I resolving with my start-up? Why should people care about my start-up? If tomorrow my start-up disappears, how would people feel and who would they choose instead?

From that point on, you’ll be able to understand the role of your start-up in the audience’s lives. This will help clarify your unique value proposition which should be, at this point, brought to life via a simple identity. Most people incorrectly assume that it’s important to dress the brand with elements (symbols, colours, typography etc) in various styles. However, it’s often the opposite that delivers the message more clearly. The rule “less is more” is king here.

With regards to building your website, assuming your budget is limited, use platforms such as Squarespace, Webflow and Shopify as they usually have beautiful templates that can be used as a starting point. Stick to the template as much as possible as a UX/UI expert has usually designed them. Sylvia points out that she often notices start-ups trying to reinvent the wheel, but when doing so, end up with an extremely cluttered or complicated digital experience. As such, by keeping things clean and professional and in line with the template, you’ll exude credibility among your stakeholders.

Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, a brand does not have to be built on Day 1. What’s important is that you set your path and stick to it as much as possible, nurturing it as you go along.