Branding Beyond the Logo — Interview with Julie Gibbons

Introduction and Guest Intro

Welcome! Today I’m sharing my interview with Julie Gibbons from Brandiwork. We had a casual chat about branding and tapped into her expertise.

Here’s the video, podcast and transcript versions for you to enjoy xx

Julie brings nearly 30 years of experience in design since leaving university. With her strong design background, she specializes in branding and website design.

I love helping people look their very very best when it comes to business because that’s the way they build their audience.

Julie is passionate about design and branding. Her mission is clear – she helps businesses shine and grow their audience through effective branding.

What Branding Really Is (Not Just a Logo)

Many business owners, especially startups, think branding is just about getting a logo. But there’s much more to it than that.

Your brand is not a logo. Your brand is really about all that you put out in the world as your business.

When businesses come looking for help with their website or course platform, they often don’t have the basics in place. They’re missing key elements like:

• Their brand fonts
• Color schemes
• Overall visual identity

A brand is everything about how your business shows up in the world. This includes:

• How you appear on camera
• Your tone of voice
• How you connect with your audience
• The complete look and feel of your business

The logo should actually be the final piece of the puzzle, not the first. It needs to grow from a deep understanding of:

• Who your audience is
• What your business stands for
• How you want to represent yourself

Think of branding as your business’s complete personality, not just a single design element. When all these pieces work together, that’s when you have a true brand.

Audience, Positioning and Translating Personality to Aesthetics

So your branding needs to relate to the audience — it needs to appeal to the audience that we’re speaking to.

Your brand must speak directly to your target audience. Just like you talk differently to your grandmother than you would to your local butcher, your brand needs to adapt its voice to connect with specific people.

Know Your Audience First

Even when starting a new business, you can define some basics about your audience:

• Who are they? (age, gender, interests)
• What do they need?
• How can you help them?

For example, if you’re making clothes for women, you can start by deciding:

• Age range of your customers
• Style preferences
• Price point they’re comfortable with

Bringing Your Brand Personality to Life

Your brand personality shapes how people see your business. You need to decide if you want to be:

• Sleek and modern
• Friendly and approachable
• Techy and innovative
• Joyful and energetic
• Calm and peaceful

These personality traits can be turned into visual elements through:

• Color choices
• Font styles
• Image selection
• Overall design feel

Starting Simple

You don’t need everything figured out right away. It’s okay to:

• Start with basic branding
• Test different approaches
• Learn what works with your audience
• Adjust as your business grows

The key is to begin with a clear idea of who you’re trying to reach and how you want them to feel when they interact with your brand.

Helping Startups and Early-stage Businesses

Starting a business is exciting, but getting your branding right can feel tricky. Let’s look at some simple ways to build your brand, even when you’re just starting out.

Start with What You Know

Even if your business offer isn’t fully clear yet, you can begin with basic branding. For example, if you’re making clothes for women, start by thinking about:

• Your target customer’s age range
• The style they prefer
• What they can afford to spend

Colors That Work for You

Don’t get stuck thinking certain colors won’t work for your brand. Take blue, for example – there are countless shades to choose from:

• Dark navy
• Bright vibrant blue
• Soft sky blue

You can find the right shade that matches your brand’s personality and appeals to your audience.

Building Your Audience

If you understand who those people are in the first place, you can get that audience way quicker because you’re already speaking to them.

The key to finding your audience is being consistent in how you present yourself. Think of your business like a person – it has its own personality and will naturally attract the right people when you:

• Stay consistent with your message
• Keep your visual style the same
• Speak directly to your target audience
• Show up regularly in the same way

Keep It Simple

Remember, you don’t need everything perfect right away. Start with the basics:

• Know who you’re talking to
• Choose colors and styles that appeal to them
• Be consistent in how you present yourself
• Let your brand grow naturally with your business

The most important thing is to begin somewhere and stay consistent. Your audience will find you when you speak their language and address their needs.

Rebranding — When and How to Transition

Do not wholesale change it without letting them know that’s what you’re doing because you’ll lose them.

When it comes to rebranding, there are some important rules to follow. Here’s what you need to know about making brand changes work.

The Number One Rule

The most important thing to remember is to take your audience with you on the journey. Don’t make sudden, big changes without letting your followers know what’s happening. This helps keep their trust and prevents confusion.

When to Consider Rebranding

Before jumping into a rebrand, ask yourself:

• Is this change really needed?
• Am I just bored with my current brand?
• Will this help my audience better?
• How will this affect my current followers?

A Real-World Example

Recently, a business owner came seeking help with a postcard design. She had used AI (Chat GPT) to:

• Generate brand ideas
• Pick colors and fonts
• Create various materials

While she had lots of ideas and content, she struggled to:

• Turn the ideas into a useful postcard
• Create a working website
• Make practical use of the generated content

This shows that while tools like AI can help brainstorm, they often can’t deliver the final, polished products you need. You still need human expertise to:

• Make things work practically
• Keep your brand authentic
• Create usable marketing materials
• Connect with your audience meaningfully

Making Changes Successfully

When you do decide to rebrand:

• Tell your audience about the upcoming changes
• Explain why you’re making these changes
• Keep some familiar elements
• Make changes gradually if possible
• Stay true to your core message

Remember, your brand is about connecting with real people. Any changes should help strengthen that connection, not break it.

AI and Branding — Role, Strengths and Limits

AI tools can help with basic branding tasks, but they have clear limits. Let’s look at how to use them wisely.

What AI Does Well

AI tools like ChatGPT are good at:

• Finding facts and information
• Doing basic research
• Creating rough drafts
• Handling simple tasks

Think of AI as a helpful junior office worker – great for basic tasks but needs supervision.

The Limits of AI

I wouldn’t push it to produce anything that’s supposed to be in my brand voice. I do my own writing, I do my own artwork.

AI has some big drawbacks:

• Sometimes gets facts wrong
• Can’t replace human creativity
• Lacks true understanding
• Doesn’t really solve branding problems

A Real Example

A business owner spent many hours using AI to create her brand materials. She got:

• Color choices
• Font selections
• Basic content

But she still couldn’t:

• Make a simple postcard
• Build her website
• Turn AI ideas into real marketing tools

Why Human Touch Matters

A skilled person can:

• Get the right info in one hour
• Create useful materials
• Make things that actually work
• Connect with real people

Understanding AI Better

It’s worth noting that “AI” might not be the best name for these tools. They are:

• Based on human-made algorithms
• Drawing from existing human work
• More like smart data processors
• Not truly intelligent or creative

The key is to use AI for basic tasks while keeping the human touch in your branding. This helps create authentic connections with your audience.

Copyright, Attribution and Ethical Concerns with AI

It’s drawing on the intelligence of humans… I actually don’t think ‘artificial intelligence’ is the right name for it entirely.

The Copyright Challenge

AI tools raise big concerns about copyright and fair use. These tools copy large amounts of text from authors who worked hard to create original content. Unlike human writers, AI systems:

• Take content without permission
• Don’t credit original creators
• Ignore existing copyright laws

Current Copyright Laws

Copyright laws exist worldwide to protect creative work. Just as you can’t copy a novel and call it your own, there are rules about how content can be used. Breaking these rules can lead to:

• Heavy fines
• Legal trouble
• Damage to reputation

Academic Approaches to AI Use

Universities and schools are leading the way in responsible AI use. When using AI tools in academic work, they require:

• Sharing which prompts were used
• Showing what AI output was used
• Explaining how the content was developed
• Giving proper credit for sources

The Creative Process

Using AI without credit feels like cheating at a puzzle. While it might help with writer’s block, there are downsides:

• Missing the creative journey
• Losing your authentic voice
• Skipping important learning steps
• Not developing your own style

Best Practices for AI Use

When using AI tools, remember to:

• Give credit for AI-generated content
• Review and rewrite output to match your voice
• Use AI as a starting point, not the final product
• Respect copyright and attribution rules

The key is being honest about AI use while keeping your work authentic and respectful of others’ creative rights.

Creative Possibilities — Artists Using AI

Artists with strong backgrounds in art history are doing amazing things with AI tools. Let’s look at how trained artists are using AI in creative ways.

Artists Breaking New Ground

There are fantastic artists around at the moment… they’re drawing on their art history knowledge to push those boundaries.

Many skilled artists who’ve studied art history are now exploring AI to create stunning work. They’re using their knowledge to:

• Push visual boundaries
• Create new art forms
• Explore fresh creative directions
• Blend traditional art with new tech

Exciting Examples in Fashion and Design

Some standout artists using AI include:

• Jonas Peterson – Creating incredible AI-generated clothing designs
• David Zout – Making phenomenal artistic work

These artists are making fantastical and beautiful pieces that show what’s possible when AI meets human creativity.

The Artist’s Approach vs. Shortcuts

There’s a big difference between:

• Artists using AI thoughtfully as a creative tool
• People using AI just to skip the creative process

Good artists are:

• Drawing on their art knowledge
• Pushing boundaries
• Creating original work
• Moving their field forward

New Creative Dialogues

Some artists are finding exciting ways to work with AI. For example, author Sheila Hetti spent years:

• Having conversations with AI
• Creating unique stories
• Using AI’s unusual responses as inspiration
• Making something completely new

The key is using AI as part of the creative process, not as a shortcut. When skilled artists use AI, they can create amazing new work while respecting creative boundaries.

Practical Branding Advice — Logos, Websites and What Clients Care About

A logo should be simple and succinct — it’s the cherry on top of the ice cream, not the ice cream itself.

Keep Your Logo Simple

Many big brands use simple logos. Here are some examples:

• Jeep – Just their name in Helvetica font
• Estée Lauder – A basic wordmark
• American Express – Recently simplified to “MX”

These successful companies show that you don’t need a fancy logo to build a strong brand.

What Really Matters on Your Website

When designing your website, remember:

• Focus on clear calls to action
• Make important things easy to click
• Don’t let fancy logos take up too much space
• Keep the design clean and functional

What Clients Actually Care About

Your clients care about two main things:

1. Can you solve their problem?
2. Are you someone they can relate to?

They’re not really interested in:

• Your fancy logo
• Your elaborate brand story
• Complex design flourishes

The Ice Cream Theory

Think of your brand like ice cream:

• Your actual business (products, services, solutions) is the ice cream
• Your logo is just the cherry on top
• Focus on making great “ice cream” first
• Add simple, tasteful decoration last

Remember, clients want to know you understand their problems and can help solve them. Everything else is just decoration.

Closing, Next Steps and Contact Info

What a great chat about branding! The host mentioned having several people in mind who could benefit from Julie’s expertise.

How to Connect with Julie

If you’d like to learn more about Julie’s branding services, you can find her at:

If anyone wants to find me, brandywork.com — that’s with an ‘i’ in the middle, Brandywork by Julie on Facebook.

• Website: brandywork.com (spelled with an ‘i’ in the middle)
• Facebook: Brandywork by Julie

Warm Send-off

The conversation wrapped up with both host and guest agreeing they could have talked all day about branding. Their enthusiasm for the topic and warm exchange showed just how much valuable information there is to share about building strong brands.