HOW TO CREATE A BRAND BOARD USING CANVA

Posted by:

Abbey Ashley

 

Have you ever looked at other entrepreneurs and thought, “Wow, my business just does NOT look as good as theirs!”

Sadness…

What’s the big secret?

Creating a brand identity is the key to creating a consistent look across all of your physical and social platforms. One way to stay consistent with your brand identity is to create a brand board.

Trust me, I’m not all “glue sticks and glitter” over here… this is one DIY project you can totally do!

Whether you are just starting out as an entrepreneur or you have started your business without ever truly establishing a brand identity, this is a perfect project for you.

If you are still in the weeds of figuring out how to start your own Virtual Assistant business, do a quick download of my FREE Checklist and Starter Kit.

I used this same step-by-step Checklist to start my own Virtual Assistant business, trust me you’ll love it!

WHAT IS A BRAND IDENTITY?

A brand identity is YOU, in your brand. It is a culmination of your brand personality, your logo, colors, style, and theme.

Notice how Caitlin Bacher (one of my FAVORITE lady business owners) adds her own personality into her branding?

Caitlin Bacher's Branded Website

Website

brand board

Instagram

 

brand board

Twitter

Your brand identity overflows into everything that you do. It can be seen throughout your website, any visual documents you have (like business cards, pamphlets, or flyers), and on your various social media profiles.

 

CONSISTENCY IS KEY

My coaching clients hear me say this time and time again. If you want to be seen as an authority in your niche, you need to have an established brand identity and stay consistent with it.

If your colors, fonts, and style of writing change from day to day, how will anyone know who you are as a business?

Your brand identity represents YOU.

Think of any company or individual that you admire. What does their branding look like? Chances are, they have a consistent brand that has captivated you and caused you to feel a personal connection to the business.

 

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

Prior to beginning this exercise, you will want to already have the following brand items established for your business:

• Your Business Name
• Your Logo
• Your Branded Colors
• Your Fonts

 

Here are two examples of completed brand boards, created using Canva:
brand board

 

brand board

HOW TO CREATE A BRAND BOARD USING CANVA

Check out this video tutorial, which outlines the specific steps to create your own brand board using Canva!

Here are the tips outlined in the video to create your own brand board:

 

1. You will first need to create a Canva account. Canva is FREE and an incredible tool to use for creating a consistent brand identity.

 

2. Create a new 8.5 inch x 11 inch (titled Food and Drink Menu) document OR a 735 pixel x 1102 pixel (Pinterest Graphic). This blank document will be the canvas to create your branding board on.

brand board

 

3. Upload your logo as a new photo or, if you have Canva for Work, you can already have your custom logo pre-loaded.

 

4. Place your logo at the top of your document.

brand board

You can upload a custom Logo in Canva for Work or just upload your logo as an image.

 

brand board

 

5. Go to the “Lines” Section and create a line that will divide each of your sections.

brand board

 

6. The next section is your COLORS section. You will drag and drop 5-6 circles (depending on how many branding colors you have) from the “Shapes” section onto your document.

brand board

 

Make sure you align all of the shapes to be the same size and lined up on your page.

brand board

 

7. You can change the color of each circle to represent your various branded colors. The numbers you will input are HEX color codes.

brand board

This is where you will enter the HEX Color Code in Canva

 

 

If you need to find the HEX color code for a particular image, you can do so using this website.

 

8. If you want to add a texture image (not a color code) that you will use in your branding, upload the photo that will be your textured image. Then drag a plain circle from the “Frames” section in Canva.

brand board

 

You will then be able to drag and drop the textured image you uploaded into the frame.

brand board

 

You now have the COLORS section of your branding board completed!

 

brand board

9. Now – remember to write down all of the HEX color code numbers below each circle (like in the picture above). These will help you in the future for branding purposes.

 

10. Place another divider line under your COLORS section.

 

11. The next section is your INSPIRATION section. These are photos that you can look back to, that remind you of your brand identity. I suggest having a Pinterest page where you keep inspiration for your brand.

brand board

 

Choose three photos from your Pinterest board and upload them to Canva. Then – insert three shapes from the “Frames” section in Canva. Drag and drop your inspiration photos into these frames.

brand board

Add Frames to Inspiration section

 

brand board

Drag and Drop Saved Pinterest Photos

 

12. Place another divider line under your INSPIRATION section.

 

13. Lastly, you will want to write down the names of your fonts, to use for future branding. If you have Canva for Work, you are able to upload your own custom fonts. (PS – my FAVORITE website to find FREE fonts on is 1001FreeFonts.com!) If you do not have Canva for Work, you can simply choose a standard font, and just write down the names of the branded fonts you have chosen.

brand board

 

14. Once you have written the names of your fonts, look at your overall product. Is everything centered? Should you resize anything to make it more visually appealing?

 

15. Download the image and save it to your desktop to use for future branding projects. You can also print out a copy and hang up in your office to daily remind yourself of the beautiful brand you have created!

brand board

 

I would love to see the branding board you have created! Drop me a note and show off your creation by emailing [email protected]. I look forward to hearing from you!

 

brand board

 

AbbeyAshley3-21Print-5033

Meet Abbey

Abbey Ashley is the Founder of The Virtual Savvy. She helps aspiring virtual assistants launch and grow their own at-home business from scratch. She's since gone on to grow a multi-six figure business and retire her husband ALL from her at-home business. It's now her passion to help others start their own VA business so they can taste the freedom and flexibility of entrepreneurship as well.

BBO-Logo

This free one-hour training combines thousands of hours of research, years of experience in growing a virtual assistant business!

Popular Posts

Looking for More?

Read posts from our most popular categories.

*This post may contain affiliate links. This means I may earn a small commission (at no cost to you) if you sign up for a program or make a purchase using my link!

31 Comments

  1. Sabs on June 17, 2016 at 1:39 pm

    I found this tutorial so useful. Thank you for posting it!

    • Abbey Ashley on June 17, 2016 at 1:58 pm

      You’re welcome! Did you create your own branding board? I would love to see it!

  2. Anne on June 17, 2016 at 2:45 pm

    I made a brand board about half a year ago but it looks pathetic. I will definitely be giving it a revamp using your tips!

    • Abbey Ashley on June 17, 2016 at 3:14 pm

      Awesome! I would love to see the finished product!

  3. Daphne on June 17, 2016 at 4:36 pm

    I’ve never heard of a branding board so this info is all new but so helpful!
    Thanks so much!

  4. Blossom on June 17, 2016 at 5:29 pm

    Darnit. Just “finished” re-makeover-ing. Wish I had come across this sooner! Great words.

  5. Stéphanie on June 24, 2016 at 8:57 am

    I have been needing to do this for a while. Thank you for the inspiration!

  6. Christina on November 20, 2016 at 2:59 am

    Thanks so much for sharing, this has been so helpful! I only wish I had known about the importance of branding before I launched my blog. Well, back to the drawing board! ?

    • Abbey Ashley on November 21, 2016 at 10:48 am

      I am so glad you found it helpful!

  7. Marchay on December 14, 2016 at 1:43 am

    This was sooooo helpful! I was really struggling with narrowing down the colors I want to work with as I’m attempting to find my brand identity on Instagram, Pinterest, and my website. I followed the steps from another post I found on Pinterest but wasn’t sure how everything would look together (since I don’t have Illustrator). Well I already use Canva for everything so I’m happy to have found you! Wish I could should you what I’ve come up with.

  8. Hafiz Kadir on December 16, 2016 at 12:42 am

    Way to go! Very useful article.

  9. Elaine on January 15, 2017 at 6:32 pm

    Yes, this was a really useful tutorial. I’ve been ‘playing’ with both Canva and Picmonkey and found it really useful to create a brand board. Now I can get on with designing my website 🙂

    • Abbey Ashley on February 7, 2017 at 6:30 pm

      Thanks, Elaine! Canva is so easy and fun! Branding boards really do help with putting things together before designing your website!

  10. Beth on February 22, 2017 at 12:42 pm

    Thank you so much for creating this! It was SO EASY and SO HELPFUL! I feel like it was exactly what I need to finalize my brand and now it looks so professional! Thank you again!

  11. Shauna | SimplyHipSavings on March 30, 2017 at 2:03 pm

    I’m so happy I found this tutorial! All too often everyone talks about branding but sometimes it’s hard to figure out your brand. You know what you want but putting it together is hard. Seeing how easy you make it look is encouraging! I will definitely be using your advice!!

    • Abbey Ashley on March 30, 2017 at 2:34 pm

      I’m so glad to hear that! Be sure to share your brand board with us, we’d love to see what you create!

  12. Samantha Reynolds on April 2, 2017 at 6:24 am

    Thank you so much for taking the time and the trouble to create and share this. it was SO helpful as all the other articles on creating a style guide/brand board involve knowing how to use Illustrator or Photoshop. Thank you for finding a simple and free solution!

    • Abbey Ashley on April 19, 2017 at 8:34 pm

      I am so happy that it’s helpful Samantha! I know not all of us can know all those fancy gadgets. Trust me, I don’t!

  13. Jemmie on June 17, 2017 at 9:56 am

    This was really helpful. Thank you so much for sharing this!

  14. Gerry on February 19, 2018 at 12:47 am

    Hello Abbey,
    I appreciate you sharing this tutorial. I just emailed you a png file. I worked along side the video and found each step very clear and easy to follow. I love that everything is now on one neat, organized and printable page.
    I think I will have it printed and framed, to hang it near while working social media graphics.
    Cheers

  15. Erica Hatcher on February 17, 2019 at 4:43 pm

    This tutorial was very helpful and beginner friendly. Thank you for the site for the colors.

  16. Zhared on June 18, 2020 at 7:02 pm

    Super useful for newbie VAs like me. Will begin my trial run with the client later. You tutorial is so easy to follow. Thanks!

    • Abbey Ashley on June 29, 2020 at 5:20 pm

      Thank you for the feedback, Zhared! You rock!

  17. Rahul Dubey on February 12, 2022 at 4:55 am

    Explained in very understanding language and concise to read. I am gonna pin this for later as it would help me in further creations. THANKS! for this beautiful post.

    • Abbey Ashley on February 16, 2022 at 3:26 pm

      You’re welcome!!! I’m glad this helped!

  18. Samantha on September 20, 2022 at 3:35 am

    Thank you for sharing about how to Create a brand board using Canva , I actually was searching about this .

    • TVS Team on September 21, 2022 at 3:36 pm

      Absolutely! So glad you found it helpful!

    • Maria Moore on September 21, 2022 at 3:36 pm

      Absolutely! So glad you found it helpful!

Leave a Reply Cancel Reply





What is the SavvySystem: VA Launch Academy?

What is the SavvySystem: VA Launch Academy? This is The Virtual Savvy’s signature Virtual Assistant program. The SavvySystem: VA Launch Academy is a step-by-step blueprint for launching and growing your own profitable at-home business from scratch.

Read More about What is the SavvySystem: VA Launch Academy?

Day in the Life of a Virtual Assistant — Charla Finley

  Curious what a day in the life of a Virtual Assistant is like? Today in our Quit Your Day Job Series, we interview a very special guest, one of our own SavvySystem students (our signature VA e-course) that has done the virtual assistant thing since February 2020. Charla Finley is a hard-working Savvy, and…

Read More about Day in the Life of a Virtual Assistant — Charla Finley

Check these out

RECOMMENDED READS

1

Niche Down and Raise your VA Rates! (Inside SavvyVault: VA Skills Library)

Do you ever feel STUCK in your business?  Like your…

Read More

2

Sorry, we couldn't find any posts. Please try a different search.

3

Virtual Assistant Skills 2020 (MEGA LIST)

Are you thinking about starting a Virtual Assistant business but…

Read More