by Lindsay Lamb
We have talked a lot recently about tools for your evaluator’s toolbox. Today I have another essential tool to for you: consistent branding. Clear and consistent branding can help you more quickly and efficiently create short and long reports. Doing so will ensure that when people look at a report, they will instantly know that it came from you. I have found that consistent branding takes some of the guess work out of report writing. I no longer have to think through color choices, layout, font, or headers. That leg work has already been completed. I’m guessing you have a little free time now, so you might as well spend some time thinking through your branding. Trust me, you will thank me later.
Enough of my pep talk.
I’m sure you are wondering how to create a clean, consistent look for your reports, one-pagers, and blogs. Follow these three simple steps:
Logo
Make sure you have a unique logo that lets people know what your business/firm/program is about.
You can use a logo generator to help you out! We used logogenie.net.
Colors
If you have a logo, use colors from your logo in your reports.
Remember the color wheel? Use it! Make sure you incorporate complimentary colors (colors on opposite side of the arrows), and colors in a shade that is easy to see on screen, in print, and for those with color blindness. A good test for any report is to print it out in black and white. If your colors are all grey, try using gradations within the same color to convey meaning.
Use colors consistently such that all headers are the same color, etc.
Caveat – if you are generating a report for a client with clear branding, you might want to use their branding and simply insert your logo. Check with program staff, your supervisor, a colleague, a friend, or even reach out to us if you have questions and want some feedback!
Font/layout
Choose a font that is unique and easy to read
Stephanie Evergreen goes into great detail on the importance of choosing fonts in her book, Presenting Data Effectively.
You can select two fonts, or fonts that are bold and light to use to signal to the reader level of importance. There are a plethora of fonts out there, download something unique online.
The layout of your reports should also be consistent. Check out our recent blog post on one-pagers. The idea is that people should pick up a report and instantly know that it came from your organization/consulting firm.
One final tip – try out your branding! If you have a few ideas, try them out and see what your clients, friends, colleagues think. Send your ideas to us and we will look them over. Your brand is the first thing that people will see when experiencing a report you have created, so you want to make sure it is right.