What is Branding & Why It Matters More Than You Think
Updated October 2025
At nearly every networking event I attend, when I tell people I do branding and web design, they immediately focus on the web design part because that’s what they’re familiar with. Most people don’t realize that branding goes far beyond just building a website. It includes designing logos, defining a brand’s voice, and creating a cohesive brand identity that truly reflects who you are.
Just the other day, someone told me they wanted to redo their logo but didn’t even realize that’s something I offer under brand design. That’s why I’m writing this post: to clarify what branding really is, what it encompasses, and why it’s so essential for your business.
Branding is more than colors, fonts, and aesthetics. It’s the heart and personality of your business. It’s the way you make people feel when they interact with your work. It’s how your story, values, and visuals come together to build trust and connection.
Whether you’re a creative entrepreneur, a wellness practitioner, or a purpose-led brand owner, your brand is the foundation that guides everything: your visuals, your voice, and the experience you create.
What is Branding, Really?
Branding is your business’s essence. It’s the energy people experience when they interact with you. It’s not just what they see, it also encompasses what they feel.
But on a more tangible level, branding is the complete identity of your business. It’s how people perceive and experience your company at every touchpoint: on your website, on social media, in your client process, or even through word-of-mouth. It includes both visual elements (like your logo, colors, and typography) and your deeper brand strategy (your values, personality, and the emotional experience you create.) All together, think of branding as the personality of your business . It’s the energy that lingers after every interaction someone has with you.
A lot of people think branding is just about having a logo, but that’s a huge misconception. While your logo is an important piece of the branding puzzle, it’s only the tip of the iceberg. Branding is the entire experience someone has with your business. It includes how you make them feel, the story you tell, and the trust you build through consistency.
Your logo might catch someone’s attention, but your brand is what keeps them coming back. It’s what tells the bigger story of who you are and what you stand for. That’s what branding does, it creates emotional resonance that keeps people coming back again and again.
Why Does Branding Matter So Much?
To be clear: the reason branding matters is because it builds trust. When your brand is clear and aligned, your audience instantly understands what you stand for, and why that matters to them.
A well-defined brand helps you:
Stand out in a crowded market
Communicate your value clearly and confidently
Build deeper emotional connection with your audience
Create consistency across every touchpoint (website, social media, email, client experience)
Attract clients who feel aligned with your energy and values
Branding goes beyond just getting noticed. It’s ultimately about creating a relationship with those around you (even if that’s just who you interact with online.)
The 3 Pillars of Branding
1. Brand Essence: The Heartbeat of Your Business
Your brand essence is your vibe, your purpose, and your “why.” It’s how you want people to feel after experiencing your work. Think of it as the soul of your brand, the personality and values that express themselves through every touch point clients and customers have with your business.
For example, astrologer and author Chani Nicholas has built a brand rooted in empowerment, authenticity, and astrology. Every touchpoint, from her horoscopes to her podcast to her app, expresses those same expansive qualities. Her audience doesn’t just follow her content, they feel truly connected to her mission.
When considering your brand essence, ask yourself:
What do I want clients to feel when they work with me?
What transformation am I helping them experience?
What makes my brand energy unique?
Your essence is what makes your work magnetic. It is where intuition meets strategy.
2. Visual Identity: The Expression of Your Essence
This is the part you’re probably most familiar with. Think color palettes, typography, imagery, and logo design. Your visual branding is what translates your essence into something tangible. It’s what people see and instantly associate with your brand.
Think of Bob’s Red Mill. Their earthy tones, classic fonts, and matte, vintage-inspired packaging instantly communicate warmth, wholesomeness, and trust. But it goes deeper than that. Their heritage-style branding gives them an air of wisdom, like they’ve been perfecting their craft for decades. (Yes, I’m being serious.) You can feel their experience and care just by glancing at the label. Their visuals tell a story of tradition, quality, and grounded expertise before you ever take a bag off the shelf.
Your visual identity should do the same. It should reflect your brand’s essence and attract your dream clients through cohesive, intentional design that feels unmistakably you.
3. Brand Voice: How You Connect and Communicate
Your voice is your personality in words. It’s how you speak, write, and show up online.
Are you warm and conversational? Empowering and bold? Grounded and insightful?
Think about how Apple communicates. Every word they use feels intentional: simple, confident, and emotionally resonant. Their tone reflects clarity and innovation, but never arrogance. Whether it’s through product pages, ad campaigns, or keynote launches, Apple’s messaging always feels elevated yet approachable, just like their design.
That’s the power of a strong brand voice. It’s not just what you say, but how you say it. Your voice helps clients feel safe, inspired, and connected. When it’s consistent, it builds trust over time and makes your audience feel like they truly know you.
How Arcoíris Design Studio Brings Branding to Life
To ground into how this comes to life even further, let’s look at my own brand.
Arcoíris, which means "rainbow" in Spanish, was created with a clear mission: to help visionary and creative entrepreneurs build authentic, resonant brands that feel like an extension of their unique essence (I like to call it exuding embodied elegance.)
Here are a few examples of how I ensure my brand embodies strong branding:
Visual Identity: The vibrant color palette not only reflects the energy and diversity behind the studio’s offerings but also my personal connection to my Latin American heritage, as I am Guatemalan. The bright, uplifting tones embody creativity and freedom while paying homage to the rich cultural vibrancy of Latin America. The logo, an artistic representation of a rainbow, is symbolic of transformation, which mirrors the transformative journey I guide my clients through. The logo, an artistic representation of a rainbow, is symbolic of transformation, mirroring the journey I guide my clients through.
Brand Voice and Messaging: My brand voice is warm, intuitive, and supportive. Every piece of content, from blog posts to social media, speaks directly to the heart of creative entrepreneurs, offering both guidance and grounded strategy. My voice is rooted in translating divine wisdom into practical, grounded insights just like Iris, the Greek goddess of the rainbow, who serves as the patron saint of my business. In mythology, Iris carried messages from the divine to the human world, and I see my work in the same light: bridging the spiritual and the strategic, the ethereal and the tangible.
Brand Experience: My clients don’t just get design services, they get a holistic experience. Every touchpoint is intentionally crafted to make them feel supported, understood, and empowered. I treat each project as a spiritual collaboration: a co-creation guided by intuition, alignment, and a deep sense of energetic resonance. Every brand I design feels like a download from the other side, a translation of my client’s soul work into visual form.
Brand Cohesion On and Offline: One of the ways I ensure my brand stays cohesive is through in-person networking. I work hard to embody the visual qualities of my brand in real life, and I literally wear rainbow-inspired clothing to most networking events to represent my brand. This helps reinforce my brand visuals offline and strengthens the connection between myself and my brand, no matter where people interact with me. By showing up consistently, both online and in person, I create a stronger bond with my audience and showcase that my brand is a reflection of who I truly am.
By staying true to these core elements, I have built a brand that resonates deeply with clients who value authenticity, embodiment, and creative freedom. My business is a beacon of how powerful branding can be when it aligns with both the values of the business and the needs of its audience.
How to Build a Brand That Feels Like You
If your brand or website currently feels “almost there,” don’t panic. I promise, you don’t have to start from scratch. Instead, I’d encourage you to start thinking deeper about the brand you’re creating.
Before tweaking visuals or rewriting copy, take a moment to reconnect with the why behind your work. A resonant brand doesn’t come from guessing what will attract clients, it comes from knowing yourself and creating from that place of clarity and self-understanding.
Here are a few reflection prompts to help you clarify your foundation:
What do I want people to feel when they experience my brand?
What beliefs or values guide my work?
How do I want my visuals and words to reflect that energy?
These questions bring you back to your center. They are rooted in the energetic space where aligned strategy lives. From there, you can begin to layer in the practical pieces that make your brand come to life:
Define Your Core Values: Start by identifying your “why.” What does your business stand for? Why did you start it? Your values will guide every decision, from your design choices to how you communicate with your audience.
Create Your Visual Identity: Choose a logo, color palette, and typography that reflect your brand’s personality. This is where professional brand design can make a huge difference, helping your brand feel cohesive, intentional, and instantly recognizable.
Craft Your Brand Voice: Think about how you want to speak to your audience. Are you friendly and conversational? Empowering and grounded? Your messaging should reflect who you are and meet your audience where they are as well.
Be Consistent: Consistency builds trust. Make sure your visuals, voice, and client experience are aligned across every platform. From your website to your social media, everything should feel like it belongs to the same energetic ecosystem.
If you’re ready to deepen this process further, my Brand Recipe Guide is a resource that walks you through this process step-by-step. I created this guide to help you uncover your essence and translate it into visuals, voice, and strategy that actually feel like you.
Because when your brand is rooted in authenticity, everything, your design, your marketing, your business, begins to flow with ease.
Why Branding Comes Before Your Website
Remember, your website is the house, and your brand is the foundation it’s built on. So…if you’ve been working on your website before you really sat down and clarified the brand you are building, you’re doing it wrong. I promise, if you shift focus toward branding and then come back to your website, the process will become infinitely easier.
When your brand strategy is clear, designing your website becomes effortless. Fonts, colors, and layouts become intentional choices, not guesswork. Instead of building the same page 5-10x, you are able to focus in and get to the final result quicker. When you lead with brand clarity, your website naturally becomes more magnetic because it’s built on alignment, not aesthetics alone.
For a deeper dive, check out Why You Need Branding Before You Need a Website. It’s a perfect follow-up to this post if you want to continue learning more about branding, web design and how to improve yours.
Ready to Bring Your Brand to Life?
Your brand deserves to be as intentional, multidimensional, and beautiful as you are. When your visuals, words, and energy align, your business doesn’t just look cohesive, it feels alive.
If you’ve been craving clarity, consistency, and a brand that truly feels like home, this is where I come in. Through my branding and web design services, we’ll uncover your essence, refine your voice, and create a visual identity that magnetizes the right people your way. Whether you’re starting fresh or ready to elevate what you already have, we’ll craft a brand that feels grounded, radiant, and unmistakably you.
You’ll walk away with:
A brand strategy that feels aligned with your mission and values
Visual branding that captures your magic and communicates your expertise
A website that tells your story with clarity, beauty, and intention
Because branding isn’t just about standing out, it’s also about standing in your truth.
Let’s Stay Connected
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