Branding is critical for freelance graphic artists—and all other freelancers, too. Branding comes in at least two varieties: Good branding and bad branding. Branding will occur, whether you want it to or not.

Others will interpret your brand, for better or worse, even if you try to avoid the label. You should concentrate in creating a positive, “sticky” brand since it will exist anyway. However, you should be aware of the difference between creating a brand for creative freelance professionals and corporate executives.

Branding for management executives is a bit different. They try to create a “combination” brand. Mixing personal and professional beliefs, missions, and personality, they hope to open promotional doors or attract new job opportunities. However if you seek artist opportunities, you should NOT focus on you, but create a credible brand that attracts good clients and customers.

This may appear to be only a slight difference, but it is actually quite significant. For example, creative directors are not really interested in your personal mission or values. They want to assess your technical talent and evaluate how you might help them. They have little desire to associate with freelance graphic artists or designers who are the “centers of their own universe” people.

Choosing to label yourself as the “best graphic artist on the planet” is useless. Clients often respond with, “So what?” They probably won’t even go to the next obvious question, “Compared to whom?” They simply don’t care. They do, however, care about what you can do for them. Your brand should communicate your value to your client or employer.

Your branding goal should be more similar to Burger King (Have it your way) and Coke (The real thing). This successful branding not only establishes who but why you should choose these companies. You should have a similar goal. Here are some proven suggestions that may help you improve your brand.

• Briefly define the most valuable thing you offer clients. This tip requires introspection. You might find this to be the most difficult task, but the most rewarding, making your branding efforts easier and more successful. Spend some quiet time with yourself to identify the one best thing that you do that clients or employers want. Try to find that unique element that elevates you above the crowd.
• Create a memorable phrase that invokes the image of your marketable skill. While you could probably write volumes about your superior talent and ability, for effective branding, you need to create a brief, simple phrase that summarizes your “outstandingness” in few, but valuable words. Don’t be afraid to investigate what other successful freelance graphic artists use as their key branding phrase. This accomplishes two goals. You learn about some phrasing that you like and identify some that misses the mark.
• Design a logo that visually enhances and reinforces your brand. How do you feel about logos? You’ve probably seen some that, while artistically pleasing, are so abstract or stylized that they signify nothing to you. Others may appear less creative, but achieve their goal: You know and remember the company—and brand. These have achieved the bottom line you target: They visually enhance and reinforce their brand. This should be your only logo goal: Creating a symbol that states who you are and why others should hire you.

Once you create a brand with which you are comfortable it’s time to promote it.Try to combine online and offline consistency of repeated use of all branding materials and designs. Be patient – it may take a while, but if you’ve used the three tips above, you will succeed.