From inquiry to “Holy shit, I love my brand”, this is the step-by-step process when you hire me as your brand designer.
If you’ve been searching for a brand designer but you’re still like, “Okay… but how does this actually work?” I get it.
If you’re here, you’ve likely seen my work, taken my Brand Tarot Quiz, and maybe you’ve been following me on Threads or IG. But before you book a call, you want to know the specifics of my process and whether it will work for you. So I’m going to lay it all out for you in this post.
But first, let me say this:
I’m so excited you’re here. Truly. If you’re reading this, it probably means you’re starting to take your brand seriously in a new way and I fucking love that for you (and hopefully me, too).
So let’s walk through exactly what it’s like to hire me as your brand designer, so you can be sure we’re written in the stars.
(And just to get this out of the way early: if you’re expecting branding to be a quick in-and-out experience, my process might surprise you. Keep reading to find out why that’s a good thing.)
Step 1: The inquiry
Once you’ve decided you’re interested in working with me, you have two options:
Option 1 is to fill out my contact form. This is where you’ll tell me about yourself, your business, and any questions you might have about working together. This option is ideal if you’re still figuring out your next steps and feel more comfortable going back and forth via email before committing to a call. If we feel like a fit, I’ll send you my calendar link so we can take our relationship up a notch.
Option 2 is to book a call with me right away. This option is for you if you’re 80–99% sure you want to work together and just need to confirm the logistics. Once you choose a date and time, you’ll be prompted to answer a few questions to help me prepare for our call.
Regardless of which path you take, when your inquiry lands in my inbox I’ll squeal internally so as not to scare my cat, who is most likely snoring away on my keyboard. I can’t wait to chat with you!
Step 2: The Connection Call
Sometimes this call is very chill and social. Sometimes it’s practical and question-heavy. Usually it’s a bit of both.
Here’s what I want you to know: I will not be selling to you on these calls. I have zero interest in convincing you to do anything you don’t want to do. Instead, we’re going to:
- Get to know each other a little better
- Talk through your questions, timeline, and goals
- Make sure you know your next best step
Whether you choose to hire me or not, you’ll leave our call feeling informed, not pressured. And if you’re like, “yep let’s do this!”, I’ll get you booked in for your Brand Star Chart.
Step 3: The Brand Star Chart
Whether you’re launching something new, pivoting your old brand, or wanting to refresh your website, every Moonstone client gets a Brand Star Chart. This is your astrologically-guided creative direction guide and it’s a non-negotiable. Why?
You wouldn’t build a house without a blueprint.
You wouldn’t write a book without an outline.
You wouldn’t travel to a new country without a map (unless maybe you’re a Sagittarius).
Your Brand Star Chart is a map for your brand, telling us where to go and why. We’re going to co-create it and it’s going to be transformative. Here’s how it works:.
Step 3.1: I’ll assign you some homework
To start, you’ll complete the Moonstone Brand Clarity Workbook. This process goes a lot deeper than your typical brand design questionnaire and that’s because I have a Scorpio stellium and I’m incapable of doing surface level work (you’re welcome).
The workbook is an invitation to get abundantly clear about:
- your offers, process, and marketing funnel(s)
- who you love working with (and who you’re best equipped to serve)
- your unique positioning (aka why they should choose you?)
- what you want more of
- what’s been standing in your way
- what’s evolving
- what you want your brand to do for you
“Filling out the Brand Clarity Workbook alone was worth the investment in the Brand Star Chart for me. I wish I had this tool 2 years ago!” —Eileen March, My Luminous Life
Step 3.2: We’ll meet for our Strategy & Alignment call
After I review your workbook, we’ll hop on a one-hour call to brainstorm any ideas or questions that surfaced for you while filling out the workbook (very common) and make sure we both have complete clarity.
Congratulations! You’re now off the hook for the next week or so while I do my thing.
Step 3.3: I’ll pull up your birth chart
Now that I know the story of your business, It’s time to get to know you through an astrological lens. To create your Brand Star Chart, I’ll be studying your natal Sun, Moon, Rising, Midheaven, Mercury, and chart ruler.
Confession: I looked up your astrology the second I received your inquiry (it’s why I asked for your birth info). Don’t be surprised when I name drop your signs on our first call.
As an astrology-informed brand designer, I use your chart as a tool for illuminating things most of my clients struggle to name about themselves, like:
- how you’re wired to communicate
- what motivates and drains you
- how you’re perceived by others
- the aesthetics and visibility that make you feel most comfortable
Understanding these parts of your personality from an astrological point of view helps me make recommendations for your business, branding, and marketing that will feel sustainable and aligned for YOU. I love how my client, Jen, describer it:
“The way you use astrology to inform the visual direction of a brand is so much more resonant with who we are as business owners and humans. It’s powerful stuff. It made me feel like a fuller expression of myself through my brand (particularly because I AM my brand).” —Jennifer Turner, Gemini Copy Co
What you receive in your Brand Star Chart
At the end of the two weeks, you’ll have a 30+ page, astrologically-guided, magazine-style creative direction guide that takes you on a journey through your birth chart and will become your most valuable strategic asset for as long as you’re an entrepreneur. We’ll be illuminating your:
- Brand’s deeper purpose
- Energetically sustainable marketing and operations strategies
- Needs for fulfillment as a CEO
- Cosmic differentiators
- Brand voice
- Constellation brands
- Astrologically-aligned aesthetic
You’ll also receive a mood board which includes inspiration images for your logo, typography, colour palette, photography, layouts, and anything else your brand needs to stand out.
Essentially, you’re going to understand yourself and your brand on a whole new level AND you’ll be able to visualize your brand clearly before you invest in a custom design package.
Brand Star Chart Investment: $1000
Timeline: 2 weeks
If you want to get nerdy with me, check out this post where I walk you through exactly how to design your personal branding with astrology.
You’ll also receive your custom brand design proposal
At the end of your Brand Star Chart, you’ll receive a proposal outlining the exact design elements I recommend for your brand, how much it will cost, and an invitation to officially hire me as your custom brand designer.
At minimum, every brand I design comes with these essentials:
- logo suite
- brand fonts and typographic styling
- colour palette
- photo direction
- social media assets
- brand guidelines
Depending on how you choose to market your brand, you might need more things like templates or printed marketing collateral. If that’s the case, we’ll figure it out together and I’ll make sure those pieces are included in your proposal as add-ons.
By the way, there’s no obligation to continue on with me as your brand designer. I mean, ideally you will. But the Brand Star Chart is yours to use, revisit, and build from, with me or on your own. Anyway for the purposes of this post, let’s assume we’re moving full steam ahead, shall we?
Step 4: The Stellar Brand Identity
Once you decide to move forward with me as your brand designer (yay!), you’ll have the opportunity to refine your mood board. If anything feels off, we’ll fix it before we start your custom brand design.
You’ll also be onboarded into my client management system where you’ll get access to:
- your contract, timeline, and payment plan
- organized communication
- instructions for when and where you’ll be expected to give feedback or provide additional info
Then I’ll get to work designing your brand!
When I’m done (usually in about 3 weeks), I’ll send you a full PDF presentation including mockups so you can see what your brand looks like applied to real life things like websites, social media accounts, business cards, etc.
You’ll also receive a Loom presentation so you can hear the genuine excitement in my voice as I talk you through your brand design in detail.
Since we put in so much prep work, chances are you’re going to fall in love with your new brand right away. That said, a few tweaks are expected and accounted for in our timeline. We’ll work together to refine the brand until you give your final stamp of approval.
At this point I will be opening a bottle of fine red wine and celebrating with my husband while eating something absolutely decadent.
Then, I’lll export your brand files and create your brand guidelines book so you know exactly how to use your brand (and how not to). When that’s done I’ll package everything up into a beautifully organized folder so you never have to go searching for haphazardly labelled logo files ever again.
Bonus: You’re also going to get my Luminary Launch Guide which reveals all my witchy secrets for choosing your launch date and getting the most impact out of your reveal (intention-setting rituals and astrological timing included).
Lastly I’ll tell you to keep your eyes on your mailbox for a little thank you gift from me because by this point, we’re basically besties.
Investment: $5000 (not including add-ons)
Timeline: 8-12 weeks
P.S. If you book your Stellar Brand Identity package within one week of receiving your Brand Star Chart, I’ll credit half of your initial investment toward the full package. That’s a savings of $500.
Step 4: The Website
Your website is the ultimate manifestation of your brand and your most valuable marketing asset. Which is why it always comes after we’ve established your Stellar Brand Identity.
Because launching a website without a brand is like hosting a dinner party in a house with no furniture.
It’s like going to a gala in full hair, makeup, and sweats.
That’s probably enough of my silly branding analogies, but seriously—I’m a big proponent of prepping for your website in the right order. More on that in this post.
Anyway, few things make me happier than being hired as your brand designer AND your web designer. I have a background in newspaper/magazine layout and I love putting these skills to use on the web. (Fun fact: I’ve been called “website witch” by more than one client and I kind of love this nickname.)
Since every business has different needs, goals, and budgets, I like to keep website projects flexible. Depending on where you’re at, we can build you a:
- “Coming Soon” page to save costs and buy time while we drive traffic to your email list or socials
- Single-page site to get your services and booking link out there
- Multi-page, conversion friendly site with all the bells and whistles
First things first, we’ll get on a call to outline your goal(s) for your site. Then we’ll decide how many pages you need and how much content to include on each page to achieve those goals.
With a sound strategy in hand, you’ll get to work collecting your website copy, photos, and securing your domain while I get to work on the design.
Once all of that is done, we’ll design and develop your site in Squarespace. And of course we’re not letting your site loose on the internet without a full round of browser/device testing to make sure it looks amazing on all screens.
Once your site is complete, my developer and I will show you how to take the reins so things like blogging, swapping out photos, and updating text won’t cause you any tech headaches. And just in case anything gets glitchy, you’ve got 30 days of post-launch tech support on us.
Investment and timeline to be based on your unique needs, goals, and budget.
And that concludes our “From inquiry to ‘holy shit, I love my brand (and website)” workflow!
Of course, that’s not really the end of our love story. Now that you’re a part of the Moonstone family, you’re welcome to come back for support whenever you need it.
Looking for media visibility? Let’s build your press kit.
Need a lead magnet? Consider it done (actually, start with this post.)
Launching a new service? I’ve got strategies.
As your brand designer and new business bestie, I want to keep this relationship going. And I’m not just talking about our business owner/designer relationship. I want to know about your successes, struggles, and cheer you on through all of it. So keep in touch, yeah?
Bottom Line
When you hire me as your brand designer, you’re not just “getting a brand”
You’re building something you want to live inside of for a long time. Something that feels as cozy as your athleisure and as flattering as your designer LBD. A brand universe that expands with your business instead of working against it. And a creative partner to guide you through it.
If you’re reading this and thinking, “I want what she’s selling,” the next step is simple.
Fill out the form. Tell me about yourself.
I’ll be very excited to read it.
