When I founded Find Peace of Mind 12 years ago I was starting from scratch. I already had a few years’ experience as an Independent Financial Adviser but no start-up capital and certainly no marketing budget.
I chose a career in financial planning because of my negative first experience of the industry. I wanted to deliver a more positive and empowering experience for others so the company name came fairly naturally. It described what I wanted to help my clients to do.
When it came to the logo and the business ‘look and feel’, I went with a traditional blue and grey because my research told me that these colours portrayed professionalism.
Over the years we have tried to move away from the traditional corporate colour palette in favour of a fresher more friendly feel which is definitely more in keeping with our company culture. We have dabbled in design ourselves and enlisted the expertise of various marketing professionals over time but I have never really felt our branding was a true reflection of who we really are and what we are all about.
So who are we?
We work with individuals, couples and families to clarify what their desired futures look like, and to structure their personal finances to support them in achieving those futures. Our purpose is to enhance levels of wellbeing in society by aligning personal finances with personal values.
How to Translate this into a Brand
I felt as though our visuals were disjointed and was desperately trying to find some creative spark to capture our purpose visually. I was sceptical about investing in more professional advice because it hadn’t worked in the past, but through a business community I am part of I was introduced to a lovely lady called Sapna, founder of InnerVisions ID.
Sapna did something none of the designers I had worked with previously had done. She spent time with me asking about the business, what was important to us and what we were trying to achieve.
Sapna’s creative process and her genuine interest in understanding us as a company provided us with a new brand image that we love. It reflects our passion for clarity, fresh thinking and personal relationships.
You can read more about the process we worked through and the detail behind the new look in Sapna’s case study write up here.
Reflecting on InnerVisions ID’s approach to the creative process, there is a striking similarity with Find Peace of Mind’s approach to the financial planning process. The key is starting with a detailed understanding of what makes a client tick and what they truly value. Only once you know what you are trying to achieve can you put the structure in place to attain it.