In this book review we will be reviewing Brand Fix by Kady Sandel, who also took part in our designer interviews if you would like to learn more about how the author got started in her design career.
When Kady had the idea to write the book she contacted me and asked if I would like to read it when it was finished. She sent me the book when it was first released which was a while back now but I have finished my second read through of the book.
I don’t normally read a book twice but there are a select few that I go back to and read again. There is a wealth of information that is informative, easy to read, digest and put into practice.
I would like to thank Kady once again for sending me the book and allowing me to review it.
Before we jump into the content of this book let’s start with the cover design. Those of you that know me will already know I’m a sucker for black and white design so this stands out perfectly for me.
It has a nice pattern, the title Brand Fix is clear and on-point for the content as it aims to help you fix your brand with brand strategy.
The book’s target readers are busy entrepreneurs who would like to learn more about the strategy behind branding their business, with the book aiming to break down the areas of brand strategy quickly and easily for busy business owners to understand, digest quickly and implement to help fix areas of their brand that need attention.
Most business owners fail to understand or even acknowledge the strategy that goes behind the design of their business and this book fills that gap, and raises awareness to business owners about the importance of having a brand strategy behind their brand.
Kady starts off the book by breaking down the importance of having a strong strategy behind all of your branding activities, and she does this by describing, clearly step-by-step how to develop a brand strategy that speaks directly to your target clients.
Her tone of voice throughout the book is caring and professional but also down to earth and honest. I personally like how she shares her own stories and experiences about the branding mistakes that happened to her and also some real-life companies she has worked with.
The first three chapters go over the basics of what a brand strategy is and why it’s important, naming your brand, and what’s included in brand strategy and why you should have it, before heading into setting brand goals and objectives in chapter four.
Kady walks you through exactly how you can approach brand strategy for your own business in an easy to follow step by step process.
The book sections such as target profiles, brand positioning, brand attributes and voice, psychology as universal communication are really useful and helpful when thinking about your own brand.
She also discusses design principles and colour theory to show how you as a business owner can turn your brand strategy into visuals and develop a colour palette.
The great thing about BrandFix is just how accessible it is for busy entrepreneurs. It’s quite a short book of around 150 pages but it’s packed full of value with insightful information that includes actionable steps that one can implement immediately into their own business.
Throughout the book Kady assures readers numerous times that those who have already made mistakes with their branding do not worry as she herself has done this in the past.
By understanding those mistakes a business owner is able to take the correct steps forward to develop a brand that works for them.
The book will help you develop an understanding around brand strategy and why it’s important to have it in place the way Kady has written the book will help encourage you to focus on implementing a brand strategy within your own business.
And the best thing is you will always have this information close by so you can refer back to it or read the whole book again like I did
I highly recommend this book even if you’re a brand strategies I’m sure it will help you to refresh and help you stand out in your industry.
Q&A With the Author Kady Sandel
The Logo Creative – What sparked the idea to write the Book BrandFix?
Kady Sandel – For starters, I always knew I wanted to be an author. And I had a personal goal to write a book in English, which is my second language!
With BrandFix specifically, I was hearing the same questions about brand strategy over and over again in my business. I wanted to write a book that introduced business owners to basic branding concepts – a book that my audience would benefit from even if they never ended up working with me.
I knew it had to be short and direct because entrepreneurs are incredibly busy. I wanted readers to walk away with a solid understanding of how to grow their businesses using brand strategy.
The Logo Creative – As a new author, what was the whole process like from starting the book to getting it published?
Kady Sandel – First, I sent a survey to people in my network who were my ideal readers. They had their own small businesses, but they didn’t know much (if anything) about branding. I asked them what they wanted to know about branding, what they thought branding was, what questions they had, and so on.
I used their answers to create an outline for BrandFix. I added more content based on what I knew they needed, and then I started writing. To stay on track, I set an overall word count goal and broke that down into how many words I needed to write per day.
For publishing, I published the book independently which has a lot of benefits. I got to publish it quickly, design my own cover, and I didn’t have to wait for a publishing company to say “yes” to me. BrandFix is available on my website | Amazon | Wordery and I love that readers can access it so easily from anywhere in the world.
The Logo Creative – Has publishing a book helped or changed your business in anyway?
Kady Sandel – Publishing a book increased my visibility as a thought leader in the branding industry and helped me establish trust and authority. I once went to a coworking space in my city and found a copy of BrandFix sitting on a random table – that was a really cool moment!
For my business, publishing a book has provided passive income as well as an accessible way for people to benefit from my work. Not every business owner is ready to pay for a full branding project, but they can buy BrandFix and start learning on their own. That has been my favorite part: hearing from readers about how BrandFix helped them understand what they were doing wrong, fix it, and attract more customers.
The Logo Creative – Do you have any advice for new authors looking to publish a book?
Kady Sandel – Have a clear image of your ideal reader in your head before you begin writing. What are they struggling with? What do they think they need? What do they actually need? What terminology do they use? (That is an important one! You want to write the book in a way they can understand).
When you focus on knowing and helping your ideal reader, the whole process flows much easier.
The Logo Creative – As a fellow graphic designer who branched out to offer brand strategy services, what would be your advice to someone looking to follow that path?
Kady Sandel – Most graphic designers are already incorporating brand strategy into their work without even realizing it. And unfortunately, they’re not charging for it!
As a designer, when you think about color psychology or when you research your client’s competitors to help them stand out – those are all parts of brand strategy. So it’s a natural progression to start as a designer and add in brand strategy services.
When you offer brand strategy, clients also respect you more. I have seen this first-hand. Instead of seeing you as a general designer indistinguishable from all the rest, they see you as an expert who can help them grow their business – which means you can raise your rates too.
