Browse my selection of branding resources.
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Books
Emily Heyward
“Obsessed”, written by the co-founder of branding agency Red Antler, is a truly inspiring book. The simple language and detailed examples make “Obsessed” the perfect book for anyone new to branding.
Jenni Romaniuk
Jenni Romaniuk is a researcher at the Ehrenberg Bass Institute for Marketing Science. In “Building Distinctive Brand Assets”, Jenni provides an evidence-based perspective on what makes brand assets distinctive and why rebranding is hardly ever a good idea.
Byron Sharp
Byron Sharp is also a researcher at the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute. His book “How brands grow” is based on decades of research. It reveals scientific laws about the buying and marketing performance of brands.
Michael Johnson
In “Branding in Five and a Half Steps”, Michael Johnson elaborates on his five-step branding process (Investigation, Strategy and Narrative, Design, Implementation, and Engagement). He offers a lot of examples along the way.
Daniel Kahneman
Daniel Kahneman is a trained psychologist who won the Nobel Prize in Economics. His book is a must-read to understand how we think and make decisions.
Rory Sutherland
“Alchemy” is not a classic branding book, but I recommend it to anyone building brands. Alchemy offers many insights into behavioural science and Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy UK, makes it a delight to read.
Martin Lindstrom
In ‘Buyology,’ Martin Lindstrom shares findings from his three-year neuromarketing study. It’s so fascinating to learn how branding directly affects our brains.
Jonah Berger
In this book Jonah Berger talks about what makes things so popular. Why do people talk about certain ideas more than others? Why are some stories more infectious?
Podcasts
Fergus O’Carroll
The “On Strategy Showcase” podcast offers an insight into the strategies behind some of the most-known campaigns and brands.
Mark Pollard
Mark Pollard talks strategy with some of the biggest—and smaller—names in the advertising industry.
Stef Hamerlinck
Stef talks to many interesting people about branding. He interviewed Rory Sutherland, Jenni Romaniuk and many more.
Jacob Cass & Matt Davies
“Just Branding” is the ideal podcast for anyone new to branding. It explores branding approaches, tools and more.
Community
Mark Pollard
“Sweathead” offers a fantastic community of strategists of all levels, sharing ideas, resources, experience and even jobs.
Ana Andjelic
Not a community in the traditional sense, but you should subscribe to Ana’s newsletter. Her background in sociology gives her an interesting perspective on topics such as brand, business or culture.
Trends
LSN Global offers a bunch of free articles on their website, or you can become a member for access to the full site.
I get the Wunderman Thomson newsletter directly to my inbox. They also share a bunch of free (and paid) content on their website. I especially value their annual The Future 100 trend report.
TrendWatching offers trend reports, case studies, and a newsletter on emerging trends, consumer behaviours, and market dynamics.
Watch out for Interbrand’s annual Best global brands ranking.
Tools
Management & Organisation
Having everything in one place keeps my freelancer life organised. Notion has also helped me organise my thoughts on brand strategy work.
Website Builder
I highly recommend Elementor as a website builder. It runs on WordPress and is an affordable, functional and easy-to-use option.
Colour Tool
Coolors offers a range of tools for creating and managing colour palettes, including a palette generator, contrast checker, and palette visualiser. It also offers options for creating gradients, picking colours, and accessing a list of fonts.
Writing
I check most of my texts with Grammarly. It’s like having a native speaker check my English. At the moment, I’m trying Grammarly Premium, which is even better, but I think the free version does the job.
Writing
I sometimes also run my texts through the Hemingway Editor to ensure they are easy to read.
Naming
A list of resources and tools for naming things. From dictionaries to word generators to slang collections.
Training
Mark Pollard
I loved the Strategy Summer Camp, which I believe is now called Fundamentals Of Strategy.
Skillshare offers courses on everything from copywriting to strategy. I was invaluable when I first got into freelancing and branding. With my link, you can get the first month for free.
Chris Do & team
The Futur offers courses in business and design. I can recommend their Typography and lettering classes.
Typewolf
Not a course, but the “Flawless Typography Checklist” is my favourite resource for typography. The Typewolf website also curates web typography examples for font and font-pairing inspiration.
Domestika offers a range of very affordable classes. I took some of them and found them really inspiring. My favourite class was Tatabi Studio’s course on sustainable packaging.
Mockups
You will find high-quality, realistic mockups that cover a range of deliverables, including devices, books, stationery, posters, and apparel.
Mockup Cloud features an impressive collection of premium mockups from various sources for an excellent price.
Beautiful mockups with a slightly more feminine and elegant touch.
SédShop.Co has a range of beautiful, minimal mockups that cater to various needs—from branding and packaging to website presentations to billboards and books.
A small yet beautiful selection of minimal and high-end packaging mockups you won’t find anywhere else.
Benito offers a versatile range of premium mockups. You will find everything— from T-shirts to brochures and packaging to devices.
This list contains affiliate links. By purchasing through my links, you can support my work here. I wouldn’t recommend anything I truly believe in, and I select my affiliate partners carefully.
I do my best to keep these branding resources updated and fresh. I’d love to hear from you if you have any recommendations or feedback.
