Branding in Khmelnytskyi — brand identity by Oleksandr Filyuk

Brand strategy is the foundation without which any logo remains just a picture. I start with a deep owner interview: 1.5–2 hours about business goals, target audience, competitive field and a 3–5 year horizon. Then I analyse competitors in your niche — in Khmelnytskyi and across Ukraine — formulate positioning, brand attributes, tone of voice and key messages. Only after strategy is approved do I move to the visual part. Stage details are on the branding service page.

If the client has no name yet, I add naming to the package. I generate 30–50 working variants, filter by phonetics, domains, trademark registration and meaning in Ukrainian and English. 5–7 finalists remain, the client picks 1–2 for audience testing. After name approval I design a logo that visually supports the essence of the name. Logo separately can be ordered on the Khmelnytskyi logo page.

Brandbook is a PDF document, usually 40–80 pages, with full rules for using the identity. It contains: brand platform (mission, values, tone of voice), logo and its variations, clear space, forbidden variants, brand colours in CMYK, RGB, Pantone and HEX, typography with heading and body hierarchy, patterns, photo style, application examples on carriers — from a business card to a facade sign. The brandbook is prepared in Adobe InDesign and exported as interactive PDF.

Full rebranding is reasonable in three scenarios. First — the business has changed positioning, audience or entered export, and the old identity communicates the wrong thing. Second — the company merged with another or changed ownership structure. Third — strong competitors with aggressive identity appeared on the market and your brand gets lost. If brand meaning has not changed but the logo is morally outdated, restyling is enough — updating shape, colours, typography without changing the core.

I name the exact amount after the brief — it depends on scope: whether naming is needed, number of carriers, illustration complexity, packaging. Payment is usually in three tranches: 40% prepayment to start, 30% after logo concept approval, 30% on final brandbook delivery. I work under a sole proprietor contract and issue an act of completed works. Orientation budget for full small business branding starts at a level multiple times lower than Kyiv agencies for comparable quality.

Colours and fonts are not a choice of «what I like», but a strategy tool. I build the palette from positioning: premium segment rarely works on bright gradients, and a food brand looks bad in cold blue. I always prepare CMYK and Pantone versions, because the client will print packaging or print materials. Typography I select in pairs: a display font for headings + neutral for text, both with Cyrillic and Latin support. I check licences — the brandbook always specifies how to legally use the fonts.

The client receives an archive with a clear folder structure. Vector master files: AI, EPS, PDF, SVG. Raster: PNG with transparent background in various sizes, JPG for social. Separately — CMYK versions for print, RGB for screens, monochrome variants, inverse versions for dark backgrounds. Templates of business cards, letterhead, presentation in Figma or InDesign. Favicon icons in ICO and PNG. Plus the brandbook in PDF and editable InDesign file. All this remains the client's property.

I work under a contract that clearly fixes stages, deadlines, work scope and revision rounds. Standard: 2 rounds of revisions at the strategy stage, 3 rounds at the logo, 2 rounds at the brandbook. This is enough in 95% of cases, because strategy removes most subjective disputes. If after concept approval the client wants to turn the project in a new direction, we register it as a separate iteration. Full branding timeline is 6–10 weeks depending on scope.

In Podillia there are many businesses launched by parents in the 1990s–2000s, now run by the second generation — owner-children aged 30–40. Typical request: «father never invested in the brand, we just have a sign and a thermal-paper receipt, and now we want to enter the national market or franchise out». I help preserve continuity — part of the history, name, key symbols — and at the same time modernise the identity so it works on Instagram, marketplaces and in export B2B catalogues. Details on the branding page.

Yes, among my clients are owners of resident brands of the 7th Kilometre wholesale market. The market specifics are wholesale format, large share of ready-made clothing and textiles, competition by prices and supply terms. Strong identity is needed here to stand out in the buyers' catalogue, decorate the showroom, packaging and label. I develop a system of labels, hang tags with QR code, and InDesign catalogues for CMYK print. Separately we cooperate via the print design direction.

Regional textile producers operate in two formats: under their own brand and as contract manufacturing. The first format requires emotional identity: storytelling about fabric quality, production process, people. The second — restrained B2B style with technical documentation, lookbooks, certificates. I develop both identity types and often build an «umbrella» structure: parent brand + sub-brands for different product groups. In the brandbook I fix rules for showing composition, metrics, care instructions — so labels look unified across all collections.

Food industry is a complex category: not only visuals decide here, but also compliance with labelling legislation. I work with the client's technologist on the ingredients zone, nutritional value, barcode and «GMO-free» mark. Food brand identity must withstand CMYK printing on flexo, film, cardboard. Therefore I prepare all logos with minimum usage size, check legibility at 12 mm, add special versions for foil stamping or Pantone printing. Podillia agricultural context is a separate advantage: you can honestly speak about raw material origin, region, local farmers.