Branding for Success with Kaila Piepkow of Dox Design

 

Crystal: In this episode of Rooted in Retail, I am talking to Kaila Pow, the owner of Doc’s Design. I saw Kaila speak at the Retail Success Summit this year. She was also there last year, and I just loved her approach to design the example she was showing. You know, when it comes to your brand, it is so important that. It communicates effectively. It’s resonating with your pgs, your perfect customer groups, that it’s telling the story, and that it’s consistent. And so we break it down today about what it means to have a brand and key elements to help you have a successful brand. Tools to help support you. Common mistakes if you’re just getting started, and things to look for to create that ultimate consistency and maintain and possibly evolve the brand. Over the years, so I’m so excited for you to listen to this conversation. Before we dive in, here’s a little bit more about my guest. Kaila POW is your go-to branding, professional, creative, and hype gal. What started as a passion for dogs and design quickly spiraled into something bigger, much bigger. After graduating from Ferris State University in 2015, Kaila’s professional journey in the branding and design world began with the traditional. Agency route, which kind of sort of didn’t last long. She felt restless and ready to take the branding and design process completely into her own hands. And what do you know? She did the dang thing with the launch of her very own docs agency in 2017. Since Kaila’s debut as a full-time entrepreneur, she’s earned respect from hundreds of business owners and branding and design professionals worldwide. Under Doc’s design, Kaila has led her team to create and launch over 200 brands and rebrands for small businesses. Entrepreneurs in the pet industry and beyond, including hospitality, restaurants, creative entrepreneurs, business coaches, and more outside of excelling in the design and branding space. Kaila has now taken her passion, talent, and expertise and applied it to other ventures as a way to share her love for design and the creative community, including speaking engagements, strategy sessions for business owners, and podcasts. Interviews. You can learn more@docs.design and you could also check out Kaila and her company on all the socials@docs.design. Let’s dive into this episode. Welcome to Rooted in Retail, the show that’s dedicated to helping independent retailers thrive in today’s ever-evolving retail landscape. I’m your host, Crystal Vitis, and I’m. Thrilled to have you join me weekly as we explore topics that are vital to the success of your store. From marketing to mindset, money to merchandising, sales to leadership will cover it all. Each episode features interviews with industry experts and accomplished retailers who share their real-life insights and actionable advice. Get ready for a great conversation on how to build your dream business with Rooted in Retail. Kaila, welcome to Rooted in Retail. I am so excited you’re here. Hi. Thanks for having me. Yeah, this is going to be a great conversation. I, I actually come from a branding agency that was like my first job out of college. It was called Red Rocket Media Group, and I sold brands and logos and slogans and all sorts of stuff. So this is going to be f. Fun to really hear your side of it. And, because you really are an expert in branding, you have incredible case studies and examples. I’ve seen you speak at the Whizbang, retail Success Summit and I was just blown away by your content. So I’m really excited for you to be here. And so let’s dive in because I think that. Sometimes we think of brand as a logo and a slogan and not much else. So let’s go to the basics and just start there. What is a brand? What does that mean?

 

 Kaila: Yes, I love that question. It’s like how I start all my talks because a lot of retailers will have a logo and they’ll be like, Done. That’s my brand. so when we talk about brand, we come at it from the visual side of things. So we always say your brand is a visual story. It’s how you’re communicating to your audience. So it’s the colors you’re using, fonts, patterns, image style. It’s your signage, it’s your copy, it’s everything visual that’s going out in your design and communicating just a logo. Much more.

 

 Crystal: And one thing that I loved from your talk at the summit, you were showing some examples of like exterior store, like really starting looking at every aspect of where the customer is engaging with your business. I mean, there’s so many different layers to it, and I have a feeling that maybe some of us listening haven’t thought about all the different aspects of people that are connecting with our brand. And is it on brand and is there consistency now? One thing that I say a lot in our, in my social media seminars is through a lot of research, and being working with retailers for so long, I really feel like the key, the recipe to success is unique. Having, unique products, having a strong online presence, and having a strong brand like those three things. That checks the box for all the successful retailers that I’m seeing. So will you talk about why is it so critical for retailers to have a consistent, strong brand? 

 

 Kaila: Yeah, definitely. So a lot of times your visual brand is the first thing that your customers are seeing if they’re going past your storefront, if they are looking at a social media post, if. They are reading an advertisement. your visuals are the first thing that’s popping out, and I see it time and time again with retailers. they spend so much time on their story and their why and you know, their pillars and writing that all down and you know, that is the leg up that they have over corporations is being independently owned. People do want to connect with you. They want to know why you started your business. They want to know your story. And a lot of times, you know, retailers will really just focus on that and then the visual brand just completely falls off. Maybe they won’t have consistent use colors or they’ll just put all text. On a Word document and print it out. and like I said, you’re kind of missing getting to that extra layer of having someone actually like read your story and figuring out who you are. If your visuals aren’t aligned with that, like if you’re driving down the car, for example, and you see a billboard, the first thing that’s going to flash out to you are the colors and imagery that’s used. So if you are a natural retailer and you are using bright neon colors and a lot of text and you’re. Photos are very stock-like that’s not very aligned with who you are as a business and your story, and you’re kind of miss missing out on that visual layer to really have customers lean in and be like, oh, this brand relates to me. I’m connecting to this brand. And then getting them to go to step deeper of actually getting to know you, read your story, and figure out who you are.

 

 Crystal: Totally such great points. And it’s like same with people are scrolling on social if they’re really not resonating with that or if they’re if it’s inconsistent and I can’t start drawing that connection to who this brand is. You’re really missing out. And I’m sure you’ve seen this a lot. I’ve seen it a lot. Where we love Canva. I know you do because I’ve heard you talk about it. I do too. 

 

 Kaila: It makes it so we’re going to talk about today too.

 

 Crystal: Yes. Ok. Good. Good, good. But I will say there is something I see that retailers will get into Canva and then use templates, but they’re not their colors and then it’s always inconsistent and it’s off. And so we really want to make sure we’re sticking to that strong brand so people can really recognize it. Now, speaking of what are some key elements? Of a strong brand. And do you have an example of somebody who’s doing this Well,

 

 Kaila: yes. So obviously logo is a piece of it, but I like to say that logo is actually the least important part of a brand because you can put a logo in a different color palette in a different pattern and it’s going to give off a completely different vibe. so kind of the main way that we break down the importance of a brand is brand colors. Your brand fonts. And then what docs design calls are like, special secret sauce is the brand visual toolkit. now this is the piece that people are usually missing, and this is patterns, illustrations, textures, the extra design elements that you use on social media, graphics, and signage because colors and fonts can only get you so far. so having that kinda secondary brand toolkit is really helpful. Now what I would say of what the key elements are to like make sure you’re picking those correctly, is making sure you’re picking them with purpose and then using them consistently. So when you are picking your colors and your patterns, like I said, I keep, I always go back to like the natural example. Cause I think that one. Resonates with people, it makes the most sense if you are a natural retailer that provides all-natural products. Again, you want to make sure your colors are making sense. I always use the example of the natural retailer because if you are using Britney on colors, that is not communicating naturally. So again, you want to make sure you’re picking all these elements with purpose, making sure it’s going back to your story, making sure it’s going back to who you are as a brand, and then using them consistently over and over again. one of our clients, they’re called Island Dog. They’re a pet retailer that just does such a fabulous job of this. They have a beautiful brand. Our team helps them with patterns, icons, that sort of stuff, and they really just take that brand and use it. Fullest potential. Every so single social media post is branded. The inside of their store is beautiful. There’s not one corner that doesn’t use their brand colors, their brand fonts like they’ve really thought through every single detail. they have a bakery section. All their bakery items that they put out are in branded boxes. Their bags are branded like every single touch point is very consistent and branded. Their whole thing. They’re called Island Dog. it’s a coastal dog retailer. So obviously all the illustrations and the colors and everything that we picked reflect that. And so it makes sense for who they are as a brand. but they also are very consistent with. 

 

 Crystal: That’s so cool. I can’t wait to check ’em out. so I love where there’s that consistent brand everywhere. You mentioned patterns. Will you talk about that? Cause I saw some examples that you had when you were speaking and I, I don’t, I haven’t thought of that before. Of having patterns or icons, like you were saying, being a part of your brand. And I think that’s such an opportunity that not a lot of businesses are doing. I feel like, you know, we get the color, the logo, the font. But that special sauce of that pattern, like you said. So we just go into that a little bit more about what you mean and Yeah. how retailers would use it. 

 

Kaila: Yeah. So brand patterns are like our favorite thing as a team to create. so like I said, I see it all the time. People go in Camba and they’ll create a social media post and they’ll be like, okay, pink background and our brand font, but it’s missing something here. Foreground mid-ground background. So the foreground is like the thing you see first. The background would be the background color. So that mid-ground area is usually what’s being missed to make your designs look, you know, more professional or like maybe what bigger retailers are doing. And that’s where that pattern and element. Like kind of comes in. So maybe it’s a social media post and you have your hours outta like plain pink background and you’re like, what’s missing? A lot of times it’s that pattern. And my favorite thing with retailers is because you are so independently owned and there are special stories there that a lot of times those patterns of icons can tell that story. So like example island dog, there on the coast. So we did like all these dogs’ surfboards. Super fun. Okay, so she has this little surfboard pattern. She has a wave pattern she uses that was all in her packaging and incorporated throughout. And so when you see that, it’s like, okay, yes, she’s using the color blue and she’s using like a fun script coastal font that gives me coastal fields. But then you see this pattern that’s like the waves and the dogs, the surfboard, and it’s like, oh. This is a pet store that’s on a coastal town. Like it’s that extra layer of being able to tell that story in a visual way without text. so the patterns are fun and I love what our retailers do with it. you know, in, in my talk at Wang, I showed some examples of like, What your windows could look like. You can only do so much with color and with fonts. But when you have those icons and those illustrations, putting those there on window cleans, we’ve even had clients who’ve done like custom wallpaper with their brand pattern behind their cash wrap. The tissue paper they use to stuff their bag is that pattern. There’s a lot of opportunities there to use that.

 

 Crystal: So many opportunities. And wasn’t there somebody that had like a headband or something with their patterns?

 

 Kaila: Yes. I love telling that story. so one of our clients owns a jewelry store and she actually took our brand pattern that we created for her and created a product outta it. she created these headbands for customers to wear, not a logo inside that headband. But because her brand pattern is a visual tool for you and her, and she uses it so much, and people see that brand pattern and they associate it with her store, she was able to take that pattern and create a product out of it, and people bought it and loved it, and it’s representing her brand without it being like an Attacky big logo everywhere. And it’s like a fashionable thing. And obviously, we created the pattern in mind with who her customers were. So they love it and she puts it on everything now.

 

 Crystal: It’s so smart. Like when we love a store and we love a brand, we want to support it. But those like polos with the logos and things like that, we’re just not, or the graphic tees with the logos, I’m just not going to be sporting that. But when you actually have the pattern, and, and like you said, it’s designed with the customer in mind, so they’re resonating, they want to be a part of it. It creates more of this like a lifestyle brand or this movement in a way. That’s a whole nother connection that I think independent, so have an opportunity to do so. I love that you guys are doing it. It’s so cool. Yeah. That’s so cool. what do you think the biggest challenge independent retailers face when it comes to branding and design? 

 

Kaila: Definitely consistency. so you know, if you’re going to spend all this time thinking about who you are as a brand, picking out your colors, picking out your fonts, investing in some custom patterns and icons, like actually make sure you’re using them consistently. I think social media is the biggest fallout I see on this. Like you said, people getting Canva and they just use random templates everywhere. It’s very hard to tell. What store this is coming from so, you know, I would challenge everyone listening now to sit down like, do you have certain brand colors that you’re using? Actually, go into your kit and like in there. Sure. You’re only using those colors for your signage, for your packaging. the more. See those visual tools in a consistent way, the more and more they’re going to associate that with you. I always use like Home Depot as an example. I’m not sure if they have those where you’re at, but so they have like the orange color obviously, and like their shopping carts are orange. And mind you, this is obviously a bigger retailer, but they have really done a great job of like using that specific orange over and over again. Tiffany’s, the Tiffany Blue over and over and over again. It has become a part of their brand that like you can’t see that robin blue or that orange without thinking about those stores. So that’s the power that consistency can have when it comes to brand of your store.

 

 Crystal: Yes, and I think as small business owners we get bored sometimes. And so then we create problems in our business and I think one of those things could be boredom with our brand or with the colors and we want to get in there and mix it up, or we’re feeling really creative, but that’s not the place. We want to make sure that we’re keeping that consistency. because like Kaila said, when we see the blue from Tiffany or the Orange from Home Depot, we’re recognizing that brand recognition is so critical to your success. Such good tips. Okay. Will you talk about helping a retailer go from an underdog to a top dog through design work? What was the process like and how did it impact their business?

 

 Kaila: Yes. so one of my favorite case studies to talk about is Belly Rob’s Biscuit Bar. They are a pet retailer, down in Virginia. So our team was rebrand us, just had a logo in two colors, blue. Just like a Wordmark logo that needed some love. So we took them through the whole branding process with us. obviously, we were targeting dog parents, maybe a little bit like elder millennials was kind of the, the target market we were going for. and they really wanted it to be a very, like, traditional type of brand. They wanted to stick with their blue, they yellow, so there was some parameters there we worked with. but beyond just the colors and the logos, we gave them the entire visual. So the illustrations. The patterns, the icons, you know, really help them with their brand story. Some fun taglines, some fun copy for them. so we were branding them about three years ago. They just had a small store in Virginia. since then, they have opened up a popup. They’ve launched their own product line of their own biscuits. because one of the kind of, Roadblocks for her was packaging design. She was like, I just have a logo. I don’t even know like how to like go about this. But after the brand we were able to help them with packaging design and launching their own private line. and she’s actually in the process of opening up her third store right now. so she has really grown like crazy. and one of the biggest things that she tells us all the time, you know, we opportunity help design that with. Painted the whole store in her brand color. We, our team designed a really fun mural outside that people could take photos in front of, created really fun window clings because it was a pop-up moment. So we were able to bring in all that stuff. and she says time and time again that like that mural in those window clings brought in so many people in new customers because, you know, the brand was designed very colorful, very. Fun. We, you know, brought in some of those icons and illustrations. and obviously then they got to her store. They saw the private label of the packaging design that was in the same colors, the same illustrations. The bags that she gave out had it, you know, it was a very consistent experience and design in a way that was meant to communicate to her target audience. so that’s been really fun to watch her grow. She was one of our, like first clients I. Four years ago, four or five years ago, we rerated her. and now you know, she’s going in with the third year and with the third store being open, which is just amazing.

 

 Crystal: And that is so cool. I love hearing it. And you touched on something that’s so important about having this mural and having the customer wanting to take pictures and it’s drawing them in and we’re wanting to be a part of the brand and we’re so passionate, or we think it’s. So unique or creative that we connect to it and we want to share it. Yeah. And we want to put that on social and that is how we get these little viral sales soldiers out there. We just, but we have to create those moments or those experiences for our customers to do it. And obviously you’ve got it through the brand is the way to do it. 

 

 Kaila: So yeah, like if you don’t have the brand pieces, I think people get a little lost and like you said, they’re like, oh, I don’t even know what to do. And so it’s like taking a couple steps back and taking the moment to invest in your business and brand to get those foundational pieces lay down. And time and time again. Our clients tell us all the time, like, oh my gosh, I feel so much more creative because now I know like what my brand is and like. What the tools are I’m working with here and like now I’m not overwhelmed when I go into and I actually like sit down. 

 

Crystal: Totally. I think that some, that structure can create creativity when we’re just like blank canvas in which just whatever we could waste a lot of time, we, it’s so hard to get started. What direction am I going? You have to have that structure to then really amplify it and work within, within it. So important. for retailers who are just starting to build their brand, what’s the first step they should take and what are some common mistakes to avoid?

 

 Kaila: Yeah. So first step I would say audit the brand. what are you currently doing? What are you currently using? Like start to, like you said, put some of that structure into place so there isn’t overwhelm, limit the colors you’re using, limit the fonts you’re using. What parts and pieces are you missing? Do you have those patterns? Do you have those icons? Really start to sit down and take an overview. Look, and I know this can overwhelming at first, if people want to dive like right into the fun part. Picking colors and like fonts. But before you can do that, you really do have to have that structure. So that’s always what I tell retailers. The first startup to do is to audit the brand, sit down, see what you’re doing, kinda get that written down and get some bare bones. I know it can be overwhelming, but really editing it down will help you be more creative in the future. I would say common mistakes to avoid. I see a time and time again where retailers are like, I just need a logo. I’m going on Fiverr. I’m hiring a cheap freelancer, and I’m going to have my mom’s friend’s cousin create me a logo on Canva and I’m good. And that’s my brand. and then like 10 years down the road, that logo is on everything. And then they realize, Oh, I actually don’t have a brand and it actually becomes more expensive down the road to go back instead of just doing it right to the first way. So, you know, I’ve seen clients come to us, they’re like 10 years in business and they’re like, oh, this logo goes on. Everything. I have so much I have to redo. And it’s like if you’re able to just take a step back and really invest in that brand from the get go down the road, it can you a lot problems.

 

 Crystal: Such a good tip because there are a lot of resources out there that can get it done cheap, right? Like Fiverr and getting a $5 logo or a TED dollars logo and think long term. And I think because I did used to sell. Brand like branding. I have some insight into this. The process. Kaila, I’m sure you do this with your, your clients too, and feel free to take us through some of this process. Like you get to know your clients and their, and then their clients. And the vision of the company and what they stand for and what they don’t, and what’s that feeling and what’s that vibe and all this stuff that you’re really having to communicate. And that is a process where if you’re going to Fiverr, you are not getting that. It’s like, here’s the biggest business name and here’s who I serve. And then they’re, they take logos that they’ve already. You know, designed and just give you the ones that nobody picked. Like it’s, there’s not that process. You’re not seeing it fully through, you know, what kinds of things are you guys doing in your process when you work with your clients?

 

 Kaila: Yeah, so before we even touch the brand, our first part of our signature brand process is called the discovery phase. so this is where we do a lot of handholding, a lot of business therapy. a very lengthy questionnaire like you said, we want to know your story, we want to know why you started this business. We want to know what makes you special. so that very first call that we have with our clients board, that’s the overall. The brand should be and where we think it should go. A competitive analysis. This is what your competitors are doing. We hear that blue is your favorite color and you really want to use blue, but every single competitor in your space is using blue. So maybe let’s think outside of the box there. creative brief of, you know, this is who you’re serving. This is like the tone we’re going through. And then we start off with some initial sketches right off the bat and start to showcase not just the logo, but how the brand can. With your signage, with your social media, that sort of stuff. we actually have a client we’re working on right now, they sell baby blankets. they’re fully e-commerce, but good case study nonetheless. you know, they had someone on fiber create a logo for them, and it was, it’s a baby brand. So I could tell that this person on fiber just use, like you said, something they would give. Oh, here. She has this beautiful story of why she named her brand. What it, what it’s, it’s called Honey Lemonade. and you know, when she was younger, her mom used to make her honey lemonade and it reminds her of being childhood and simple joy. None of that was being communicated. And the current brand she has, we’re completely rebranding her. Obviously, we’re working on the logo, but. You know, our team created, her whole brand is like based on whimsical storybook. So we actually created like a storybook illustration that like tells the story of like her being a kid with her mom and we have like a little illustration of her as like a little kid with her mom and the honey lemonade. Like that’s such a beautiful touch point and a beautiful story to tell that, that fiber designer didn’t even get to because it was like, oh, you’re a baby brand. Here you go. You know, so it, it really does do wonders to really get down to the story of the why and then being able to visually express that.

 

 Crystal: That’s such a great example. It goes way deeper than just that. Yes. Way deeper. So good. Now how, for retailers that have had their store for a while, they have their brand, you know what, take me through the process. Like, how can a retailer maintain, I. And evolve their brand over time. Right? Because there’s probably some evolution as they’re going on as a retailer or bringing in new lines or expanding or whatever they’re doing. So what could they do to keep it strong and relevant? Are there specific strategies or approaches that you would recommend? 

 

 Kaila: Yeah, so this is the four S’s that I talked about in the whizzbang, my whizbang talk. So, you know, obviously if you have a brand, there always can be little tweaks here and there, but the foundation of your brand will most likely never change why you started your business, what your vibe is. You know, you can make like a little tweak to your piece here and there if you want to like freshen it up. But where I see that retailers can, you know, have a little bit more fun, creativity is what we call the, so this is. So your storefront, your internal signage, how you, sign individual items, sections, that sort of stuff, sales and promotions. So how can you put your brand spin on the traditional buy one, get one sale or the traditional GA times event? there’s opportunity there for you to have some fun and creativity with your brand. shipping. So if you don’t already offer e-commerce, or even like in-store gifting, what that shipping experience looks like. Are you offering custom gift wrap? Is it in your branded pattern? Are you offering some sort of bundle or shipping subscription box? and is that branded and being a. Reflection of your store, your in-store experience. and then social media is the other one, which obviously Crystal’s much more of a expert on that than I am. But from the visual side of things, like if someone is landing on your social media, are your Instagram highlights branded? Do you have fun social media posts? Is there a fun sort of series you’re doing on social media? You can relates. Three Happy Hounds and they’re all about pet nutrition. And right now they’re doing a whole series where they’re highlighting like different ingredients and recipes and stuff like that on their social media. Super fun relates back to who they’re as a brand and their why. And obviously the posts are all branded and beautiful people are sharing them. so those are kind of the four ways I think that cus or retailers can still be creative with the brand and do some fun new things with it.

 

 Crystal: Smart, the four S’s. Look at that. So we’ve got signage, sales, shipping, and social media, right? Yes. Yes. Love it. Okay. Now looking forward, what are some upcoming trends or innovations in branding and graphic design that independent retail store owners should be aware of?

 

 Kaila: Yeah, so I personally try to avoid trends when it comes to actual design. I think if you are following what everyone else is doing in the trends, your brand will very quickly look outdated. So, you know how like gradients were like all the rage like just a couple years ago and like I, I have a ton of clients who are like, gradient was their pattern they use just. Everyone else was doing it and there was no story or rhyme or reason of why they were doing it, or I see right now a very popular, like the boho, like leafy blobs. You know, it makes sense for some people, but if you’re just following trends like that and there’s no rhyme or reason to it, I think your brand will very quickly kind of fizzle out. So when it comes to actual like branding trends, I like to say, you know, stay true to you and who you’re and what your customers will relate to. when it comes to innovations, obviously I know like AI is all the range right now. Like Photoshop just released, AI feature. Canva just released an AI feature. it has its time and place. I’ve had clients do really cool photo mockups. using the AI feature where it’s like, oh, I’m a baby store and like my brand color is blue, so I want like a blue teddy bear right here in the corner and I don’t want to like go out and buy a blue teddy bear and photographic. So I’m going to use the AI feature in Canva and ask them to like, put a blue teddy bear right here. So I think it has its place, but again, if you don’t have like the foundation of your brand, it kind of becomes overwhelming where it’s like, what is AI for? 

 

 Crystal: Right. That’s, so I love that idea though, of adding elements into a picture or design using it. And man, Kaila, we should like connect in six months and be like, okay, what’s happening in the design AI world? Like there’s probably, it’s moving so fast. There’s probably so much that’s going to happen that we could do a whole episode about that, but yes. but you’re so right, and I have to just touch on this whole trends thing. I’m so glad you said that because. I experienced this. I have a separate show called Crystal Uncorked, and last year, in like September, October, I was think feeling like maybe I need to do something different with the brand. Even though I was only two years old, I was getting bored, I was wanting to mix things up. And so my graphic designer who works on in-house at Crystal Media was healthy me. She’s like, okay, so what kind are you thinking? And I was sending these. Burnt oranges and these forced greens and maroons, and she’s like, so this is very fall, which we’re in fall right now, so I’m feeling like you’re liking the fall just because of the time of year. Let’s wait six months and see if you’re still feeling this way and. I wasn’t, I was not feeling that way. So you gotta be careful with those trends, time of year. Like don’t go and change. Stay true to you. 

 

 Kaila: Yeah. That’s

not, and that’s actually a really good point. Cause I see this a lot with the seasons and we actually have clients who will reach out to us where it’s like, okay, we have your brand foundation. They’re like, Hey, can you give us like a pack of new illustrations to use for, it’s, we’re staying. Some like new fun elements that we’re bringing in instead of being like, ok, we’re going to change the whole brand. Be green and red. Cause it’s Christmas time.

 

 Crystal:  Yes, exactly. So good. That’s a good way to do it with those icons. I love it. okay, Kaila, are you ready for the resilience round? 

 

 Kaila: Yeah, I’m nervous for this. Let’s do it. 

 

Crystal: Oh, you’re going to do great. All right. Favorite or best business book?

 

 Kaila: Okay. So unfortunately I am a fiction reader through and through, and I only read Fantasy, but I’m a huge podcast listener when it comes to businesses. I love Starter Story is what the podcast is about. 

 

 Crystal: Ooh. Starter story. I’m going to have to check it out. Awesome. Okay. Best retail technology, like an app or software.

 

 Kaila: Specifically for design, Canva, I, if you are not using a free Canva account and you’re like still in Microsoft Word, go check out Canva. 

 

Crystal: Yep. Amen. How do you keep up with the ever-changing retail landscape? A 

 

Kaila: focus on your community, focus on you, and don’t be worried about your competitors and trends. What everyone else is doing.

 

 Crystal: Smart. Because retailers ever changing. How do you recharge your batteries? 

 

Kaila: Nature Going outside National parks hikes.

 

 Crystal: Mm, good one to help retailers be stronger, more rooted in success. What’s a branding foundational best practice?

 

 Kaila: color is always my number one thing before focusing on logo focus on color. There’s a whole thing of color psychology out there. So if you aren’t using consistent colors or have a color palette, that is always where I tell people the first foundational place start with their brand.

 

 Crystal: Awesome. Finally, what do you think the future of independent retail looks like? Oo, 

Kaila: that’s so hard. I think it’s honestly whatever you want to make it, but, I have seen a lot of blending with physical and digital. I think especially like when the pandemic happened and like QR codes for all the rage. I definitely think, you know, starting to see how those two will play hand in hand together is going to be really interesting.

 

 Crystal: Totally agree. I so agree. See, you did great. At was so easy. It’s awesome. Kaila, how can people learn more about you?

 

 Kaila: Yes. So following us on Instagram is probably the best way. our business url, our URL for Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, all that is docs Dox doc design. so you guys can go ahead and follow us along there or check out our website. All of our services are listed there. And probably the best way if you want to get started with us is we do offer, one hour brand audit call. So if you do not do the audit yourself, and you want our to and quickly at suggestions,

 

 Crystal: Oh, I love that we will link to that. That’s such a great thing to offer, so take advantage of that. Get an expert on your stuff. Sometimes it’s hard to see the picture when we’re in the frame, and so having somebody take a look, give you some feedback, and then possibly help and, and ad like really be able to communicate. Your brand to your customers. Kaila is a great resource for that and has been working with independent retailers and in this industry. So I just so appreciate you being here. Thank you for sharing your wisdom with our retailers today. 

 

 Kaila: Thank you so much for having me. I had so much fun.

 

 Crystal: Awesome. All right, everybody. Remember that I am rooting for your success. Have a great week ahead. Bye. Thank you so much for being here. It means the world to me. Don’t forget to join the Rise and Shine newsletter, which is social media news you need to know. Send via email every Monday morning. Go to Crystal media co.com/rise to join, and don’t miss the newest episode of Rooted in Retail, which drops every Sunday morning.