How to build a cohesive brand (even if you're not a designer)

Written By Jennifer Parker

Let’s be real for a second: building a brand can feel overwhelming. Strategy work, customer personas, research, fonts, colours, logos, websites, Instagram posts, content…

It’s a lot.

Here’s the good news: there’s a little trick to getting your brand to instantly look more polished online. And this one tip is simple, but powerful.

👉 Use consistent visual elements.

I’m not talking about being “pretty” or “aesthetic” for the sake of it. I’m talking about visual consistency.

This is super important if you want people to actually remember you, your brand, and start to trust you. Whether they’re on your site, watching your reels, or reading one of your emails.

What I love about this simple tip is: you don’t need to be a designer to pull this off. After you’ve read this blog, you’ll be well on your way to getting the hang of things for your brand.

Why visual consistency matters (and why it’s the secret sauce to looking legit)

Ever scroll past a post and instantly know who it’s from without even seeing the name? That’s not an accident. It’s visual consistency in action!

When your colours, fonts, and image style stay consistent, it:

  • Makes you look like a pro (even if you're DIY-ing everything)

  • Builds trust and recognition (which = more clicks, bookings, and sales)

  • Helps people remember you (which is kind of the whole point, isn’t it?)

At Due Today Creative, my primary green shows up everywhere. On my website, in my reels, even in my YouTube thumbnails. People start to know it’s me before they even read the caption. That’s the magic of visual consistency.

In a nutshell, this consistency is what becomes your visual identity or visual branding over time.

How to create consistent visual branding (without overthinking it)

So let’s start to break this down. If you want your brand to feel cohesive across your website, Instagram, and every other digital corner of the internet, here’s what to do.

1. Pick 2–3 core brand colours

Your colours should reflect your brand’s personality. Are you calming and supportive? Bold and energetic? Minimalist and modern? Choose a palette that says what you’re all about. And if you’re stuck, get some ideas from colour psychology. Here’s a fascinating read on colour psychology if you’re interested!

💡 Choose one dominant colour (your “main character”) and one or two accents that support it.

2. Choose 1–2 fonts and actually stick to them

I’m a designer, so trust me when I say I know how tempting it is to go wild with a different font every day. But you’ll be much better off choosing one font for headings and one for body text.

Not only will this create a visual hierarchy, but it’ll make your brand look super put-together, even if you're just starting out.

Want help choosing fonts and understanding how they work together? Grab my free Website Starter Workbook. It’s a complete brand strategy guide with a handy AI app that will help you get your entire website planned out in no time. And it’s got a whole section on fonts. It’s a game-changer (if I do say so myself).

3. Use a consistent image style (stock photos included!)

Your imagery should feel like it belongs together, even if it’s from five different photoshoots or free stock libraries. Whether you go for clean and minimalist, dark and moody, or bright and fun, stick with it.

📸 Look at your Instagram grid or website gallery. Do your images feel cohesive, or do they look like they came from ten different planets?

Real talk: you don’t need a fancy brand to look professional

You just need consistency. That’s it.

When people start to see the same colours, fonts, and image style show up again and again, your brand becomes instantly more trustworthy and memorable.

And that means:

  • More clicks

  • More bookings

  • More people saying, “Omg, I’ve been seeing your stuff everywhere lately.”

Final thoughts (a.k.a. your friendly sign to take action!)

You don’t need to be a designer. You don’t need a massive budget. You just need to choose your visual vibe and commit to sticking with it for a while. This doesn’t mean you can never change it (but that’s a topic for another blog post 👀).

Because consistent visuals give big brand energy.

So if you’re DIY-ing your site or just starting out on Instagram, this is your sign to pick your brand colours, lock in your fonts, and keep things consistent across the board.

✨ Want help getting started? Download my free Website Starter Workbook. It includes a full brand strategy section plus a smart AI tool to help you plan out your entire website and brand strategy.

Faster than you ever thought possible!

Here’s to building something amazing (and actually hitting publish this time 😉)

Jennifer Parker