Free tools for creative small businesses
Build Your Brand, One Clear Decision at a Time
Use these practical tools to move from brand strategy to visual direction, moodboard, colour, typography and a working creative brief. Start at the beginning or jump straight to the decision you need to make.
Start where you are
You do not need to complete every tool. If your strategy is already clear, skip ahead. If your visuals feel inconsistent, begin with Brand Direction or Moodboard. If you are preparing a project for yourself or someone else, the Creative Brief can stand on its own.
Brand Essence Builder
Clarify who the brand serves, the outcome it promises, what makes its approach distinct and the three traits that should guide decisions.
Build Your Brand EssenceBrand Direction Builder
Translate brand traits into a practical direction for colour, typography, imagery, layout and voice.
Build Your Brand DirectionBrand Moodboard Planner
Turn a purpose, three feelings and a few visual choices into a focused 12-slot collection plan.
Plan Your MoodboardBrand Colour Contrast Checker
Test foreground and background colours against WCAG thresholds, preview the pair and explore nearby accessible palettes.
Check Brand ColoursGoogle Font Pairing Previewer
Preview your own brand name and body copy across 50 curated Google Font pairings grouped by visual direction.
Preview Font PairingsCreative Brief Builder
Turn objectives, audience, message, tone, deliverables and success measures into a client-ready creative brief.
Build a Creative BriefMake it, test it, use it
Hands-on creative tools
Plan a brand shoot, refine your images, test your logo in real-world spaces and build a consistent type scale. These free, browser-based tools help you turn design decisions into practical next steps.
Product Photo Crop Previewer
Upload a product image, drag to reframe, compare five crop formats and download the finished JPEG. Your image stays on your device.
Preview Product Photo CropsLogo Legibility Tester
See whether your logo holds up as a tiny icon, profile picture, website header or business-card mark, including dark and greyscale previews.
Test Your LogoBrand Photography Shot List Builder
Choose the photographs your business needs, add custom shots, and copy or print a complete shoot plan.
Build a Photography Shot ListTypography Scale Calculator
Preview consistent heading and body sizes and copy starter CSS for your own website or creative system.
Calculate a Type ScaleFrom idea to a repeatable system
More planning and production tools
Use these interactive worksheets to prioritise your next project, clarify what makes your business valuable, document your visual identity and estimate practical packaging costs.
Mini Brand Style Guide Builder
Combine brand traits, audience, promise, colour choices, typography and voice in a clear one-page reference you can print or copy.
Build a Brand Style GuidePackaging Fit & Cost Calculator
Check whether a padded rectangular product fits its box and estimate packaging consumable costs per order, month and year.
Calculate Packaging Fit & CostValue Proposition Builder
Turn audience needs, customer outcomes and your distinctive approach into a draft that you can edit and copy.
Draft a Value PropositionCreative Idea Decision Matrix
Compare projects by likely impact, direction, effort and available energy, then copy your prioritised list.
Prioritise Creative IdeasMake the details work
Photography and customer experience
Find a workable lighting arrangement for your products, or audit the real customer touchpoints that make your brand feel consistent from first discovery to aftercare.
Product Lighting Setup Selector
Choose a product surface, available light, shooting goal and basic equipment to create a tailored setup and testing checklist.
Plan Your Lighting SetupBrand Touchpoint Audit
Assess customer-facing touchpoints by consistency and importance, then copy a prioritised plan for improving the experience.
Audit Your Brand TouchpointsMake better production decisions
Sustainable Materials Finder
Shortlist papers, inks, packaging and print finishes according to the priorities that matter for a real project, then verify the trade-offs with supplier evidence.
From choices to a usable system
The tools are most useful when the decisions carry forward. Keep the same three brand traits through Essence, Direction and Moodboard, then use your chosen colour and typography decisions consistently in future creative briefs and visual guidelines.
Read: Building a Visual Style Guide