The 12 premium-brand signals

1. Typography — does the type look custom, intentional, restrained?

2. Photography — original, on-brand, real people and product?

3. Color — disciplined palette with proper hierarchy?

4. Logo — works at every size, every surface, every dark/light mode?

5. Layout — generous whitespace, no clutter?

6. Motion — restrained, purposeful, never gimmicky?

7. Voice — confident, specific, never "we're passionate about"?

8. Packaging or deliverables — branded, intentional?

9. Social — consistent across platforms, no junk content?

10. Fixed assets — invoices, contracts, email signatures all branded?

11. Customer experience — onboarding, communications, off-boarding match the brand?

12. Founder presence — public-facing, on-brand, professional?

Talkerstein recommendation

Score 0-3 per signal. Anything under 24/36 means the brand is not yet premium-priced-ready. Fix the lowest 3 signals first — they compound.

Related

• Brand Voice Template

• Business Bottleneck Scorecard

• Talkerstein Branding service

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