Bring Good Energy to Your Business in 2013 – Feng Shui Your Brand!

feng-shui-your-brandA new year is bursting on the scene ushering in the promise of opportunities and change. This week, the year-end and a full moon energy moved me to clear clutter and rearrange rooms in my home and office. Considering elements, energy, color and flow in my personal space reminded me of how important incorporating the practice of Feng Shui is in business as well.
Feng shui is about creating and maintaining positive flowing energy. Special attention is paid to the five elements, the yin-yang balance of a structure, whether it be a brick and mortar building or a business structure.
Placement and balance of color, symbols, and the five elements of feng shui establish a flow that creates positive feelings and response. Brand messages need to exude positive feelings that resonate with the manager/owner, customers, prospects, employees, vendors and hopefully the general public. Utilizing some basic feng shui practices as it relates to your particular business can increase the positive image of your business and brand.
People respond to color and images much faster than they respond to words and it is wise to look at these guides while considering your business brand and imagery. Specific colors and elements are naturally associated with certain industries and can be incorporated into your office space, website and other elements of your company brand.
Here are the Five Feng Shui Elements applied to specific business industries:

  • FIRE: restaurants, cafes, retail, creative studios, sports related business, etc.
  • EARTH: real estate development, building/construction, agricultural, environmental
  • METAL: architect firms, technology, government, banking, accounting, all financial industries
  • WATER: employment agencies, massage and healing centers, cleaning services, beauty industry
  • WOOD: publishing agency, travel agencies, floral shops, clothing, schools, universities, day care centers, etc.

Each of the five feng shui elements are assigned shapes and colors that increase their energy. Depending on which element your industry belongs to, utilizing the corresponding shapes and colors in your branding will help strengthen the message and increase the positive energy.
Here are the shapes associated with each of the five feng shui elements:

  • WOOD: Rectangular
  • FIRE: Triangular
  • EARTH: Square
  • METAL: Round
  • WATER: Wavy

And here are the colors associated with each of the five feng shui elements:

  • WOOD: Green, Brown
  • FIRE: Red, Strong Yellow, Orange, Purple, Pink
  • EARTH: Light Yellow, Sandy/Earthy, Light Brown
  • METAL: White, Gray
  • WATER: Blue, Black

What do you do when your company offers services or products that incorporate multiple elements?
That’s when the feng shui magic begins!
You can make a determination on what element is the strongest for your company based on your brand focus. For instance, Connection Group provides graphic design and web design solutions for businesses. However, we also develop integrative marketing plans, plus offer marketing consultations, publishing services, and web hosting.
In review of the elements by industry, we could essentially choose all the elements. What is needed is a feng shui ‘cure’.
When you encounter this option, ask yourself which element choice feels and looks better? Since we do all of these services very well, thank you, we wanted to practice feng shui principles in our logo design and brand communication as much as possible. We also know that what our clients rave most about is how we infuse creative talent into every project. Delivering creative solutions is what we want our brand to communicate most. Hence we want Fire to be a strong element in our brand.
We also want to balance the fire by including some of the other elements associated with the services we provide. If you take a look at our logo, first, note the star symbol. A star is light and fire, the symbol itself is also made up of triangles, the shape associated with fire. The gold in the logo brings in the metal element for the technology solutions we develop. The overall circle shape is associated with metal also, but because we are incorporating the moon symbol the connection also relates to the earth element – and of course the circle shape is all about ‘flow’ right? The black interior is the water element that connects and grounds them all and relates to our business clientele.
As brand manager for small business owners, we study the five elements of feng shui and do our best to apply them to your business communications and promotions. However, feng shui should not be forced. It is a natural, organic flow that must feel right to reap the best energy. Balancing colors, shapes and placement to invite a positive relationship with everyone who interacts with your brand. Be mindful of the “feel-good” factor with images or symbols in your business communications.
Feng shui is a very in-depth practice and we have just skimmed the surface on how utilizing its practices can enhance your business. If you are interested in learning more about how to incorporate Feng Shui in your business branding, office or lifestyle, please contact us, we are always happy to build positive energy.
For self-study you may want to refer to a bagua map when relating feng shui to a home, office, building or landscaping to determine placement and generating positive flowing energy. Some of my favorite authors and resources on the subject include: Terah Kathryn Collins – Feng Shui for Prosperity and a most beautiful book by Rosalyn Dexter “Chinese Whispers.” On the web: http://www.amazon.com.
I wish you joy and luck in 2013. Stay connected!

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