Designing Brand Identity
Business magazines and websites are sprinkled with terms like branding, brand identity, logo design, corporate identity, and brand strategy. Different terms can describe the same thing. Sometimes the same term is used to describe different things. Confusing!
Designing Brand Identity
Good branding is ultimately about good communication. To make sure your visual output aligns with your brand values, reflects your personality, and communicates your total brand story, you need to have an intimate understanding of your brand.
Fun fact: In 2011, the video platform Twitch made a splash with their all-purple branding (at a time when their competitors used bold greens and reds). The color instantly became a hallmark of their brand (now a multi-billion dollar company).
As you move through the process, pay special attention to how your competitors present themselves in terms of common visual elements, trends, industry-specific visual themes, brand personalities, etc.
Design can be incredibly subjective. Colors that convey power and strength to one person may be perceived totally differently by others. Even the vocabulary you use to describe your brand can be interpreted differently across your team.
A brand identity is an intricate design system. Each element influences the other, but it starts with your logo. A strong logo captures the essence of your brand, helping you make your mark (literally) in the world.
Once you have a solid logo, you can explore your color palette. Color is a great tool to differentiate your brand from competitors, but know that color can also elicit strong emotions, so choose wisely.
Every visual element in your identity should contribute to a cohesive visual language, and thus each should complement the other. This is particularly true of typography, which should be informed by the shape of your logo.
Every stage of design has its own unique challenges, but typography can be tricky in a visual language, especially when brands follow trends that are hot for a second but quickly become dated or appear unoriginal (serif vs. non-serif).
To keep it simple, limit the number of typefaces to 2-3. This generally includes primary and secondary brand typefaces for specific purposes, such as body copy typeface, UI typeface, etc. For a deeper dive into choosing typography (including whether or not to license fonts), see our guide to choosing the best typography for your brand.
Before you move on, use the Brand Identity Checklist in the toolkit to ensure your visual language is complete and adheres to best practices. You can also bookmark these 75 tips, tools, and resources to help your team create a great brand identity.
Include clear, easy-to-follow guidelines for every part of the brand identity, including examples and use-cases for print, web, video, and interactive elements (if applicable). Also include practical detail, denoting as much information as needed to help your designers replicate the brand identity successfully. For more direction, plus great examples, follow our guide to create a brand style guide people will actually use.
It is a complete information a person or an organization would have to keep in mind in order to be a successful brand. It is something which have to be in every organization and they must follow some of these steps. When i was about to start my brand name for my little startup i was very confuse but a tool NamoBOT was very helpful for me at that time and now this article would be beneficial for me in a long term.
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Brilliant detailed article. Thanks for sharing a helpful tips for creative design for a brand..we are Creative Production design agency at Los Angeles welcoming community of trailblazing visionaries and creators. We are committed to delivering the highest-quality content, designed to captivate and inspire your target audience.
Awesome and well written article. The examples and elements are good and valuable for all brand identity designs. Speaking of awesome, check out this website , they do a lot of unique and insight branding.
I finding difficulties establishing my brand guidelines given that I want to focus on skateboardes and surfers. I think the target audience is broad and there are a lot of brands out there already. The thing is that, I would like to avoid the term fashion brand or any fashion trend.
The article is worthy of applause.I also want to draw your attention to choosing the right brand name. Here is an article that says the following about the name: The correct name should reflect the vision and ideal position of a particular brand. The name should also indicate the level of creativity and uniqueness in order to emphasize it and give your business or company the right personality.Everything revolves around uniqueness!
Nice articlei just here to ask.Where do i have to put the brand positioning?I now brand positioning is about how the market look a brand and mission is about how the core team perceives the company.
Hi Jahir, Good question. It is important to know where you fit into the marketplace. You can complete your market positioning along with your brand strategy. If you need to figure out your positioning, a competitive analysis is helpful: -to-do-a-competitive-analysis-in-5-steps.
Hello Nate & Column5 folks, I represent a tiny (but impactful !!!) Aussie NFP and we are working with some special young people to create a social food enterprise. We are starting with purpose and brand development (as you do). This content is so amazing, I was hoping to gain permission to use it (with due accreditation of course), for educational purposes only. You can check us out @BigFeedAU on Twitter & Insty to see how we roll. Our mothership charity is , looking forward to your thoughts.
Developing a brand identity requires more than creating a logo. Although a logo can be the symbol of a business, it is not the entirety of a brand. In fact, creating a logo is just one small step toward developing a strong brand identity.
A brand identity is made up of what your brand says, what your values are, how you communicate your product, and what you want people to feel when they interact with your company. Essentially, your brand identity is the personality of your business and a promise to your customers.
As Wayfair Senior Brand Manager Jared Rosen puts it, "Brand identity is more than just finding the right logo to place on coffee cup sleeves or mount above your front door. It's about crafting a personality that amplifies the core elements to your brand's DNA.
But you also might think of the polar bear, the color red, its "Share a Coke" campaign, or the classic ribbon-like imagery featured on its cans. Here are two things that comprise Coca-Cola's brand identity:
POP Fit has a beautiful brand with bright pinks, purples, and yellows, but that's not even a main element of their brand identity. Perhaps one of the most stunning thing about this brand is their radical representation found in all their messaging.
Marcella NYC started out of founder Siyana Huszar apartment and grew to a notable brand, blending classic silhouettes with an effortless look. Her goal was to make affordable, high-end clothing and also take a more sustainable approach to fashion.
As the embodiment of almost everything your business is and does, a brand identity can inspire customers and increase a sense of loyalty for your brand. Brand identity, therefore, is crucial to your business's future.
Building a brand is not something that should be done hastily. There are a lot of moving parts that go beyond creating a logo and choosing some key colors. Creating a brand identity will require the following:
Zabik adds, "You might have a flashy logo and eye-catching marketing copy, but if it doesn't address your customers' pain points clearly and effectively, it'll be challenging to build a strong and lasting brand identity."
What makes your business unique in your industry? What can you offer your consumers that others can't? Knowing the difference between you and your competition is imperative to developing a successful brand.
Even though you're not necessarily branding an individual, that doesn't mean that you can't be personable when developing a brand image. Use your type, colors, and imagery to represent who the brand is. Then enhance that visual representation with your tone of voice:
Finally, completing a SWOT Analysis can be beneficial to better understand your brand. Considering the characteristics of the brand will help you find characteristics you want to portray in the brand.
Once you know your business inside and out, it's time to bring your brand to life. In the words of graphic designer Paul Rand, "Design is the silent ambassador of your brand." Here's what you'll need to know:
As imperative as your logo is to branding, it's not the only element that makes a brand identity strong. Your product(s), the packaging, or the way you present your services all need to play a part in your brand identity.
Skype is one brand that has done an amazing job creating a clear, cohesive brand guide that anyone can follow. This is one way to empower people to build brand assets and share your brand while remaining brand compliant.
In HubSpot's ebook Branding in the Inbound Age, Patrick Shea writes, "In every way, your content is your brand online. It's your salesperson, your store, your marketing department; it's your story, and every piece of content you publish reflects on, and defines, your brand. So, great content, great brand. Boring content, boring brand."
Another great way to establish a connection with your consumers is through social media. The plethora of platforms on the internet offers up a ton of digital real estate you can use to establish your brand identity. 041b061a72