Brand Identity Design

What is Brand Identity?

Brand identity is an umbrella term that encompasses all of the elements and tools that set your business apart from the rest. Your brand identity will shape how potential customers view your business, and will help with forming a stronger bond with your customers so they remember you and return. By having a consistent brand image, you become more trustworthy and more recognizable to your target audience.

Why Brand Identity Design Matters

Visuals are the first impression and your first chance to express your brand’s character. Potential customers may choose one business over another if they believe that the personality and values of a brand align more with their own, so it’s important to have a clearly defined target audience and brand message. The voice and mission of your brand should align with the brand identity design as a whole to communicate your message.

By having a consistent brand identity, you become easier for your potential customers to recall and easier for your current customers to recognize. This not only puts you at the top of mind, but also begins to build a stronger relationship in customers’ minds. Consistency across your brand builds a sense of trustworthiness.

However, it’s also important that your brand identity is also flexible. You’ll be applying your brand identity to everything you do, so it’s important that it translates well across multiple formats. A design that looks great on a horizontal billboard isn’t going to work at all for a vertical mobile web page, for example. Your designer will help you break down the elements of your brand identity design so you can use them for many applications while keeping your overall look and messaging consistent. Learn more about the services I offer here.

Building a brand identity

Building a brand identity can seem intimidating. By working with a graphic designer that specializes in brand identity design, you’ll save yourself a lot of stress and time that you could be devoting to the heart of your business. Of course, there are a few things you’ll need to establish first, either on your own or with the help of your brand identity designer.

Brand Strategy

Begin with the core of your business or project. What is it about? Who does it serve? Have a clear vision of your brand’s mission and values to get a better idea of the personality of the brand. Consider how the business is positioned compared to the competition. What sets you apart from the rest? Every aspect of your business will play a role in the identity of your brand.

Brand Identity Design Process

Once you’ve answered these questions, it’s time to start working with your designer. In my work, I start with an audit which includes the entire brand strategy, competition, and visual themes, which will translate into a mood board. Mood boards are great tools to explore ideas and to eventually make sure that everyone is on the same page in terms of tone. At this stage, we will begin to work on the building blocks of your brand identity, including iconography, color palette, typography, photography, and other essential elements. A brand style guide will be developed, as well as a logo design, and any other important design touchpoints will be created. To read more about my process, click here.

Brand Style Guide

Your brand style guide will become the ultimate tool in your branding strategy. It’s a document that you will reference often as your brand grows and as you roll out more content. The brand style guide includes a variety of details about your brand strategy and visual brand identity, and each business has different needs.

Generally, you will find information about the business, such as a mission statement, consumer profiles, and other brand strategy elements. You will also find specifications on the logo and all its variations, color palettes and their applications, typography styles, photography or illustration styles, iconography, hierarchy, interactive elements, and more. This document is not only highly visually engaging, it is also rich with information and specifications to keep the brand identity consistent.

Logo Design

The logo is the most recognizable part of your brand, the “face” of it, so it’s important that it reflects your brand and your message. It should be appealing to your target audience, simple enough to print in one color, and legible enough to recognize at very large or very small scales. A great logo captures the attention of potential customers and makes existing customers feel trust, pride, and a connection to your business. Your logo is the foundation of your brand’s visual identity, so it’s important to get it right.

Your designer will work with you to generate ideas and sketches, and translate that into a vector-based program. It’s also important to have variations of your logo for different applications and orientations, and in different color ways. Keep in mind that your logo doesn’t have to be directly representational as long as it is memorable and represents your brand as a whole!

How To Use Your New Brand Identity

Prepare & Launch

Once your contract with your designer has completed, it’s finally time to roll your new brand identity out into the world! Before you launch your shiny new branding, take some time to plan and prepare. Determine your goals for the roll out and how you can meet these goals, make sure your brand story is clearly defined, and make a checklist of all the updates you’ll need to make. You’ll want to think about how to launch your new look on your website, across social media, in your print and digital collateral, in-store, and throughout any other brand touchpoints. Your designer should work with you in formatting the files correctly and organizing them for easy roll-out. For more information on file types and how to use them, click here. You may even ask if your designer is willing to create a launch video or social media post series to help spread the news about this exciting step in your brand’s journey!

Use the Brand’s Voice & Style

Whenever you’re speaking on behalf of the brand, make sure to use your brand’s voice. Is it casual and laid-back, or traditional and elegant? Be sure that your marketing communications align with the personality of the brand and your business strategy.

Remember that consistency builds a trusting relationship, and that applies to writing as well as brand visuals! Make sure that you’re using the brand’s visual “voice” properly as well! Reference the style guide often when creating content, making website changes, or doing any updates. You’ll find that it saves you time and stress when creating, especially if you have templates and specifications to work from.

Keep in Contact

Stay in touch with your designer, and they’re likely more than happy to help you with any questions you may have. If you find that you’re having trouble adhering to the style guide, your designer can help tweak your brand identity, or can help you determine when it’s time to consider rebranding. Your brand and business will continue to grow and evolve, so it’s only natural that the visual brand identity will too.