Brand identity is the combination of visual elements that reflect a name, idea, product, company or service. The colours, typography, images and even phrases like a slogan, have the role of recording quickly and objectively in the public’s mind, a company’s identity and mission.

When talking about food, we often use the phrase “you eat with your eyes first”. The same thing applies to many other products and services.

The brand identity is what will make your product or idea “appetising” to your audience.

The bridge between you and your customer is based on what attracts them, what they want and what you can offer them. The beginning of this relationship is established the moment something catches their eye, so it must convey in that instant the security and professionalism needed for them to surrender their trust.

Think of a game of charades: If you had to mime your company’s idea, what would you do? The brand identity asks you to do this exercise, but using imagery.

Importance of a brand identity

A well built and striking graphic identity is a fundamental step to presenting yourself to your potential customers as a company that they can believe and invest in.

Big names in the market are represented by images and colours that jog our memory even unconsciously. Take McDonalds for example. It’s represented by a large M in the colours red and yellow, and the character of Ronald McDonald, designed in the same colour palette. It’s almost impossible not to see one of these elements, whether together or separate and not remember the brand immediately, even if unintentionally.

This is the kind of impact you want to have on your audience; a brand identity that makes your mission transparent and recognisable anywhere.

Where do you start?

A “brief” is the first step in any creative project. A meeting where no idea is too small. Without a good brief, it’s almost impossible to gather the ideas you want to pass on to your customers through your brand identity.

All the essential points for the creation of a graphic identity should be raised during this briefing, so this is the time to find the answers to all the questions that define the concept behind your organisation.

Five essential questions that you need to answer:

• How would you describe your product?
• How do you want your audience to identify you?
• Who is your audience?
• What is your USP?
• Who are your competitors?

It’s this information that will guide the construction of your brand identity from beginning to end. You can also look at the technical details of the creation process at this point, from suggestions of colours and main shapes to the budget you want to use.

This is the beginning of the outline of what your brand identity will become.

Define your Persona

There are two elements that are essential for a company to understand which path it intends to follow: Brand Persona and Buyer Persona.

Let’s look at Brand Persona – Before turning your company’s mission into a design, you need to turn it into words. Brand Persona represents what the brand has to offer and how it wants to connect with the customer in terms of communication.

For example – Do you want potential customers to see you as relaxed and informal, or as more formal and accomplished? There are five key dimensions of brand personality: sincerity, excitement, competence, sophistication and ruggedness. These can be broken down further into their facets.

Creating and defining a Brand Persona is to outline the personality of your brand in the eyes of the public. To get to this step without major difficulties, you need to have defined who you are and who your target is during your briefing.

By defining the voice that your brand will have on the market, it’s much simpler to design a face for it, especially a face that is in harmony with the expectations of your potential customer.

Defining the font, colour and style

All the data and information collected so far will form the foundation of your brand identity. This comes to life when shapes and colours are applied.

A professional design team prepared for this task will be responsible for putting all your ideas into action, in addition to making the necessary changes that will make the brand identity of your company unique and unforgettable.

Font

The font used needs to be in perfect harmony with the design and colour of your brand, in addition to being legible to your audience.

Different typeface families instil different feelings and emotions in us, for example, script fonts that resemble handwriting can give an air of sophistication and class, and because they replicate handwriting they have a more personal feel. Sans serif fonts inspire objectivity and clarity. They’re seen as modern and sleek.

Don’t forget that the font will not only be present in your brand’s slogan or logo, but also on any other products that involve visual communication. Also, take into account the fonts used by your competitors and reflect on what characteristics they make you feel.

Colour palette

It’s well established that colour plays a fundamental role in the process of interpreting sensations in our brains. The colours used in your brand will evoke senses, trigger memories and represent concepts in a powerful way. Look carefully at the sensations that colours bring to mind and choose the one that best fits your brand identity.

Style, format

Last but not least, the shapes that will be part of your brand identity also have the power to wake different concepts in the public’s mind. They need to be in harmony with all the ideas already mentioned and will help bring your brand’s face to life.

Squares, for example, remind the viewer of a concept of objectivity and rationality. Triangles express an idea of growth, organisation and connection. Circles give the impression of something complete, that also has no end, something timeless and infinite.

One artistic element must always complement the other.

Tips for creating a brand identity

It’s a process that requires dedication, creativity and the participation and unity of your entire team, but don’t panic, it’s not as scary as it sounds.

To make it easier, there are a few tips that can help you find the essence of your brand and help express it in a simpler way:

Create a coherent and flexible brand identity

Keep in mind all the products on which you want to apply your brand identity. Create a logo that can easily be adapted to different formats, without losing the essence of your mission. Your image must be consistent and flexible at the same time.

This seems a little contradictory, but after you have been through the whole process of analysing your brand to build its identity, it becomes much easier to apply the essence of your business to any format.

Do more than just a logo

While your logo makes it clear to customers who your company is, it also needs to arouse the curiosity in them to learn more about it and everything it can offer. Images can deliver powerful messages, so think hard about what kind of voice you want your logo to express. It needs to conform not only to your standards, but also be flexible to the variables of potential customers.

Don’t just stick to one idea

During your initial brief, hopefully more than one great idea will have materialised. Collect the best ones and always be ready to transform your visual communication to the different times and situations that your company may find itself in. You need to be prepared to adapt.

Fulfil your Persona’s needs

We’ve looked at the importance of defining who your Brand Persona is. Now you need to pay attention to the desires and habits of your Buyer Persona. Buyer Persona is simply your customer and it’s this profile that you must keep in mind throughout the process.

You need to understand how, when and where they need your product to make them an offer impossible to refuse. At the same time as you stay true to your company’s concept, you must consider how the public wants to see you in the market.

• What kind of product do they consume and what can carry this visual communication?
• Which colours attract their eye?
• Do they understand and connect with your slogan?
• What shapes and lines are aesthetically appealing to them?

Just like any other campaign, you need to put the customer first.

Finally

A qualified designer generates cost during the process of creating your Brand Identity, but they are an absolutely irreplaceable investment. They will be able to transform your ideas into a quality final product, and in addition to having different suggestions, will offer considerations that you may not have even thought of.

Brand identity sells your idea, but its entire design is geared to please your customer. It’s the first and most important impression that potential clients will have of your business or product. So, to guarantee to catch their eye and get that relationship started, make sure it’s really appetising.

Need a bit more help? Need some advice on logo design & branding? Let us help you. Contact us: traci@design-ology.co.uk or call us on 01293 123 456.