Building a strong brand identity is essential for any business looking to establish itself in the market and attract a loyal customer base. A brand's identity is the sum total of its personality, values, and attributes, and it can make all the difference between a successful and an unsuccessful business.
Customer, cost, convenience, and communication: these are the four C’s of marketing, and that’s the kind of thinking you need to bring along on this venture. So, with that in mind, we thought we’d take a swing at listing six essential aspects of how to make this process work.
But first, what even is a brand identity?
There’s a great deal to think about when beginning your brand ID journey — it’s the essence of every marketing design strategy, after all! A brand identity is basically the identity that your business will carry forward into the future, and it’s of vital importance that you think it through as thoroughly as possible.
Your brand identity is the combination of visual, verbal, and emotional elements that define how customers perceive your business. It's the personality and character of your brand that helps distinguish you from your competitors, and makes you memorable to your target audience. From your logo and typography to your brand voice and overall aesthetic, a robust brand identity encompasses everything, including your messaging.
A strong, vibrant brand identity establishes a foundation for a company. It builds trust, reliability and highlights the personality of what it is you’re trying to accomplish. The aim of the game is to resonate with potential customers and get them to understand why your product is the one to shoot for.
It’s important to stand out amongst your competition; finding a unique angle is the best way to do that. A logo is the first thing that many potential customers will see when taking a look at your offering, and if they are immediately getting confused with other brands, you’re going to be off to a poor start - and could get left behind.
It’s also key to get the name in there, too. Your brand identity is going to mean a lot moving forward, and while, yes, there are companies out there that can be recognised purely from an iconic logo, they are global entities. Simplification can work down the line, but you need to begin with something that makes a statement in a manner that few others can.
Every colour represents a different emotion both in life and in work. That sounds a little bit overdramatic, but it’s true. So, at the first available opportunity, why not take a look into what the deeper meaning of every given colour is? Sure, there are a few you can rule out if they don’t suit the style, but there are a whole lot of choices out there.
In the blink of an eye, you could go from being quirky and vibrant to corporate and sophisticated. The benefit of starting off knowing this, of course, is that you can really take your time to form the perfect vision. When thinking about this logo being up on billboards across the world, what colours do you see smiling back at you?
Creativity and design. That’s the key, and that should be the focal point.
This one really does come down to taste because it can vary to a pretty insane degree. Quality, relatable typography can be the backbone of what makes your brand identity tick. It can either make you come across as tacky and a bit over the top, or it’ll leave folks wondering whether you’ve created a brand-new font altogether.
Either way, you’re making an impression. There are neutral options out there, such as Helvetica, or there are common, whacky choices, like Comic Sans. Either way, one principle we tend to stick by is that you should always go in search of originality. It may take a while, but your business is bound to reap the rewards in the long run.
The key term here is ‘well-defined’. In order to create a successful brand identity, you have to be well aware of exactly what it stands for. Every inch of the business needs to be covered 100 times over, if only to ensure you give off a professional look as opposed to an amateur one. This may sound like an obvious entry, but you’d be surprised how often it can fly over someone’s head.
When you’re promising a client or consumer something of the highest order, you need to be as confident as you can be in what you’re selling. From there, you can create visual cues and signals that intertwine with your brand and how people see it. If you’re going to go for it, you may as well be bold.
Never, and we mean never, be afraid to reinforce your brand. Anything and everything that you release should be branded, and although that sounds like we want you to litter the logo everywhere, that isn’t the case. What we’re instead trying to say is that some of the ideas we’ve already floated, such as the typography or colour palette, should be emphasised.
They shouldn’t just be neutralised in the sense of only being used on your website or via products. Instead, why not expand your horizons even further? This is a great segway into the realm of social media which, as we all know, is absolutely massive. If you get your message out across those platforms, the sky is the limit.
As a great man once said, “Never take your eye off the ball.”
This may feel like a similar point to some of the ones we’ve already mentioned, and that’s because it is. If you set up detailed brand guidelines when first developing your brand identity, you can streamline what it is you want to achieve. Opacity settings, RGB/CMYK values, hex codes - if it comes to mind, it should be on here.
We also can’t forget the Kapferer brand identity system. Physique, relationship, reflection. Three pillars make up a mentality that, more often than not, leads to positive results. The characteristics of what you’re letting the world see are important, and you need to stick to your guns with that from day one.
Everyone needs a helping hand along the way in an area like this. At Hatchly, we have our own branding portfolio that gives you a glimpse into the mind of our experts. We are detailed-orientated, driven individuals who have come together to make a team that you can rely on.
We aren’t just limited to brand ID, either. We have a number of design services — all available with a single subscription.
So, if you’re interested in learning more about what we have to offer, feel free to get in touch!
