What is brand identity design?

Monday, June 2nd, 2008

Increasingly we’re being asked by our customers to explain what brand identity really means to them and how it will affect their business. Here we introduce you to the key factor behind the ‘design’ of you and your company.

What’s so important about it?

Brand identity design is concerned with the visual aspects of a company. It represents how a company wants to be seen; how a company illustrates its image. Brand identity can be represented through a unique logo, or signage, and is then often integrated throughout all the elements of a company’s materials such as business cards, stationery, packaging, their web presence and more.

Brand identity design is also what helps consumers remember the company, and often what brings them back. The right brand identity design can be one of the company’s strongest marketing tools as it translates the values into a consistent image that consumers become familiar with.

An effective brand design is also never static; instead a company’s brand should evolve as the company evolves. This may mean modernising the visual image from time to time in terms of logo, tagline, typography, color palette or design, but continually staying close to the heart of the brand and what it stands for.

How do you create a successful brand?

It takes a creative approach that focuses on the needs of the client and its customers to produce a successful brand. A designer will use a mixture of their skills and strategic thinking to help companies to find an appropriate brand identity that will help them prosper in a competitive marketplace.

However, brands have a life of their own and it is down to those who own the brand to make sure it continues to thrive and prosper, and to know when it needs reviving or replacing.

What stage is my brand at? Do I even have a brand identity?

Most companies have an identity without even knowing it. This could be something they created themselves in Microsoft Publisher, it could be a professionally designed logo that’s been implemented across all company material, or it could be a particular font or colour that you use time and time again in your correspondence. The question you need to ask yourself is whether or not the method you’re using is effective.

To help you understand where you are there are three key stages in a branding lifecycle:

Audit:
This is your foundation stone. Assess your brand regularly in terms of the market, your identity, and fit with your business objectives. A thorough brand audit and analysis will provide insights about your business and your brand. It will also highlight any brand issues and disconnections with your audience.

Create:
Once you have a thorough understanding of what your brand should be, you can move onto the creative phase of branding: develop your brand strategy, design a brand that works across all media, and produce artwork. This is critical to the long-term success and viability of your brand.

Manage:
Now that you have invested in your brand – you need to protect it and manage its use, and communicate what it is effectively. This goes beyond the realms of simple design and the first logical step is creating guidelines for internal and external use. Brand asset management is vital – particularly when you have a number of staff or third parties who need to use your brand material.

Communicating your brand

If you have successfully implemented a well designed brand across all of your material it’s time to think about communicating that brand effectively. There are a number of opportunities to get people excited about you and your company including PR, local events and launch parties. Don’t miss an opportunity to create some media and market awareness!

Entering your brand into awards is another fantastic way to leverage free exposure and increase your company’s profile. It’s also a good way to see how your brand weighs up against others in your sector.

And finally, publicity is the way to promote a brand, not advertising. Interesting stories and news should surround a solid brand. The best way of creating publicity is to have a great looking brand and brand story. What other people say about your brand is more powerful than what you say about it.

For more information visit Creative State.

Tags: Brand identity design, Creative State, graphic design, Sarah Jane Robertson, web design
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