BRAND IDENTITY:
WHAT IS IT, AND HOW TO CREATE ONE?
Don’t be afraid of being different, be afraid of being the same as everyone else.
Brand identity is undeniably the primary driver for all decisions across the consumer journey. Believe it or not, consumers adopt a positive or negative perception of your brand based on your identity, without even purchasing your products or services. That’s why today, more than ever, companies are spending millions to create and elevate their brand identity to the minds of consumers.
While it might sound easy to create an identity for your brand in a few days’ time, there’s much more to think about. From planning to execution, everyone in the marketing team must share a common vision and goal. From the social media management team to the graphic designers and content creators, it’s essential that everyone is aligned on what your brand stands for and what values it holds right at heart.
WHAT IS BRAND IDENTITY?
Brand identity is the collection of elements that a company creates to establish a personality in the minds of consumers. A memorable logo, a distinctive color palette, iconography, and other visual elements all add up to create a brand identity that differentiates your brand from its competitors. Apart from that, a distinct brand identity shapes consumers’ perceptions about your company, builds loyalty, and makes your brand memorable.
It’s not uncommon to hear the terms branding and brand image being used interchangeably for brand identity. Even though these terms fall under the same umbrella, they’re essentially different. Branding refers to the marketing activities pursued to actively shape a brand. In contrast, a brand image is the external perception of the company in the eyes of consumers and society. What separates brand image from brand identity is perception vs intention. While brand identity is how you want to be perceived by consumers, brand image is how you are actually perceived in the eyes of the world.
It’s all good in theory, but how do you go on creating a great brand identity that stands out and makes a difference in this crowded marketplace? Let’s find out.
HOW TO CREATE A BRAND IDENTITY
If you manage to express who you are as a company to the world, then well done – you’ve set the foundations for building strong relationships with your customers.
However, before you start working towards your brand identity, make sure you know exactly what characteristics and values you want to instill in your brand. If you’re not sure, then try asking the below questions. If you got the answers, then you’re ready to go:
Think about the purpose driving your brand, what you want to achieve long-term, and what matters to you the most.
What are the values driving your corporate decisions? Your values serve as a compass that guides your actions, decisions, and behaviors – so having them down is imperative for creating a brand identity.
What kind of personality would your brand have if it was a person? Would they be bold and fun or loving and caring?
Hundreds of brands are fighting for mindshare every day. Think about all the reasons consumers should choose you over other competitors in the marketplace.
What you say and how you say it plays an essential role in defining your identity. Your brand’s voice can be anything – as long as it feels true to your brand – be it kind, bold, transparent, playful, or authoritative.
Don’t sweat if you find the above questions hard to answer. Sometimes, you need to go back to the basics first in order to get some clarity on who you are as a brand.
ASK YOURSELF:
THE ELEMENTS OF A BRAND IDENTITY
If you want to create a brand that stands out and resonates with its audience, start from your brand identity. Here are the elements that you’ll need to include in your brand identity design:
LOGO
There is no brand without a logo, which makes it the most important element of a brand identity. When creating a logo for your brand, you want to tick off the following boxes:
When working with your digital agency or graphic designer, you want to ensure that your logo is delivered in multiple formats to fit different contexts and backgrounds.
TYPOGRAPHY
You guessed it right. Typography is the font you choose for your brand. But with millions of fonts out there, selecting a typeface seems like a daunting, never-ending task. Here’s a better way to think about fonts.
There are four major types of typography:
Sans-serif fonts are fonts that have smooth edges and lack the anchor or “feet” of their serif counterparts. This type of typeface gives a more sleek and modern feel to brands. Some examples are Helvetica and Franklin Gothic.
Display fonts come in different styles and shapes. Each display font has a special element – be it an unusual shape, letter, outline, or shadowing. If you envision a big, fun, and bold brand identity, display fonts are your go-to option.
Script typography emulates cursive handwriting and is designed to add a personal, artistic touch to brands. Fonts like Allura or Pacifico are great for brands that want to dig deeper into art and self-expression. You guessed it right. Typography is the font you choose for your brand. But with millions of fonts out there, selecting a typeface seems like a daunting, never-ending task. Here’s a better way to think about fonts.
You guessed it right. Typography is the font you choose for your brand. But with millions of fonts out there, selecting a typeface seems like a
daunting, never-ending task. Here’s a better way to think about fonts.
COLOR PALETTE
According to research, color plays a pivotal role in visual experiences. Up to 85% of consumers believe color accounts for more than half among the various factors important for choosing products, while 92.6% said that visual appearance is the most persuasive marketing factor. This allows us to say that using branding colors and logo colors strategically can seriously impact how your audience perceives your brand.
Red: Red is the color of energy, excitement, passion, and love. It’s a perfect choice if your brand identity is loud, youthful, and exciting.
Orange: Orange is a high-energy color associated with joy, warmth, heat, enthusiasm, and enjoyment. Use it if you want your brand to appear friendly and playful.
Yellow: Yellow is all about happiness. It symbolizes energy, friendship, and happiness. Its playful and joyful vibe makes it a great choice if you want to feel fun, friendly, and affordable.
Green: A color that symbolizes nature and tranquility. Although green color can be used across any brand and industry, it’s typically tied to two things: money and nature. If your brand is connected to any of these, green is a great choice.
Blue: Freedom, peace, trust, inspiration, and harmony are some of the feelings your customers may feel about your brand when they see the color blue. Blue is ideal for brands with a large target audience and a wide demographic.
Purple: Purple is a royal color, so use it if you want to add a luxurious look and feel to your brand.
Pink: If your target audience is skewed towards women, then pink is a great color to play with. Pink is conventionally associated with innocence, sweetness, romance, and playfulness.
Brown: Brown is not commonly used for branding and offers a great chance to use it to stand out from competitors. Brown can help consumers perceive your brand as rugged and masculine.
Black: Looking for a modern and sophisticated look and feel? Nothing compares to black. After all, black is the new black!
SHAPES
When it comes to brand perceptions, there’s something about the shapes you use that can make a difference in instilling your brand’s personality. Here’s how different forms and shapes can affect your brand identity:
Round shapes —like circles, ovals and ellipses— create feelings of unity, harmony, and community. Their warm and friendly vibe can create a welcoming and positive brand perception.
Straight-edged shapes—like squares, rectangles, and triangles— are associated with strength and efficiency. Straight lines create a feeling of trustworthiness and can be used to imply balance. Be careful not to get too dull: mix your straight-edged shapes with dynamic elements to grasp your customers’ attention. Keep in mind: vertical lines suggest masculinity and power while horizontal lines suggest tranquility and harmony.
Create a visual identity, then spread it like Glitter.
BRAND TOUCHPOINTS: SHOWCASING YOUR BRAND IDENTITY
Every interaction with a consumer happens through touchpoints – whether a store, a website, an email, or a business card. As you might have guessed, touchpoints provide a great opportunity to showcase your brand identity.
We live in a digital world. Whether we like it or not, your website is one of the most important channels for communicating with your consumers, especially if you’re running an online business. Your website is where your brand identity should shine and shimmer, including your logo, iconography, typeface, color palette and other unique brand elements.
If your product is a physical one, then in-store purchases are your primary channel for conversion. But the decision-making process behind a consumer adding a product to the cart is not that simple. The good news is that your product packaging plays an integral role in that process, and you’re entirely in control. This is your chance to showcase your identity and stand out from competitors across the shelf.
Your business card is often the first exposure a customer might have to the overall image of your brand.
When it comes to business card design, it’s important to keep it simple: all you need to include is your logo and your personal details. Play with a few colors and shapes for an extra touch of creativity, but don’t overdo it.
Cluttered inboxes scream for innovation and differentiation. If you want to increase your open rate and diminish your unsubscribe rate, you might want to start thinking differently about email design. You got a great brand identity out there, so why not showcase it in a distinct way that your competitors haven’t thought about yet? It’s your turn to shine.
Consistency is key to creating a solid brand identity. How your brand looks on your website should match how your brand looks on the shelf, on social media, and in your promotional emails. If not, you run the risk of confusing consumers and making your brand feel less trustworthy and professional. If you don’t have a brand book in place yet, it’s a good idea creating one. Some things to include are logo dos and don’ts, the different versions of your logo, the typeface, and suggested brand applications. This way everyone will be aligned on your brand style guide – from brand managers to graphic designers and social media managers.
CREATING A BRAND STYLE GUIDE
