The eCommerce world is expanding every day. A lot of people are starting to explore the vast opportunities. Some are looking for how-to videos, searching for the best ways to start a business. If you are thinking of giving it a shot, you're at the right place! A start-up for a company needs a clear and solid brand identity design. Competition is tight these days, and you need to be unique in order to succeed. You also need to form a connection with your target customers using the right brand identity elements. In this article, we will discuss why brand identity is essential for any company. You will know the brand identity definition, brand identity design, and brand identity examples. You will also know the process of how to create a brand identity.
What is Brand Identity: Brand Identity Definition
It is the special attribute of your business that sets you apart from every other business. Branding is like how your personal identity makes you unique. It would help you determine what the identity of your brand is if you think about them as a person.
Is your brand a woman or a man? How old are they? If your brand was a person, what kind of clothes would they wear? Would they use bright colors or simple tones? How do they speak? Who are their friends? Answering all these questions would give you a clearer view of who your brand is and to whom it will appeal.
The brand identity is a collection of visual elements that symbolize a company's ideals. These help customers to remember and differentiate a brand from hundreds of others. It aids in the formation of customer perceptions of a brand, the development of loyalty and trust, and the creation of a memorable brand.
Though a logo might be a business's emblem, it is not the totality of a brand. Producing a logo is simply one tiny step toward constructing a powerful branding.
With millions of businesses looking for attention. Having a strong brand has become critical for companies to set themselves apart from their rivals.
If you're working on brand identity design, it's critical to first grasp what it takes to build a brand. It's not as simple as giving the company a name and plastering it everywhere. Let's look at things you should consider.
How to Create a Brand Identity Design
Before you can figure out your brand identity elements, you must first figure out who you are as a company.
A few crucial factors make up who you are as a brand:
- What is your goal (what is your "why?")?
- What are your company's values (what are the beliefs that drive it?)
- Your brand's personality (what type of personality would your brand have if it were a person?)
- Your distinct positioning (how do you set yourself out from the competitors)
- Your brand's personality (how would your brand communicate if it were a person?)
These are the characteristics that create your brand, and you must grasp them all before you begin developing your brand identity design. Don't fret if you're having problems figuring out who you are. A basic brainstorm might sometimes be all you need to know who you are as a brand.
Try answering the following questions:
- Why did we create this company in the first place?
- What are your company's principles and values?
- What is your specialty that no one else has?
- What makes us unique?
- What three words would you use to characterize our company's brand?
- What three words would we like our clients to use to characterize us?
When you finish constructing the identity of your brand, it is time to reveal who you are to your consumers.
The Brand Identity vs Brand Image
The Brand identity is a collection of visual features such as a logo, design, and color that make a company stand out.
After interacting with a brand, a consumer's view of it is called brand image.
It is the result of a company's attempts to establish a brand identity. They will create a favorable image if it is successful.
Now it's time to go through the major elements of brand identification.
Brand Identity Elements
Let's look at the components of the brand identity design. Each has a distinct function, but when used together, they have the greatest impact. When they're created as part of a system that supports a company's brand positioning, the final brand identity design is more powerful and authoritative.
Of all, many businesses build their visual identity without giving it any thought. They either assemble a bowl of incompatible components over time or they replicate the enterprises around them, opting for the comfort of fitting in.
You, on the other hand, can do better. Each element of your brand identity provides a chance to shape how people view your company. You may create an amazing, convincing brand identity if you understand how these pieces can give a cohesive experience.
1. Brand Name
This is the most important step in how to create a brand identity design. The name of a company is more important than anything. You can't advertise without a name, and you can't do business without marketing. Your name serves as your company's primary identity and proxy. When someone thinks about your company, the first thing that comes to mind is your name. As a result, it's important to pick your name with caution.
To portray your organization, you must cross an archipelago of risks, including trademark disputes. You must consider originality, pronunciation, spelling, URL availability, and semantics. It's a perplexing yet wonderful adventure.
Strong names are short, memorable, and simple to pronounce and spell. They don't appear or sound like your competition. Rather than being explicit descriptions of what you do, they are usually abstract or emotive.
Weak names are frequently lengthy, abbreviated, ambiguous, or generic. Firms in the professional services industry, for example, have a habit of stringing together partners' names. What stokes their egos, on the other hand, suffocates their brand.
Clients with limited patience for complications will always drop everything but their first name. Even worse, they will condense the entire package into a sterile, impossible-to-protect term.
If you're thinking of renaming your company, contact a professional or agency. Make sure they have the knowledge, resources, and excellent taste to help you come up with a strong, distinct name.
It will give your marketing approach a more pointed edge and help it stick in the minds of potential customers.
2. Brand Logo
One of the most prominent and instantly identifiable aspects of your brand is your logo. Your logo can also stand alone on occasion because it includes your name.
A logo helps people remember you by identifying and differentiating you from other brands. That means it must visually reflect your company, set you apart from rivals' logos, and do it in an engaging and memorable manner.
A logotype (the name) plus a symbol make up the majority of logos (the mark). Some logos don't even have a symbol. And at least several brands have succeeded solely via the use of a symbol (hint: think swoosh and partly eaten fruit). But don't try that final one at home unless you have millions to spend on advertising.
Even when they realize their logos aren't fantastic, many businesses are hesitant to modify them. They feel that changing it now will obliterate all of their previous brand equity. A great brand with a bad logo is like dragging an anchor: it will never get up to speed.
These businesses also don't realize what a fantastic chance a rebranding presents. It's one of the rare moments when you can accomplish something and have people notice! Potential customers and buyers will look at you with fresh eyes. They may have renewed interest in your services if you correctly advertise your new brand.
3. Brand Taglines
Not every company has a slogan, and not every company needs one. Many businesses utilize taglines that are completely useless. However, in many cases, a tagline may be a useful tool, especially if it serves one of the following four purposes:
- Making it clear what you do
- Expressing a key brand characteristic
- Clearly stating your position
- Making it easier for others to remember you
A tagline, on the other hand, seldom serves more than one of these purposes.
The most common type of clarifying tagline is a descriptor, which is a simple explanation of the services you offer.
When a company is seeking to enter into a new market where they aren't currently well-known, descriptors may be very effective. Some businesses want to emphasize a key feature of their brand, and a tagline is a great location to do it.
Here are two examples of how this may be done:
Citrix Systems Tagline: "Simplicity is power"
Diamond Offshore Drilling Tagline: "Hooked On Safety"
A slogan might be a great spot to lay out your stance if it's simple to communicate. For example, one law practice specializing in land use and zoning is known as "The Land Lawyers." It doesn't get clearer than that.
Finally, some taglines are designed to be memorable or to make the brand stand out. These may be a smart wordplay, a provocative inquiry, or a memorable statement. The Nike slogan "Just do it" comes to mind. It is simple and is easy to remember.
4. Brand Color Palette
Color is the most emotionally engaging of all the elements of your brand identity. There has been a lot of research on how people react to different colors. You should try choosing colors for your brand based on strategy rather than psychology. This is important if you wish to properly complete the steps on how to create a brand identity.
Color is an important element for differentiating your company and creating an atmosphere for your brand. It's a chance to try something new as you go through your journey on how to create a brand identity.
Take a look at the logos and websites of the companies you most frequently compete with. Look if you can detect any trends or opportunities. What colors are used most frequently?
Is there a color that you could possess that none of your rivals have? Is there any color strategy you may use to define your logo and brand identification, such as a multi-hued approach?
Despite the fact that one hue generally takes center stage, most firms don't base their identity only on one color. Instead, they build a color palette that provides them with the variety they require generating attractive marketing materials. While some manufacturers stick to a small color palette, the majority prefer the versatility that comes with a larger color pallet.
5. Brand Typography
The fonts you choose for your brand, unlike color, may go unnoticed. The secret to refinement is to make elegant, unobtrusive decisions. Choosing the appropriate typeface is a huge choice.
You'll have to make a number of selections, and you can base them on this question:
- What kind of persona do you wish to project?
- Are you attempting to appear formal or approachable?
- Is it more vital to stand out or to be readable?
- Do you want to go for a contemporary or classic look?
- Is it necessary to use more than one typeface?
Consider that while you may want to be unique, you may need a more practical font for your marketing materials. You may also use different fonts for different parts of the document. For example, sans serif for headlines and a serif for body material.
There's also the question of electronic forms to consider.
You can use a comparable font from a free internet resource instead of paying yearly licensing costs. You can use this on your website if you don't want to pay annual licensing expenses. For instance, Google offers a large, high-quality, free library of font options.
But the story does not end there. For electronic papers that you will distribute to clients and the general public, you may need to pick yet another alternative typeface. While Microsoft provides a mechanism to embed particular fonts in documents, we don't advocate it because it has too many constraints. Instead, anticipate that your typeface will not be portable. Select a font from the Microsoft Office font library.
Despite the enormous constraints imposed by digital typography, the kind of font you choose may not be a big part of your brand.