First, What is Brand Identity? And How to Create a Strong One for Your Business?
As you started your branding journey, you’ve probably heard the term “brand identity”. Creating a strong brand identity is what turns your company from a soulless idea into a living, breathing entity, and it should be the focus of your branding efforts.
A brand identity is essentially the face your brand shows to the world. It is the sole, consistent message of your company that is communicated over and over again, through a series of visual elements and consistent language.
In other words, your brand identity is the way your brand expresses its core values and mission. It’s like how you express yourself. Personal self-expression often came from cultivated visual representations that separates you from other people. This also establishes brand identity, you portray an image of your company that distinguishes your brand from competitors. All of these aspects contribute to people’s understanding of who you are – and the same goes for your brand.
What is the purpose of brand identity?
Your brand identity is the point at which you and your customers meet. It’s what makes your customers recognize you instantly, and what makes them become loyal customers.
The whole purpose of this is to create a specific image in your customers’ minds when they think of your brand. You will create your own brand identity so it’s up to you how you want your customers to have through the brand identity you build.
So, let’s get into the main topic of how you will build or create a strong brand identity.
1. Do an internal and external audit
To create a brand identity that the audience can easily engage, you need first to understand two things: Who you are, and who your audience is. You can consider asking yourself these questions:
Who are your desired customers? What are their demographics?
What kind of language does your target audience use?
What are your customers’ pain points?
How do your customers currently perceive your brand?
Which other brands do your customers like?
What are the values that separate you from other companies? Your mission statement?
What is your brand personality?
What is your brand voice? (What does it sound like when it “speaks”?)
What value do you bring to your would-be customers?
You can do a survey, market research, etc. Use all the resources available to find out who your customers are, what makes them choose you, and how they want to be spoken to. Then assess your company’s weakness and strength; this will help you have a clearer picture of what your brand stands for and how to bring your values to success.
2. Determine your brand personality
The easiest way to conceive it is by illustrating a real-life person representing your brand. What does he/she look like? Sound like? How does the spokesperson communicate with others? Are they clever and witty? Serious and professional? You may have answered these questions in number 1, but now is the time to elaborate. To make it more effective, it is important that your brand personality is consistent in its tone and message across all forms of marketing communications.
3. Build your brand strategy
When it comes to having a brand strategy, it’s not enough to simply have a few lists of what you want to do. Brands today need both a thorough understanding of why they choose certain strategies and a detailed outline of what their strategies will be. Building a strong brand strategy takes time, effort, and commitment.
We listed down a simple step-by-step process that you can follow for an effective, flexible brand strategy that can help you…
- Understand who you truly are and use your beliefs and values to guide your decisions in ways that are better for your people, your business, and the future.
- Communicate your brand consistently and effectively through every piece of content you make.
- Attract the right customers to build a strong, lasting brand.
- Position your brand in a way that helps you compete now—and tomorrow.
- Be creative
Now, it’s time to bring it all together!
Create the visual elements of your brand, according to the brand strategy you’ve listed down above. When you’re designing, remember that all of the below elements need to interact consistently – as if they were born together.
Focus on the following:
Logo – Your logo isn’t everything, but it is the sole visual representation of your brand identity that will remind customers of who you are. In other words, a logo is the customer’s first step inside the company door.
Tagline – This is a catchphrase that accompanies your logo and tells your audience something about what your company does.
Typography – These are the fonts that tell your brand story. You’ll likely need to choose several fonts that complement each other; try to pair fonts that are distinct enough that your audience can differentiate between them, but that still portray the same mood.
Color Palette – The colors you choose for your brand will have different psychological effects on your audience, and you want this to work in your favor. Think about the emotions you feel when looking at different colors, and try using color combinations that invoke the emotions you want associated with your brand.
Shapes – Are you all about crisp, straight lines, or fun, round edges?
Now that you’ve nailed down what your identity looks like, it’s time for you to start designing! If you’re not sure where to begin, we are here to help!
