Create Your Perfect Brand Identity A Guide to Crafting Your Mark

Brand Identity

In the crowded and busy marketplace of the present day, with an uncountable number of brands, it is all about building a powerful brand identity. It’s not just about developing one of the catchiest logos or creating one of the most memorable taglines; it’s more about making experiences and telling stories that would really make a dent at a deeper level in your audience.

According to research, this brings about great impacts on a business in regard to its revenues, and consistent branding can result in up to 23% growth in returns if the businesses maintain solid and recognizable brand identities.

But how do you go about creating a brand identity that distinguishes your brand? This guide will give you the major steps to follow in creating a brand identity that creates attention and drives loyalty and trust.

What is Brand Identity?

Brand identity consists of all the visual and verbal elements that reflect your brand. It is, therefore, how your business presents itself to the world or, rather, how customers feel about it. This includes your logo, color palette, typography, imagery, and even your packaging. Above all, brand identity stands for your business’s personality.

Brand identity is very often confused with brand image or brand reputation, but it differs. Brand identity is the purposeful creation of how you want your brand to be perceived; the brand image is what the public actually perceives.

Brands that are consistent across all channels in terms of their appearance are likely to have 3-4 times more visibility whereas inconsistent branding can lose as much as 56% of brand recognition, thus confusing the consumer. That is why it is important to cohesively preserve your brand identity so that your brand image mirrors your goals.

Why Is a Strong Brand Identity Important?

A strong brand identity does the following:

 

Business Apart

1. Sets Your Business Apart From Others:

With all of the noise in the market, a distinctive brand identity is what will put your brand top of mind for buyers. For instance, Apple’s clean and leading-edge identity is easily recognizable and allows them to be perfectly differentiated from their competition.

2. Establish Trust and Brand Loyalty:

If there is just one voice for a brand, it can create trust and brand loyalty among customers. Put your message and brand story across all of your social media handles to attract an audience and earn their trust. You know, 55% of consumers are more likely to buy your product if they just love the story behind your brand.

3. Brand Recognition:

The more you are consistent with your branding, the easier it becomes for a customer to identify your brand. Take Coca-Cola’s red and white color scheme —it’s instantly recognizable worldwide.

4. Communicate Your Values:

You get to communicate a lot of the values about you and your brand through a brand identity. It helps in building your brand authenticity and attracts like-minded customers who share the same values because your brand ties emotionally with such people. 88% of consumers like and support a brand that is authentic.

Steps to Creating a Unique Brand Identity

Unique Brand Identity

1. Define Your Brand’s Core Values and Mission

Core values, mission, and vision are the most significant elements of creating brand identity. Therefore, before delving into the design elements, it is paramount to have this foundation defined. Here are some questions to ask:

  • What does my brand stand for?
  • What are my long-term goals?
  • What am I trying to make my customers feel when they see or engage with my brand?

Clearly answering these questions for your brand will help in defining the whole process ahead.

2. Find Your Ideal Target Audience and Competition

Knowing your target audience is a notable part of developing your brand identity; this way, you can be sure that the brand identity will resonate. A little market research will help in informing you on the likes, needs, and behaviors of the target audience. This information is going to help in understanding what it is that competitors are doing right in your industry, and where the loopholes exist that you could fill.

This phase of research will help position your brand in a manner that will appeal directly to an audience while setting it apart from competition.

3. Name Your Brand

First of all, a brand name is the very first aspect that most people will notice, so it has to be memorable, easy to pronounce, and say exactly what your brand is about. Some of the considerations while choosing a name are as follows:

  • Simplicity: Avoid complicated or overly long names.
  • Relevance: Ensure the name aligns with your brand’s values and industry.
  • Availability: Check the availability of the domain name and social media handles.

4. Design Your Logo

Your logo will typically be the cornerstone of your brand identity. According to research, 48% of consumers develop a sense of brand loyalty by looking at a well-designed logo.

A good logo should be unique, versatile, and scalable—something that works well in different sizes and across a range of platforms. For this reason, you may want to consider hiring a professional logo designer to really capture the essence of your brand.

Consider these factors when you are designing your logo:

  • Color: Choose colors that you’d want your target audience to associate with your brand. For a better understanding, refer to our Ultimate Guide to Choosing the Right Brand Colors.
  • Typography: Apply fonts that best fit your brand’s personality. A tech business might choose smooth, contemporary fonts; a children’s brand might go for something playful and fanciful.
  • Symbolism: Add some kind of symbolism or imagery that exemplifies what your brand stands for, or represents your industry.

5. Develop a Unified Color Palette

Colors are an essential component of your brand identity. It has been shown that color can increase brand recognition by as much as 80%, according to a study at the University of Loyola, Maryland.

Colors can express emotions, and they really do affect customer perceptions. You need one main color, likely the color you use in your logo, and a couple of secondary colors to use in different branding elements.

For instance, the red and yellow color combination used by McDonald’s is extremely noticeable; moreover, it is associated with excitement and cheer, which are very responsive emotions and target sentiments for the brand.

Typography

6. Choose Your Typography

Typography means much more than choosing a font; it’s about choosing typefaces that will reflect your brand’s voice. Be consistent with your typography throughout all platforms, from your website to your marketing material.

Use no more than two to three typefaces: probably one for the headlines, another for the body text and one as an accent font if you need it. Be sure that these fonts are readable and deliver the correct tone of your brand.

7. Create a Visual Style Guide

A visual style guide aligns all the brand touch points. It is a document that sets the boundaries on how to use your logo, color palette, typography, image style, and other visual elements. It will help anyone who creates content for your brand —internally or externally.

A solid style guide could include:

  • Logo usage guidelines: How to correctly apply your logo in different contexts.
  • Color palette specifications: Exact color codes to your brand colors.
  • Typography guidelines: Font choices, font sizes, font spacing.
  • Image style: Type of imagery that fits aesthetically with your brand.
  • Tone of voice: Guides on how to write in a way that lets your brand personality shine through in every piece of content.

8. Build Your Brand Voice

This can simply be described as how your brand speaks to and relates with its audience. It will reflect the personality and values that are core to your brand identity. Whether formal, friendly, witty, or authoritative, consistency is the bottom line.

To build a brand voice:

  • Define your brand’s personality: Does your brand resonate like a wise mentor, a funny friend, or a reliable partner?
  • Define your tone across platforms: Your tone may be informal on social media, but formal in emails.
  • Do’s and don’ts list: Provide examples of what does and doesn’t sound like your brand in terms of language.

 

Branding

9. Activate Your Brand Identity across All Touchpoints

A strong brand identity is not complete without consistency. There needs to be one visual and verbal expression across all touch points with your brand. This includes the following:

  • Website: The website design must reflect the brand identity.
  • Social Media: A defined range of colors, fonts and imagery must be used throughout your social media handles.
  • Packaging: If applicable, the product packaging must align with your overall brand aesthetic.
  • Marketing Materials: Business cards, brochures—any visual item associated with your business—must use your style guide.

By applying your brand identity consistently, you reinforce your brand image and make it more memorable for your audience.

10. Evaluate and Evolve With Time

Refresh your brand identity when your business grows and the market trends change. Review your brand periodically to ensure it aligns with your aims and still holds relevance for the target audience; this may mean refreshing your logo, color palette, or brand voice.

However, while evolution’s essential, make sure that you’re strategic about change and not at the cost of alienating your current customer base.

Examples of Strong Brand Identities

  1. Nike: The brand identity of Nike is athleticism, performance, and motivation. Its famous “swoosh” logo, bold typography, black and white colors with a dash of orange, have combined to arguably make it the most recognizable brand in the world.
  2. Starbucks: With the brand identity of Starbucks, one thinks of community, sustainability, and a great beverage experience. Everything from the green mermaid logo to earthy tones in store design is combined to create a cohesive and engaging brand identity.
  3. Airbnb: The brand identity of Airbnb deals with belonging and connection. Its logo has the same feeling of simplicity but versatility as a friendly, inclusive tone of voice, which has also made the brand relatable across the world.
  4. Apple: Apple has nailed the synergy of minimalism and innovation. Clean lines, basic colors, and slick design come together to create a quality brand at the leading edge of technology.
  5. Coca-Cola: If there is one brand that stands out in the world, it has to be Coca-Cola. Its classic red and white color scheme, along with a quite peculiar script font that stuck around for so many years, has helped create an extremely powerful brand identity.

Build a Distinct Brand Identity: Move to the Next Level

Creating a one-of-a-kind, strong brand identity is a journey of time, research, and creativity. With a solid base and clarity regarding what your brand identifies with, you can establish an identity that not only stands out in the marketplace but also reverberates with your audience.

Looking to build a brand identity that truly speaks about your business? Partner with experts who have the ability to fast-track that vision. At Brand Excelente, we offer unique and memorable brand identities that stand for your business. Whether you’re just starting or looking to rebrand, we will take you through the process from start to finish so your brand will stand out.

Brand Identity FAQs

Brand Identity FAQs

1. What is brand identity, with examples?

Brand identity refers to a set of visual, verbal, and emotional attributes that outline what a business projects out to the world. It comprises logos, color schemes, typography, voice, and brand style. It is how a brand wants to be perceived by its customers. For instance: the famous Apple’s, Coca-Cola’s and Nike’s brand identity are great examples.

2. What’s the difference between brand identity and brand image?

Brand identity is simply the visual expression that a business reveals to the public. This includes the visual elements, messaging, and design. It’s almost like the personality the brand is trying to portray. Brand image is how the public perceives your brand. While brand identity is something within your control, brand image is formed from the audience’s perception of your brand.

3. What are the 4 elements of brand identity?

There are four main elements to brand identity:

  • Logo: This is a visual symbol for your brand; it needs to be simple, memorable, and versatile.
  • Color Palette: The set of colors that represent your brand, set forth by a business for creating an impact with the audience.
  • Typography: Your brand’s fonts and typefaces used in materials relating to its branding that must reflect your brand’s personality.
  • Tone of Voice: This is the stylistic and personality side of your brand expressed through its communication. This includes the tone used in marketing, customer service, social media—all should be in a uniform way to reflect the values of your brand.

4. What are the 5 steps to creating a brand identity?

There are five basic steps to creating brand identity that will be effective:

  • Research and Discovery: Knowing your target audience, market, and competitors will help establish the position and values of your brand.
  • Define your brand’s core values and mission: Clearly state what your brand stands for and what its purpose is within the market.
  • Design your visual elements: Come up with a logo, color palette, and typography selection that align well with the identity of your brand.
  • Brand style guide: Document the ‘rules’ of using your brand elements in all platforms and touch points.
  • Apply and maintain the same visual identity across channels: Be consistent with your brand identity on the website, social media, packaging, and marketing materials.

5. Can a small business really build up a strong brand identity?

Absolutely! A strong brand identity has nothing to do with the size of your business but about how well you understand your values, audience, and market. Even small businesses can create very outstanding and memorable identities when they are strategic and consistent in their branding efforts.

6. What is the key to a successful brand identity?

Probably the most important characteristic associated with a brand identity is consistency. If visual and, more importantly, the verbal expressions of your brand are used consistently across platforms, they build trust with your audience. Your brand becomes more memorable and reliable if it is consistently represented. That is what makes the pathway to customer loyalty and sets any business apart in a very crowded market.

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