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What is a brand identity?
A brand identity is the face of your business. It is the combination of visuals such as colors, logos, images, graphics, and typography that work together to represent you.
Your brand identity defines all the most important visual elements of your brand. When people see your logo and branding, they should be able to recognize it as a representation of you, feel connected to you in a positive way, and get a good read on what you’re all about. So one of the big questions both new business owners and experienced entrepreneurs ask is: How do I create a brand identity for my business?
Many factors can go into creating a great brand identity, from strategy to aesthetics. This article explains the step-by-step process to create a logo and brand identity that we use at Bet On My Brand Creative Studio. Keep reading to see how the secret sauce is made.
1. Writing a creative brief
Creative briefs are the first step when working with a brand designer to create the perfect logo and brand identity for your business. To start the process off right, it’s important to understand what a creative brief is.
A creative brief is a document that explains your vision and the strategic decisions you’ve already made for your brand. It includes any information the designer might need to bring your vision to life. It could answer questions like who is your target audience? What is your brand’s story, personality, or tone? A creative brief provides a great framework for your designer to work with and ensures they haven’t missed anything. It gives you a chance to get creative and share your grand vision with the artist.
For my clients, this step is a breeze. When working with me you’ll get a questionnaire to fill out that serves as your creative brief. The questionnaire guides you through all the important details we’ll need. It asks questions that will help you reflect on what you envision for your brand identity, and help you get all your creative ideas out of your head and on paper.
2. Assembling a Mood Board
The second step to creating a brand identity is creating a mood board. A mood board can include colors, photos, fonts, patterns, and textures that will help crystallize your vision for your brand’s aesthetic. It’s essentially a collage of images and words that are intended to demonstrate a specific feel and tone. The mood board can help If you’re having trouble choosing between font styles or trying to figure out if you want to use a color palette that’s earthy and organic or a color palette that’s colorful, bright, and bold.
In my brand design process – I use your answers from the creative brief to develop a mood board that brings the brief to life. I create a collage of images and colors that I believe meet the overall brand aesthetic you’re looking for. We’ll review the mood board together and make sure we’re aligned on the vision for the brand before the design begins.
3. Choosing a color palette
Colors are powerful tools in telling your brand story. Colors can be directly linked to emotions; emotion is the most important driver of purchasing decisions for your potential clients.
A color palette is a set of colors that look good together and are used consistently across your branding. You want to choose colors that will intentionally make your audience feel a certain way about your brand. For example, if you want a customer to feel excited, you might want to use bright, vibrant colors like orange or yellow. If you want your customers to feel empowered and strong, you might want to use bold colors like black and red.
Based on feedback and approval of the mood board, I will create a color palette with 4-6 colors that speak to the heart of the brand. I will provide color names and the hex codes (standard numerical identifiers for each color) so you can always make sure you’re using the correct shade of blue, green, yellow, etc.
4. Creating a memorable logo
Your logo is your brand’s face card. A good logo is a well-thought-out design that resonates with your target audience and represents who you are as a company. Your logo is your brand’s most important visual asset. It gives your brand personality and helps clients identify with your biz. It’s like a profile pic for your business. You want a high-quality, visually pleasing logo that is unique and recognizable so that whenever someone sees it, they immediately think of you and your brand. A great logo is simple, memorable, and authentic. Most brands have multiple versions of their logo to make sure their identity is used in the content of all types and sizes.
My clients will always get a primary and secondary logo design. This ensures you have options to use on different materials. For instance, your Instagram profile pic might need a circular icon logo while your business cards may need something wider, larger, and more horizontal.
Once the color palette is approved, I’ll present the logo designs to you in a visual presentation that showcases them used in a variety of ways, like on letterhead and billboards. This way you can fully imagine what your logo and brand will look like in the real world. Check out a sample brand presentation for one of my recent clients.
5. Building out the brand visuals
After the logo is done, additional decisions need to be made and assets need to be created to fully complete the brand identity.
Fonts and typography are the creative styles you choose for all the written components of your brand. They help emphasize the visual tone and personality of your words. Fonts can be used in several ways to help your brand identity. They can be used to define a message, put emphasis on keywords, make a statement, make a logo more readable, etc. Choosing brand fonts that match your brand personality but are still clear and legible is critical.
Patterns and textures make your brand even more recognizable. Think of the Louis Vuitton classic monogram pattern. When you see the brown LVs alongside the floral icons you immediately know it’s a Louis Vuitton product. Patterns and textures support your logo by bringing it all together.
Image styles are a significant part of your brand identity. Think of some of the most highly followed accounts on Instagram. Their image styles are always consistent with either the subject matter, composition, or the way they are edited.
Need help creating your brand identity?
Branding you can bet on starts here.
Getting all of this right, while running a business, and living life is a recipe for a DIY disaster. That’s why I am here. I take the guesswork and grunt work out of developing an authentic and appealing brand identity. Let me help you stand out in the crowd as the expert in your arena.
Together we will develop the brand of your (and your client’s) dreams.
All it takes is one free phone call to get started. Book My Brand Design Service here.
TL:DR
Your brand identity is an important representation of your business and serves as the face of your brand, It influences all visuals that come from your biz. When working with a professional designer such as Bet On My Brand Creative Studio, the steps to build a quality brand identity include 1. The creative brief. 2. A mood board. 3. The color palette. 4. The logo designs. 5. Matching fonts, patterns, and textures to complete the look.
Bet On My Brand Creative Studio can lead you through the process and build a stunning brand you’ll love.
