What Is Brand Identity / Corporate Identity? And How to Design and Develop a Great One.

Just as your personal identity is what makes you unique, your brand identity is the special sauce that sets you apart from the other Tom, Dick, and Harry Inc. companies on the block. And your brand identity design? That's what shapes the company. So what exactly is brand identity? What does it have to do with design? How do you shape a strong brand identity that takes your business to the next level? Contents:

• What is Brand Identity?
• How to Develop a Strong Brand Identity
• Design: The Foundation of Your Brand Identity
• Developing Your Brand Design
• Typography
• Color Palette
• Form / Shapes
• Designing Your Brand Identity
• Logo Design
• Website
• Product & Packaging
• Business Card
• Email Design
• Creating a Brand Style Guide

What is brand identity?

We'll start things off with a definition. The meaning of the term brand identity: Brand identity is the sum of all the elements a company creates to project the right image to its consumers. Brand identity is different from "brand image" and "branding", although these terms are sometimes considered interchangeable. The term branding refers to the marketing practice of actively shaping a distinctive brand. Brand is the perception of the company in the eyes of the world. Let's go a little deeper. Let's say you're a middle school student. As an awkward teenager, you want to be perceived well and invited to sit at the best table in the cafeteria. But you can't force other people to acquire just this image of you. You need to do some work to develop this brand. So you make sure to watch the right YouTube channels so you always know the latest meme. Maybe you start practicing free throws. And to improve the impression for your science teacher. These actions are the work you put in to develop the image you want; they are your brand. Finally, you have to make sure you look the part. You save up your money to buy the new Adidas shoes everyone is wearing. You get a new haircut. You try out for (and join) the basketball team. These tangible elements — the shoes, the haircut, the team membership — are your brand identity. Your brand identity is what makes you instantly recognizable to your customers. Your audience associates your brand identity with your product or service, and this identity creates the connection between you and your customers, builds customer loyalty, and determines how your customers perceive your brand.  

How to develop a strong brand identity

Knowing who you are Before knowing what tangible elements you'd want to use to build your brand identity, you need to know who you are as a brand. Who you are as a brand is made up of a few essential elements:

• Your mission (what's the "why?")
• Your values (what beliefs guide your company?)
• Your brand personality (if your brand were a person, what kind of personality would it have?)
• Your unique positioning (how do you differentiate yourself from the competition?)
• Your brand voice (if your brand were a person, how would they communicate?)

These elements are what define your brand, and before you start building your brand identity, it's important to clearly understand each of them. If you're having trouble figuring out exactly who you are, don't sweat it. Sometimes all you need is simple brainstorming to help you clarify who you are as a brand.   Ask yourself:

• Why did we start this business?
• What are the beliefs and values that are important to us as a company?
• What do we do better than anyone else?
• What makes us special?
• If we could describe our brand in three words, what would they be?
• What three words do we want our customers to use to describe us?

You can also check out this great branding workbook from the consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. While this workbook is geared toward personal branding, the strategies will work for any kind of business model. Once you've locked down who you are as a brand, it's time to build the identity that will bring your brand to life and show the people who matter most who you are: your customers.  

Design: the foundation of your brand identity

Just as Adidas formed the brand identity of the middle-school star athlete persona, your design is going to be what forms your company's brand identity? Design assets are the tangible elements that determine how your brand is perceived. Things like your logo, your packaging, your web design, your social media graphics, your business cards, and the uniforms your employees wear. In other words, nailing your design = nailing your brand identity = building a successful business that accurately represents the brand you are. So how exactly do you nail your design and build the brand identity that will take your business to the next level?   Developing your brand design Before you start creating your design assets, you need to start at the beginning and lock down the foundation of your design structure: the building blocks of your brand identity. The building blocks you'll want to define before creating your design assets are: Typography Typography refers to the font (or typeface) you choose for your branding materials. There are four main types of typography:

• Serif fonts (such as Times New Roman or Garamond) have something that looks like an anchor (or to some, little feet) at the tip of each letter. This classic typography is great if you want your brand to look reliable, traditional, and just a little bit old-school.
• If "serif" is feet, "sans serif" is feetless. Sans serif fonts (such as Helvetica or Franklin Gothic) are letters with smooth edges that don't have the anchors or "feet" of their serif counterparts. Sans serif fonts give brands a sleeker, more modern feel.
• Script typography emulates handwritten cursive (so much for all those handwriting lessons in elementary school!). These fonts (such as Allura or Pacifico) can be a great way to add a luxurious or feminine feel to your brand.
• Display fonts are in a league of their own. Each display font has a special element, whether it's an unusual shape for the letters, contours, shading, or a more artistic/hand-drawn edge (think of Metallica's lightning-bolt typeface). Want to make a bold statement and create a brand identity people won't soon forget? A display font is a great way to do it.

The typography you choose will say a lot about your brand, so choose wisely.  

Color palette

Next up, color. People — including your potential customers — have psychological associations with different colors, and strategically using colors in your brand color palette can have a serious impact on how your brand is perceived by your audience. Here's what the colors of the rainbow (plus a few extra) can do to help your brand identity:

• Red: Red is the color of passion and excitement. It's a perfect choice if your brand identity is loud, young, and exciting.
• Orange: Orange is another high-energy color and is great if you want to look friendly and fun. It's used less commonly than red, so it makes you stand out.
• Yellow: Yellow, the color of the sun, is all about happiness. The cheerful vibe is a good choice if you want to feel fun, accessible, and affordable.
• Green: An incredibly versatile color, green can be used for almost any brand. Culturally, when people see green, they think of two things: money or nature. If your brand is connected to either of these things, green is an especially good choice.
• Blue: The most universally appealing color on the spectrum, blue can help your brand seem more stable and reliable, so go with blue to appeal to a wide demographic and have them trust you in the process.
• Purple: Purple is the color of royalty, so if you sense a luxurious feel in your brand, this is a safe bet.
• Pink: Right or wrong, pink is culturally tied to women, so if your brand targets women, pink should definitely be a contender for your brand color. It's also a great color for brands with a soft or luxurious identity.
• Brown: Brown is perhaps the least used color among all brands, but this can actually be to your advantage! Whenever you do something different, it helps you stand out. Brown can also help people see your brand as rugged or masculine.
• Black: If you want to be seen as modern or sophisticated, there's nothing as classic and impactful as black.

 

Form / Shape

When it comes to your designs, you also want to think about form and shape. This subtle yet impactful element can be used to reinforce the desired reaction from your customers: that's why, for example, a logo that is all circles and soft edges gives a very different reaction than a sharp, square logo. How different forms shape your brand identity (pun intended):

• Round shapes (such as circles, ovals, and ellipses) are all warm and fuzzy. Brands with round shapes can create feelings of community, unity, and love. Round edges can also be seen as feminine.
• Straight-edged shapes (such as squares, rectangles, and triangles) make people think of strength and efficiency. Crisp lines create a sense of balance and reliability, but you have to be careful: if the shapes aren't balanced with something fun like dynamic colors, they can feel impersonal and fail to connect with your customers.
• Straight lines also have their own impact: vertical lines suggest masculinity and strength, while horizontal lines suggest tranquility and gentle feelings.

Designing your brand identity

Once you've worked out the building blocks of your design, it's time to work with a designer to bring your brand identity to life and translate who you are as a brand into tangible design assets you can use in marketing. Your brand identity can be expressed through any number of elements. Depending on the structure of your business, one asset or another may be more or less important. For example, a restaurant should think long and hard about its menus and physical space. A digital marketing agency, on the other hand, needs to focus more on its website and social media pages. Common elements of brand identity: Logo Your logo is the cornerstone of your brand identity. When working with your designer, you want your logo to check the following boxes:

• It clearly states who you are and what you value as a brand;
• It's visually appealing: simple, clean, and orderly.
• Classic, not trendy: The last thing you want is for your logo to be out of fashion in 6 months;
• It plays in line with the standards of your industry — and if you depart from them, do it on purpose;
• It leaves a lasting impression on your audience.

Also, to make sure you always have the logo you need and that each one fits your brand identity, you'll want to make sure your design partner provides your logo in multiple formats (a black-and-white version or in multiple sizes). Website Your website is one of the most representative features of your brand identity. Especially if you run an online business or a digital product, your customers will absolutely check out your website before deciding to do business with you. Your website is where your brand identity will fully come into effect. Product & Packaging If your product is a physical product, product packaging is the key to attracting the right customers. When thinking about a cold-brewed beverage bottle or the mail you'll send to customers who buy clothes from your e-commerce business, don't underestimate the value of good design in enhancing the experience — building loyalty and repeat purchases. Packaging is a great opportunity for your design to shine. Business Card If you do any kind of business development (and who doesn't), you'll want to stock up on business cards. A well-designed card offers an opportunity to reinforce a positive opinion of yourself in the eyes of potential clients or customers. When it comes to business card design, keep it simple: your company logo on one side of the card and your key personal information on the other will suffice. Email Design Email is a great way to attract customers and drive business. But most people are overloaded in their inbox, so if you want to grow your business through email, you need the right design strategy to set yourself apart from the clutter. Think about the purpose of the email. Are you trying to make a personal connection? Then keep it short, sweet, and simple. Are you trying to educate? Then format it so it's easily readable and scannable, and add a few images to make it pop. Are you trying to tell your customers about a new clothing line you're launching? Focus on a few stunning product images. Creating a brand style guide Once you have your design assets, you want to make sure they're being used correctly, so you'll definitely want to create a brand style guide. This document, which lays out your design assets, when and how they should be used, and what any design does or doesn't do for your brand, will ensure that any future design is consistent with your brand identity and creates the right perception with your audience.   In short… - Your brand identity is what sets you apart in a sea of competitors and shows your customers who you are and what they can expect from working with you. And if you want your brand to be perceived in a positive light, it's vital that you capture your brand identity and create designs for your customers that accurately reflect who you are. And now that you know how to capture this identity, it's time to start designing.

Images from the article