How to Create a Professional Brand Identity

1. What is brand identity?
2. Building a Strong Brand Foundation
3. What makes an effective brand identity?
4. Crafting a Compelling Brand Voice
5. What communicates my brand identity?
6. How to Create a Smart Brand Strategy

Just like your views, habits, and beliefs make up your unique personality, brand identity is a “secret ingredient” that distinguishes your company from multiple competitors, and it includes various brand assets such as logos and design templates.

What is brand identity? What does it have in common with design? How do you create a memorable brand identity that will make a difference for your business? In this article, we’ll address these and other important questions.

What is brand identity?

Brand identity refers to unique designs created by a company to build a certain image in the eyes of its customers and partners.

Brand identity is often confused with branding. Branding refers to marketing techniques and methods that are used to build a unique brand. To maintain a consistent brand identity, companies often create comprehensive brand guidelines that document the do’s and don’ts of their branding elements.

Let’s take an example to see the difference between these two terms. Imagine that you’re a teenager who goes to school every day. You want your schoolmates to think you’re cool. You want to be invited to parties. You want others to respect your opinion. However, you can’t force other people into thinking you’re cool. You need to work hard to create a certain image that will be appealing to others.

For example, you need to watch trendy YouTube channels, know the latest memes, take up a sport, and so on. Branding refers to all these efforts to build the right image.

Also, you need to take care of your appearance. This means buying the new pair of Adidas that half the school dreams of, doing your hair in a new way, becoming the captain of a school football team, etc.

All these tangible items (sneakers, hairstyle, team membership) make up your identity.

Why do I need a brand identity?

A brand identity has several important functions that can make a difference in your company’s success:

1. Develops a visual language. A strong visual language enhances your brand recognition and boosts your reputation in the industry.
2. Evokes associations with your company. Elements of your corporate style evoke direct associations with your business.
3. Sets you apart from the competition. Branding can be a powerful tool to distinguish your products and services from those that other companies offer.

In short, a brand identity helps tell everyone who you are and why your brand matters. In addition, it shows how your brand values align with your visual and communicative elements.

Building a Strong Brand Foundation

A strong brand foundation is the backbone of a successful brand. It’s the starting point for building a brand that resonates with your target audience and sets you apart from the competition. In this section, we’ll explore the key elements of building a strong brand foundation.

Defining Your Brand’s Mission, Vision, and Values

Your brand’s mission, vision, and values are the core of your brand’s identity. They define who you are, what you stand for, and what you want to achieve. A clear and concise mission statement, vision statement, and set of values will help guide your brand’s decisions and actions.

• Mission statement: This is a statement that defines your brand’s purpose and goals. It’s the reason your brand exists and what you aim to accomplish. For example, Patagonia’s mission statement is “We’re in business to save our home planet.” This clearly communicates their purpose and commitment to environmental responsibility.
• Vision statement: This statement defines your brand’s desired future state. It’s a forward-looking declaration of where you want your brand to be. Patagonia’s vision statement, “A love of wild and beautiful places demands participation in the fight to save them, and to help reverse the steep decline in the overall environmental health of our planet,” paints a picture of their long-term goals and aspirations.
• Values: These are the principles that guide your brand’s behavior and decision-making. They reflect what your brand stands for and influence how you interact with your customers and partners. Patagonia’s values include environmental responsibility, sustainability, and transparency, which are evident in their business practices and communications.

Analyzing Your Target Audience and Their Challenges

Understanding your target audience is crucial to building a strong brand foundation. You need to know who they are, what they want, and what challenges they face. This will help you create a brand that resonates with them and meets their needs.

• Identify your target audience: Start by defining who your target audience is. Consider their demographics, interests, and behaviors. For instance, Warby Parker’s target audience is young, urban, and fashion-conscious individuals.
• Analyze their challenges: Understand the problems and pain points your target audience faces. Warby Parker’s audience, for example, struggles with expensive eyewear and limited access to stylish options.
• Develop buyer personas: Create detailed profiles of your target audience, including their goals, challenges, and behaviors. Warby Parker’s buyer persona might be a 25-year-old urban professional who values fashion, sustainability, and affordability.

By defining your brand’s mission, vision, and values, and analyzing your target audience and their challenges, you’ll lay a solid foundation for a successful brand.

What makes an effective brand identity?

For starters, let’s examine the main building blocks of brand identity design. The most common aspects include typography, color palette, shape, and, of course, your business name. While these aspects sound simple, they’re essential to building a reliable, trustworthy brand identity.

Typography

The world of fonts is big. To come to terms with it, let’s split all fonts into four main categories.

• Serif fonts (e.g., Times New Roman, Garamond) have tiny ”feet” at the end of each character. These are classic typefaces that stand for reliability, loyalty, and traditions.
• Sans serif fonts (e.g., Helvetica, Franklin Gothic) have a more smooth, modern feel to them.
• Handwritten fonts (e.g., Allura, Pacifico) imitate a written text. (Why did they bother to teach us how to write beautifully at school?) If your brand sells luxurious items or products for women, you can’t go wrong with a font from this category.
• Decorative fonts make up a special group of typefaces. Each of these fonts has a unique characteristic, whether it’s an unusual shape, shadows, or a handwritten element. If you’re dreaming of a spectacular brand identity, pick a decorative font and let it speak on your behalf!

Remember that a font is not just a set of letters and digits written in a certain way. It’s a design solution that has a voice. A typeface will become a visual representation of your brand, so be sure to choose it wisely as it is one of the key visual elements of your brand identity.

Color Palette

Now, let’s move to a color palette, a crucial component of your brand’s visual identity. The first thing to understand here is that each shade has its emotional connotations and meaning. It would be stupid not to use such a powerful tool for promoting your business! By mixing different colors, you can shape the way customers perceive your brand.

Take a look at what meaning is hidden behind the seven primary rainbow colors and a few other hues.

• Red is all about passion and emotions. If you’re a bold, energetic brand, be sure to paint your logo and other designs red.
• Orange is another powerful color that emanates friendly vibes. Businesses use orange less often than red, so your emblem is likely to stand out.
• Yellow is the color of the sun. This shade translates to joy and happiness. If you position yourself as an inclusive and accessible brand, yellow could be a good choice.
• Green is, hands down, the most versatile shade in the rainbow palette. This hue could become a great choice for any brand, regardless of its industry. However, if your company has to do with the environment or finance, you may want to incorporate green into your color palette.
• Blue is a universally appealing color and an established color code for solidity and stability. It’s an ideal choice for building trust with your clients, affiliates, and partners.
• Violet is associated with luxury, royalty, and exclusivity. This magnificent shade is a common choice among companies that work in the premium segment.
• Pink is traditionally associated with delicacy and femininity. If your target audience mainly consists of women, you may want to consider including pink in your color palette. Also, this delicate shade is loved by businesses that produce or sell luxury items.
• Brown is a rare guest on logos. If you choose this color, your brand identity may stand out. Plus, brown brings forward the power behind your business.
• Black is a way to craft a sophisticated, appealing, and mysterious image. The best thing about this hue is that it combines well with any color.

Shape

Besides fonts and colors, another important element that shapes your brand image is geometry. Geometric shapes have the power to enhance the impression you want to make on your audience. For example, when looking at a circle emblem with smooth lines and square logo, you’ll be experiencing different emotions and thinking about different things.

When creating a logo, you need to consider the emotional connotations that go with different geometric figures.

Circle shapes (circle, oval) communicate warmth and create a welcoming atmosphere. It’s a great choice for companies that want to show their clients that they care about them. Also, rounded corners and flowing lines emanate femininity and elegance.

Geometric shapes with straight or sharp angles (square, rectangle, triangle) are associated with strength, stability, and trust.

Straight lines also have their own meaning. Vertical lines stand for masculinity and power, while horizontal lines convey serenity and delicacy.

Your Business Name

Text components, such as a brand name and slogan, aim to characterize your business in a smart and concise way, contributing to your overall brand story. Make sure your name and slogan contain only essential information about your company.

Of course, you want to create a cohesive and catchy name and slogan so your identity is not only visually appealing but also sticks in people’s minds.

Crafting a Compelling Brand Voice

Your brand voice is the tone and language you use to communicate with your target audience. It’s a critical element of your brand’s identity and can make or break your brand’s success. In this section, we’ll explore the key elements of crafting a compelling brand voice.

Defining Your Brand’s Personality and Language

Your brand’s personality and language are the foundation of your brand voice. They define how you communicate with your target audience and what tone you use.

• Brand personality: What personality traits do you want your brand to convey? Think about whether you want to be seen as friendly, professional, humorous, or something else. For example, Dollar Shave Club’s brand personality is humorous and irreverent, which appeals to their target audience of young, urban men.
• Brand language: Decide on the tone and language you want to use to communicate with your target audience. This could be formal, informal, sarcastic, or any other style that fits your brand. Dollar Shave Club uses an informal and playful language with a touch of sarcasm, which resonates with their audience and sets them apart from more traditional competitors.

By defining your brand’s personality and language, you’ll create a compelling brand voice that connects with your target audience and strengthens your brand identity.

What communicates my brand identity?

The components we’ve covered above help create your brand identity. But now you need to communicate it to your customers. That means you’ll need your logo, business cards, letterhead, emails, and even your packaging to include your brand assets.

Logo

It won’t be an exaggeration to say that a logo is the key element of your brand’s visual identity. When working on your corporate emblem, heed the following guidelines.

1. Your logo must be simple and minimalist.
2. Avoid using multiple colors and fonts. It will distract a viewer and make your design look amateurish.
3. Forget about trends unless you want your logo to look irrelevant in a year.
4. Your logo must meet your industry standards. (If you choose to ignore established design solutions and go your own way, do that carefully.)
5. Your logo must make a strong impression and stick in the memory.

It’s best to create several versions of your logo and then pick the best option. For multiple uses, you must have your logo in different formats (raster and vector) and sizes. Also, it won’t hurt to create a black-and-white design.

Business Cards

If you’re going to grow your business, you can’t do without professional-looking business cards as part of your brand assets. An original business card will amplify the impression you’ve made on your potential clients and partners. Your business card must have a minimalist design and only contain crucial information about your company. Bold design solutions are not welcome here.

Letterheads

Letterhead is one of the main brand identity elements. This document is used for selling propositions, orders, applications, and other business correspondence. Letterhead with your corporate logo on it becomes a powerful promotion tool, especially when it adheres to your brand guidelines. It’s not uncommon for a potential client or partner to start their acquaintance with your company with your letterhead.

Emails

Email remains a widely used channel of communication. How do you make your business emails stand out among hundreds of other messages? Think about what goal you’re pursuing with your email. To build a bond with a recipient, you need to be friendly, polite, and welcoming. Make sure your email is straightforward and easy to read. If, for example, you want to tell your audience about your new clothing line, it’s a good idea to add a few photos to hook your customers and communicate your brand story.

Packaging

If you’re producing tangible items, make sure they have appropriate packaging as part of your brand assets. The right packaging can make a good impression on your customers and encourage them to make new purchases. Don’t miss the opportunity to showcase your brand identity in such a smart and unobtrusive way!

RELATED: How to Create a Corporate Envelope Fast and Easy

How to Create a Smart Brand Strategy

There is more than one way to create a beautiful and catchy brand identity design for your business. You can find a seasoned freelance designer, commission a design studio, or use online logo makers. Let’s focus on each method one by one.

Design Studio and Brand Guidelines

Hiring a design company is a great option for medium and large businesses with big budgets. They can help develop a cohesive brand strategy that includes visual and messaging elements, fostering recognition and loyalty among consumers.

Pros:

• Professional designers.
• Big choice of studios.

Cons:

• Costly
• Long waiting times

Freelance Designers

If you’re stretched for money, you can hire a freelance designer. A freelance designer can help with specific aspects of your brand positioning. Finding a designer whose price fits your budget is a doable task. Plus, there’s no lack of freelance websites where you can easily find the right person for the job.

Pros:

• Big choice of designers
• High-quality logo (if your designer is experienced)

Cons:

• Finding a professional designer that works for a small fee is hard.
• The designer may take your advance payment and disappear.
• You may not like the design.

Final Words

Brand identity can help you stand out from the crowd and introduce your company to your target audience, especially when developing a new brand identity. To get an impactful visual style, prepare to invest a lot of time and money into developing a unique brand identity. Your efforts will eventually pay off! If you already have some ideas for your future visual image, don’t hesitate and get down to work without second-guessing.

RELATED: Eco Branding: Why Your Business Needs It

Disclaimer: The content on this page is for information purposes only and does not constitute legal, tax, or accounting advice. If you have specific questions about any of these topics, seek the counsel of a licensed professional.