What is a brand? Brand design is so much more than a name or logo! Although, when we think of a brand we often think of their logo as this is what helps it become recognisable, there are often other thoughts and feelings that go with it. In fact, a brand is often described as a way a company, individual or product is perceived.
Take a moment to think of a brand, for the purpose of this blog entry we’ll think of McDonalds. I bet a variety of thoughts pop into your head. What pops into your head might be slightly different to the person next to you. However, brands will ultimately work to create a common perception to be perceived in a certain way. So, I guess what we are saying here is that brands live in the minds of the people who experience them, your brand is your reputation.
Your brand is needs to attract the right people to you and even shape the perceptions of those you want to target. So, whether you are just setting up a new business or are ready to take your business through a rebrand, here are 5 steps to creating a brilliant brand design.
Step One – Research
When it comes to creating your brand design, you’ll probably start by doing some competitor research. You’ll want to look for what works well and what doesn’t. Obviously, you can’t create a brand that is a carbon copy because that would be wrong on so many levels. However, through your competitor research you might pick out certain elements that appeal to the audience you are wanting to target. You can also identify what is going to make your brand design different, what is going to make you stand out and be the number one choice!?
You can also carry out research by asking a database/audience what they would like to see from your brand (you’ll just want to make sure that you’re asking an audience that is relevant to you). This research can help inform your design choices, form your content and mission statement moving forward.
Step Two – Define your Audience Personas
Understand exactly who you are looking to target, so that you can create a brand that that resonates and appeals to your audience. This means considering things like their gender, age, interests, location, online behaviour, shopping patterns and so on. The more detailed you can become in describing your ideal audience, the easier it will become to create a brand that appeals to them.
Top Tip
It’s good to be clear on who you are targeting. Try not to be too broad. For example, women in business would be a broad statement and mums that own a service-based business would be more specific.
Step Three – Business mission
Your brand/business mission is SO important! It’s the heart of what you do. You will want to consider what your core values are to help you formulate a mission statement. Your mission statement should be short, concise and should clearly state your company mission is. It will often depict your brand purpose, it’s objectives and how it plans to serve its audience. Remember, it’s what is going to attract your audience, generate trust and build rapport/community moving forward.
Step Four – Look and feel
How do you want your brand to look? The look of your brand will typically include things like logo, fonts, colours, design, messaging etc.
How do you want your customers to feel when they experience your brand? Do you want them to feel excitement, calm, happiness, determination and so on?
Branding experts can help you navigate and create the perfect branding design through materials and visuals that match your mission. For example, the colour blue is often associated with serenity, inspiration, stability, or wealth. The same goes for your logo, will it just be a typography of your name or is there going to be a symbol that is going to represent what your business/brand is all about. These are all important factors that you will need to consider when it comes to determining the look and feel of your brand.
Step Five – Marketing your brand
Once you have defined what your brand is through a great brand design, it’s crucial that you keep it consistent across all your marketing and business outlets.
You want your business to be recognisable no matter where someone comes into contact with it. So, if someone visits your social media profile and then visits your website you want to make sure that your messaging is consistent as well as your logos and colours etc.
So, from your store front to your letterheads, to your website design, to your customer service or packaging… it all needs to be coherent, it all needs to be on brand! You can see our past successful projects here!
Remember, it can be difficult to create a brand that is going to be remembered and draw devoted customers. So, it’s vitally important when creating your own brand you get it right and you build a brand that stands out! If you need support with your branding, give our creative team a call today or fill in the form below.