It takes a distinctive and stylish brand to get you noticed and then remembered.
Spanning beyond ‘professional’ your brand identity is about creating digital and print assets that have the extraordinary ability to ‘speak’ to your audience.
Think this sounds more complicated than it needs to? A stock standard website and basic logo simply won’t have the high level impact as a brand identity that is carefully considered and reflects the purpose of your organisation.
Creating a strong brand identity can actually help to motivate your whole business to connect more with your market, sell more, do more and be more. Ensuring your internal team and stakeholders are committed to the brand, and are enabled with the elements of the brand that need to seamlessly remain ‘on-brand’ is critical, as they should be the most powerful of ambassadors for the brand.
‘Smart doesn’t galvanise action’ – Fiona Humberstone
Things to think about when styling your brand identity
If you are thinking about investing in your brand, to either refresh or start the brand journey, take some time to consider the following key areas. Investing time at the start of the process will improve the outcome and ensure you create a brand that builds a connection between your business, your team and your customers.
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Get clear on your intention
We encourage clients to take some time out and walk around the full brand experience in the shoes of customers. What are customers likely to feel when they interact with your brand? How would you like this to change or improve? There is a vast difference between ‘having a website’ and creating a platform that captures customers, engages them to take an action and inspires them to invest in your brand or products.
See also: Brand identity: Do we know who you are?
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In-house creativity and drawing inspiration
An external creative agency can add plenty of flair and panache to your brief, but you might be surprised at the level of creativity you have within your own teams. In our experience, organisations that take the time to reflect on what makes their brand unique as well as those that brainstorm some ideas on what inspires them in their particular industry, really add an extra dimension to their brand style – ultimately aiding success. Don’t be afraid to ask your team what they think – brainstorm, create aspirational pin-boards of great ideas, colours and inspiration. All of these elements combined can spark something memorable and extra special.
See also: Very special rebrand for nonprofit Very Special Kids
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Visual brand elements that do more than tick a box
Is it time to rethink some of the moving parts that make up your brand? For instance are you working with the right colour palette? Don’t underestimate the subconscious connections people can connect to your brand through the use of colour. Some designers break colours up into seasons. This is a great place to continue with ideas – Is your brand more autumn or summer? Spend some time reflecting and your discoveries might surprise you. Other design considerations include typography, iconography and the style that will go into graphic images/photos used across the site. Your brand is going to speak visually, digitally, and graphically as well as through the tone of the words and images conveyed. Every little step adds to the overall impact.
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Value creativity, cleverness and craft
Popular brands have a distinct way of engaging with customers. There is a distinct appeal. It is not a 2D website, with a logo that has been mocked up ‘on the cheap’ - there is another element at play here, and it is an emotional one. Successful brand style evokes a feeling. Creative assets such as your logo, hi-resolution graphics, illustrations, video and infographics are like positive character traits for your brand. They round it out, make an impression and together produce the overall feeling your customers and stakeholders have when interacting with your brand. Not all of these elements are necessary for your brand, but we don’t say this lightly: there is just no substitute for quality work.
See also: The power of infographics
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Going the extra with your brand
Think: what you might need to do in order to reach your most desirable audience? Go one step extra and really creating a brand style and identity that stands out. Once you have acquired your beautiful design assets, how do you then take them to market? Your brand style stretches out into the realms of social media and into the tangible - of print. The quality of stock you select for business cards for example, letterhead and promotional communications all reflect on your brand. How will you communicate with stakeholders? Printed financial reports ooze style!
See also: Is print the new brand mouthpiece?
Talk to us - We are always here to help. Take some time to think about your brand. We know that the better you know your own brand, the further on-target we can attune our actions to reach your goal.