How To Create a Brand Identity?

‍“Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room.” – Jeff Bezos

Who are you as a company? What sets you apart from your competitors? What do you want your customers to remember about you? Once you establish a brand identity, you’ll be able to communicate your message effectively and make people recognize your company. So, read more to learn about brand identity design and how to build a brand design. 

Is it our tone and voice? Our slogan? Our color palette? Or maybe even our logo? Well, it’s all of them – and more.

A company’s brand identity refers to a set of elements that collectively shape how customers perceive it. Whether it’s about developing the visual identity or the content choice, the brand identity represents the image of our company. The DNA of our brand. The story. And it’s what makes us recognizable, memorable, and, overall, unique. 

Just like human beings have their personality, a brand also has its own identity – its own characteristics and values that differentiate it from competitors in the industry. All of these contribute to our company’s reputation and help establish a positive impression among our consumers. 

Believe it or not, 55% of users are more likely to purchase a product if they love our brand’s story – our brand identity. So, here is how brand development can help us drive business success:

• Differentiate Ourselves
• Establish a Connection
• Create a Brand Experience

Brand Identity vs Brand Image:

In branding and brand development, these two terms are usually used interchangeably. But they are pretty different. Brand identity represents the carefully crafted image we want our audience to see, which includes developing our visual identity and core values – who we believe we are. On the other hand, brand image refers to how people perceive our brand, shaped by their experiences and interactions with us – how others believe we are. 

When it comes to how to build a brand identity, we must understand what it includes. This way, brand identity design will fall into three categories:

1. Visual Identity:

The visual identity of a brand design will focus on color palettes, logos, typography and fonts, iconography, layouts, and other visual elements that reflect our brand’s personality. While it may not come as a surprise, what makes our company unique and stand out is our visual identity – especially the logo. 

In fact, 75% of people identify and associate a brand simply by looking at its logo. Let’s face it – when we see red with yellow, we immediately think of McDonald’s. So, when developing a brand identity design, our visual elements could determine what will come after – the slogan, website, and even social media accounts. 

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2. Brand Personality

Our brand personality represents our message. It includes the slogan of our company, our tagline, and the tone of voice of our messaging. And as we develop our brand design, we must know exactly how we want to communicate with our customers. The business strategy and our buyer persona usually influence this. 

So, think about how we want our business to be. Is it professional? Motivational? Or maybe even relaxing? This will determine whether we will adopt an authoritative tone or a simple and casual one. Clarifying these aspects will establish the first steps in building our brand identity design and the entire feel of our company. Plus, it will also lay the foundation of our brand’s story. 

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3. Brand Marketing

In the brand development process, we must also consider the way we present our company to our customers. And in today’s world, our digital presence is everything. For this reason, we must think about our website, our social media accounts, and other promotional materials that help us share our story. 

When establishing our brand identity design, we must also consider our content – whether it’s the website copy, articles, photography, or illustrations. These should complement and blend with other branding elements to ensure we communicate the same message. 

The foundation of any excellent brand identity design is the ability to influence our customers using these physical and emotional factors. However, achieving this requires an in-depth analysis of the market and our customer persona, careful planning, and a well-built strategic plan for our business. So, let’s figure out how to build a brand identity:

1. Know Your Foundation: Who are you as a company? What sets you apart from your competitors? What do you want to share with your customers? All of these represent our brand’s core and our company’s heart, as you must include them in your tagline, messaging, and overall brand essence. 
2. Know Your Audience: Before developing your business branding, it’s essential to know your audience’s expectations of your brand. Identifying your target market is easy. But it’s necessary to understand precisely what they are looking for. This is why we recommend developing your buyer personas.
3. Know Your Market: There’s no better way to get inspired than from our established competitors. Look at what’s working and what’s not, and understand what makes their customers purchase. Take bits and pieces from their strategies and implement them into your business branding strategy. Combining familiarity with innovation will help you achieve results you would never believe.
4. Define Your Visual Identity: Now that you know exactly how you want to approach your brand design, it’s time to put everything into practice and start with your visual identity. Think about what you want your customers to see when interacting with your company – the colors, the images, the logo, and the overall feel. Get everyone in the room and brainstorm the future image of your brand – think of it as creative therapy sessions.
5. Build Brand Guidelines: What’s worse than no brand identity? A brand identity design used inconsistently or incorrectly. This is why it’s important to establish brand guidelines that should be implemented across all channels. 

Nike: When we see “Just Do It!” our first thought is Nike. This is one of the best brand identity examples because Nike has built its image around innovation and inspiration. And everything about it illustrates this – from the “swoosh” logo to its website and tagline. They don’t just sell clothes – they sell an idea: that we can push boundaries and achieve everything we put our minds to. And that’s exactly what their brand is.

Starbucks: Let’s say we walk into a Starbucks store. Their iconic green mermaid logo makes us crave a Frappucino or maybe a Latte. But it’s not just their visual identity that makes Starbucks so memorable. It’s the coffee shop itself and its layout. It’s the friendly staff that asks for your name when ordering a coffee. All of these are part of Starbucks' brand identity. This is also one of the best brand identity examples, as it appeals to our emotional side and how we feel when interacting with the brand.

National Geographic: Although it may not be the first brand we think of, it is still one of the best brand identity examples out there. In a world flooded with information, National Geographic’s mission is to educate and inspire through compelling stories. The iconic yellow in their logo and incredible photos have become the image of exploration and nature.