Scuffling for Brand Identity
Brand identity is the combined effect of visual elements in your marketing materials. A basic brand identity kit consists of a logo, business card, letterhead, and branded envelope. This basic set of materials can be extended to include a website, brochure, folder, flyer, or any other professionally designed pieces.
Unique in "look and feel" and message about your business. Make sure that your business's graphics stand out from and cannot be confused with those of the competition, and that the ways you talk and write about your business are uniquely yours as well.
Repetition helps potential clients—and current clients—to remember and relate to who you are and what you do in your business. Experts say that it takes somewhere between 6 and 12 "impressions," or contacts with your business, for customers to truly remember you and connect with your business.
Consistent use of your logo, tagline, and materials and what you say about your business. You will only be able to build a strong brand for your company by designing unique visual and verbal elements and then repeating those elements through all of the materials that you create.
Memorable elements help your business to stand out as well. You'll be able to create brand memorability through consistency, repetition, and uniqueness of your graphics and materials. Make your graphics memorable by creating a unique logo and using a consistently strong Visual Vocabulary. Create memorable text by using alliteration (repeating similar sounds, such as using words that all start with the same letter), repetition, unique word combinations, and lively imagery in your copy.
Meaningful graphics make your company's message come to life through symbolic graphics, colors, and type choices in all of your marketing materials. Meaningful text will express what your business is really all about, and help to give some depth to your developing brand. And, perhaps more importantly, your audience will be able to understand the meaning in your graphics and text — it will be accessible to your target market.
Clear graphics and text communicate your message in an understandable way. Make sure that your graphics are crisp, clean, simple, and meaningful. And make sure that your text expresses your point and is not confusing — that it explains your point well.
Honesty in your brand identity materials. If clients do engage with you and then you don't live up to the brand promises you made in your materials, then they will feel alienated from you and your company... or worse. This can really damage your relationships and your overall brand, so make sure you can stand behind your brand and deliver on your promises before you distribute your branded materials.
Personality for your business helps make sure that you don't look like everyone else, so that potential clients can immediately tell that all of your branded materials are coming from your business. If you're the owner of a one-person business, your brand identity might resonate with your own personality. If your business is larger, or if you want to make it appear larger, you can create your own brand personality to connect with your potential clients.
Professionalism in all things, from the quality of your graphics, to the way your text is written (proofreading is essential!), to your personal presentation: the way you talk, dress, and speak. Professionalism in customer service and in the way you treat people you meet is also important. Follow through on your offers and promises.
If you include all of the above elements in your brand identity, you'll have a business look and feel that will really help your marketing messages to be taken seriously: one that will enhance your overall brand.
1. Illustrative Logos
2. Visual Style
3. An Aesthetic Niche
4. Color Choices
5. Applied Color
6. Color Power
7. 3-D Logos
8. Physical Elements
9. A Sense of Place
10. Contrast in Composition
11. Contrasting Elements
12. Being Different
13. Logo Shapes
14. Shape Patterns
15. Shape and Meaning
16. Cultural Symbols
17. Symbol Vocabularies
18. Brands as Symbols
19. Monograms and Word Marks
20. Type Choices
21. Type and Meaning
22. Names and Taglines
23. Editorial Style
24. Voice
25. Logos as Storytellers
26. Narrative Applications
27. Brand Stories
28. Logo Structure
29. Program Consistency
30. What Is 'On Brand'
31. Logo Flexibility
32. Flexible Systems
33. Brands that Surprise
34. Personal Logos
35. Inclusive Programs
36. My Brand
37. Marks and Meaning
38. Program Context
39. Brand Psychology
40. Idea Generation
41. Prototyping
42. Strategic Foundations
43. Production Methods
44. 'Image' as a Verb
45. New Sources of Meaning
46. Pictures in Pixels
47. Building an Online Identity
48. Digital Brands
49. Logo Trends
50. Popular Culture
51. Macro Trends
52. Do the Right Thing
53. Program Investments
54. Walk the Talk
55. New Interactions
56. Social Innovation
57. Transparent Brands
58. Ingredient Brands
59. Standards of Hierarchy
60. Managing Multiple Brands
61. Trademarks
62. Trade Dress
63. Owning an Aesthetic
64. Logo Specs
65. Application Rules
66. Brand Bibles
67. Logos Lifecycles
68. Planning for Change
69. Change Strategy
70. Dueling Logos
71. Programs That Stand Out
72. Competitive Landscape
73. Timelessness
74. Taking Chances
75. The Human Element
76. Logos with a Sense of Humor
77. Fun with Programs
78. Funny Brands
79. Standing for Something
80. Building Toward Something
81. Promising Something
82. The Truth Comes Out
83. Authenticity Grows
84. Honesty Is Sustainable
85. Stick with a Good Idea
86. Program Confidence
87. Decisive Brands
88. The Sign of a Promise
89. Customer Immersion
90. Positioning
91. Do Your Homework
92. Constraints and Opportunities
93. Know Your Customer
94. Experiencing the Logo
95. Connecting the Dots
96. Customer Experience Planning
97. A Good Idea
98. Contextual Inspiration
99. 99% Perspiration
100. Keep It Simple
Brand identity is the combined effect of visual elements in your marketing materials. A basic brand identity kit consists of a logo, business card, letterhead, and branded envelope. This basic set of materials can be extended to include a website, brochure, folder, flyer, or any other professionally designed pieces.
Unique in "look and feel" and message about your business. Make sure that your business's graphics stand out from and cannot be confused with those of the competition, and that the ways you talk and write about your business are uniquely yours as well.
Repetition helps potential clients—and current clients—to remember and relate to who you are and what you do in your business. Experts say that it takes somewhere between 6 and 12 "impressions," or contacts with your business, for customers to truly remember you and connect with your business.
Consistent use of your logo, tagline, and materials and what you say about your business. You will only be able to build a strong brand for your company by designing unique visual and verbal elements and then repeating those elements through all of the materials that you create.
Memorable elements help your business to stand out as well. You'll be able to create brand memorability through consistency, repetition, and uniqueness of your graphics and materials. Make your graphics memorable by creating a unique logo and using a consistently strong Visual Vocabulary. Create memorable text by using alliteration (repeating similar sounds, such as using words that all start with the same letter), repetition, unique word combinations, and lively imagery in your copy.
Meaningful graphics make your company's message come to life through symbolic graphics, colors, and type choices in all of your marketing materials. Meaningful text will express what your business is really all about, and help to give some depth to your developing brand. And, perhaps more importantly, your audience will be able to understand the meaning in your graphics and text — it will be accessible to your target market.
Clear graphics and text communicate your message in an understandable way. Make sure that your graphics are crisp, clean, simple, and meaningful. And make sure that your text expresses your point and is not confusing — that it explains your point well.
Honesty in your brand identity materials. If clients do engage with you and then you don't live up to the brand promises you made in your materials, then they will feel alienated from you and your company... or worse. This can really damage your relationships and your overall brand, so make sure you can stand behind your brand and deliver on your promises before you distribute your branded materials.
Personality for your business helps make sure that you don't look like everyone else, so that potential clients can immediately tell that all of your branded materials are coming from your business. If you're the owner of a one-person business, your brand identity might resonate with your own personality. If your business is larger, or if you want to make it appear larger, you can create your own brand personality to connect with your potential clients.
Professionalism in all things, from the quality of your graphics, to the way your text is written (proofreading is essential!), to your personal presentation: the way you talk, dress, and speak. Professionalism in customer service and in the way you treat people you meet is also important. Follow through on your offers and promises.
If you include all of the above elements in your brand identity, you'll have a business look and feel that will really help your marketing messages to be taken seriously: one that will enhance your overall brand.
1. Illustrative Logos
2. Visual Style
3. An Aesthetic Niche
4. Color Choices
5. Applied Color
6. Color Power
7. 3-D Logos
8. Physical Elements
9. A Sense of Place
10. Contrast in Composition
11. Contrasting Elements
12. Being Different
13. Logo Shapes
14. Shape Patterns
15. Shape and Meaning
16. Cultural Symbols
17. Symbol Vocabularies
18. Brands as Symbols
19. Monograms and Word Marks
20. Type Choices
21. Type and Meaning
22. Names and Taglines
23. Editorial Style
24. Voice
25. Logos as Storytellers
26. Narrative Applications
27. Brand Stories
28. Logo Structure
29. Program Consistency
30. What Is 'On Brand'
31. Logo Flexibility
32. Flexible Systems
33. Brands that Surprise
34. Personal Logos
35. Inclusive Programs
36. My Brand
37. Marks and Meaning
38. Program Context
39. Brand Psychology
40. Idea Generation
41. Prototyping
42. Strategic Foundations
43. Production Methods
44. 'Image' as a Verb
45. New Sources of Meaning
46. Pictures in Pixels
47. Building an Online Identity
48. Digital Brands
49. Logo Trends
50. Popular Culture
51. Macro Trends
52. Do the Right Thing
53. Program Investments
54. Walk the Talk
55. New Interactions
56. Social Innovation
57. Transparent Brands
58. Ingredient Brands
59. Standards of Hierarchy
60. Managing Multiple Brands
61. Trademarks
62. Trade Dress
63. Owning an Aesthetic
64. Logo Specs
65. Application Rules
66. Brand Bibles
67. Logos Lifecycles
68. Planning for Change
69. Change Strategy
70. Dueling Logos
71. Programs That Stand Out
72. Competitive Landscape
73. Timelessness
74. Taking Chances
75. The Human Element
76. Logos with a Sense of Humor
77. Fun with Programs
78. Funny Brands
79. Standing for Something
80. Building Toward Something
81. Promising Something
82. The Truth Comes Out
83. Authenticity Grows
84. Honesty Is Sustainable
85. Stick with a Good Idea
86. Program Confidence
87. Decisive Brands
88. The Sign of a Promise
89. Customer Immersion
90. Positioning
91. Do Your Homework
92. Constraints and Opportunities
93. Know Your Customer
94. Experiencing the Logo
95. Connecting the Dots
96. Customer Experience Planning
97. A Good Idea
98. Contextual Inspiration
99. 99% Perspiration
100. Keep It Simple