Creating A Brand Identity

 How To Create A Brand Identity From Start To Finish

Brand identity is the visible element of a brand. These aspects include color, design, and logo that identify and distinguish the brand in the eyes of the consumer.

Brand Strategy And Creative Direction

This is how a brand intends on building rapport and favorability in the market. There are four brand strategies;

• Line extension. Creating additional products in response to consumer needs.
• Brand Extension. Introduction of a new brand in a market, after consolidating in a related field.
• New brand strategy. When a firm creates a new brand to go with a new product.
• Fight brand strategy. This is the placement of a new brand or sub-brand in a higher or lower price point to capture a new market segment.

Logo Exploration And Design

A good logo should instantly be recognizable to the consumer, by being simple, unique, appropriate, and memorable. It should convey clearly a company's goal and why the brand exists. A good logo should also be able to exist in different sizes and be applied to different products, packaging, and signage.

Brand Elements And Assets

Brand assets are elements such as color scheme, specific font, or ad jingle that help to identify a certain brand. These only become assets once customers associate them with a brand. These brand elements serve a specific purpose to a brand;

• Unique to the brand
• Purpose-driven for the brand.
• Knows its target market
• Stays on-brand at all times
• Authentic to the brand
• Thick-skinned as a way to protect the brand

Brand Inaction

Brands must decide even before any incidents, where they will take action or where they will choose inaction. A brand should not respond to every opposition, query, or instance that occurs. For example, a bank robber may choose to wear a Nike jersey while robbing a bank and get caught. The press will blast images of a bank robber wearing a Nike logo jersey. This kind of instance requires brand inaction, by not responding to such incidences. Based on the product or service offered a brand can expect its name and image to get caught up in a way that disparages the brand name and brand inaction will be the most logical way to respond.

Presenting The Branding

Time requires that brands present themselves to the consumer in a way that is appropriate for societal norms that come with the changing of eras. A brand must be adaptable in order to survive the test of time. This could include changing the shade identified as their brand color from lighter to darker blue. Changing fonts to appear more modern yet true to its identity. Constantly tweaking aspects of the brand identity in order to remain relevant to the times.

This is how to create a brand identity from start to finish. Have you worked on a brand identity before? Was it for your company or a client? Comment in the section below and share with our community of African freelancers.

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