Whether you are looking to create a brand from the ground up or to refresh your existing identity, the branding process can seem intimidating and you may be wondering where to begin. Here’s a quick guide on the building blocks for a visual identity.
Logo
Once you have settled on a name, the most obvious element to work on would be the logo. This forms the base for your brand identity. Your final logo package should include a full suite of variations for different applications such as inverse, greyscale, etc.
Colour palette & typography
Ideally, the colour palette and typography should be determined during the logo design process so that they sync well together. A primary and secondary colour palette are recommended for flexibility in creating brand collateral.
Photography & graphic styles
The next step would be to define styles for all other visual elements such as photography, iconography, illustrations and patterns. Locking down these details at an early stage will ensure all your materials look cohesive even if they are created by different teams.
Brand guidelines
Once all of the elements listed above are complete, it’s a good time to compile all the brand information into a simple guidelines document. This helps to keep your team as well as any external suppliers aligned and gives them everything they need in one place.
While it may be tempting to put together a long, detailed document specifying every possible rule, a better approach would be to stick to the most important, must-have guidelines to ensure that anyone implementing the design system doesn’t get lost in all the details. This also leaves some room for creativity so your collateral don’t become too rigid and restricted.
Website
Your website is usually the first point of approach for most audiences, so we’d recommend setting this up as a priority. If you’re pressed for a time, a simple landing page can be put in place while the full website is being built.
Key marketing materials
Identify a few key brand or marketing materials that you use or expect to use most frequently and work on these first. Common items in this category include business cards, email signatures, letterheads and social media assets such as profile and cover photos. By focusing on a few critical items, you can launch your new brand faster, and then gradually work on the next phase of items. This phased approach also enables you to fine-tune your branding based on the response you receive to your first set of materials.
The branding process doesn’t have to be overwhelming - just start with these building blocks to form the core structure of your brand identity and then build on top of that.
To find out how we can help you create a brand identity or brand collateral for your business, get in touch with us now.