1. Know the purpose of your brand.
Is the brand for a company, a product, a campaign? What is the purpose you want to convey – is it to provide a service, fill a need or to raise awareness? If you understand the purpose you can start brainstorming a concept.
2. Create an Identity.
Imagine your audience – how do you want them to see you? What do you want them to think or feel when they see or hear about your brand? Try to think of your brand as a child developing its own personality. What characteristics do you want your brand to have? There should be something that sets you apart, which is the key to making an interesting brand.
3. Speak your brand’s language.
Come up with the name of your company, product or campaign and think of a catch phrase or slogan that defines who it is. Think about how people should feel when reading about your brand – do you want them to laugh at your unique sense of humor, feel sympathetic towards your cause, know that you are trustworthy and responsible? Whatever it is, branding is all about “talking the talk” to accurately communicate your “walk.”
4. Now you need a logo. (My favorite and arguably most important part.)
You should know if you are creating a new logo or revamping an old one. If there is an existing logo, know what needs to be changed and why.
To create a logo, you need to know what type of logo you want. Do you want a mark that can stand alone, a logotype that includes the name or both? Think about how it will be used in the real world – if it will be embroidered on a polo maybe don’t include a lot of intricate detail. You can start the design process once you know the kind of logo that will fit your needs.
For the design, discuss the kind of feeling or persona the logo should convey – this goes back to your language. Is the brand structured and modern, laidback and handmade, or classic and traditional? Do you want any kind of history or symbolism incorporated into the logo? Answer these questions and start brainstorming on paper! Pick a few solid ideas and take those thoughts on the computer. While designing the logo, you or your designer will need to experiment with different fonts that fit your vision for the brand. Try your initial ideas, but also try new ideas and combine ideas. Continue to brainstorm with others as you come up with various concepts until you’ve narrowed it down to some final options. Get the opinions of people who haven’t been involved in the design process. Make sure the logo conveys what you want it to say and then choose the logo that will best represent your brand.
5. Introduce the world of color.
Now that you know who you are, what you stand for and what you look like it’s time to give your brand some pizazz – this is the step that really brings the brand to life. Again, who is this brand and what does it say? Choose colors that appeal to your audience. If it is eye catching and fun, choose brighter colors. If it’s sleek and sophisticated choose neutral tones like white and grey. How about earthy and natural? Choose calmer colors and earth tones. Every color says something different and evokes different feelings, which goes back to how you want to people to feel. Calm and safe? Blue. Eye Catching and exciting? Red (this also makes people hungrier – who knew?). Bright and Happy? Yellow – however, don’t paint a baby nursery yellow. The color yellow is harder to process in your brain. When your little one is surrounded by it all the time, they can get agitated and this causes them to cry more. That may not apply to your brand, but there is a ton of research on colors and having a reason for each color you choose makes for a stronger brand.
6. Tie up loose ends.
You’re pretty much done by this point; all you need to do is make some final decisions. Finalize your fonts and make sure you have no more than three. There may be fonts included in your logo already, but remember to have an easy to read font to use in your documents. You may also need something for headlines or title pages – this could be the same font in a different thickness.
Now that your brand is complete, get other team member’s opinions. If there are any suggestions or critiques, now is the time to speak out and make changes if necessary. Once all changes are made, put it all in a brand guide and stick to it! If you’ve been successful at growing your brand, people should be able to look at a poster or advertisement without your name or logo and still know that it’s you.
7. Rebrand.
In 5-10 years your brand might start to feel outdated. If so, repeat this process.