Dos and Don’ts in Designing Brand Identity

Dos and Don’ts in Designing Brand Identity

As a designer, you have to be able to deliver not only the visuals but also the abstract associations potential consumers can attach to those visuals- that’s the core in creating brand identity.

Building and maintaining a brand are complex processes. They range from the designing of the logo to developing a content strategy. Keep in mind that there is plenty that can go wrong with them. For instance, when you lack clarity, customers may fail to fully grasp what the brand is trying to convey. Moreover, you can get caught in numerous cycles of redesigning because you’ haven’t done your research and completely relied on your intuition.

So whether you are creating a new brand from scratch or rebranding, there are guidelines you should follow to avoid being burned later on. Here are the top do’s and don’ts in designing a brand identity.

DO’S IN BRANDING

  1. Study the competition. Take a look at some of the work that digital agencies are doing to understand that the current market will highly affect the success of the brand design. Thus, it is essential that you are able to look at companies in the same field and study their strengths and weaknesses. Then, position your brand in a way that sets it apart from them.
  2. Aim to inspire. More often than not, brands that fail to inspire fall short in selling themselves. If you want to have the best marketing materials, be sure that you are able to create brand guidelines that reflect real scenarios from the community.
  3. Create a good brand platform. Make sure that your brand platform is filled with brand vocabulary and that it fully displays exactly what the company has to offer.
  4. Listen to feedback. When you ask for feedback for your design, do not dismiss criticism outright. Consider whether the feedback you are given is applicable to the brand.
  5. Keep it simple. The simpler your logo and tagline are, the easier it is for customers to remember. Examples of good branding tagline include KFC’s “Finger lickin’ good” and Heinz’ “Beanz Meanz Heinz”.

DONT’S IN BRANDING

  1. Don’t think small. While your brand may be unknown for now, you must consider the possibility of it becoming big. After all, shouldn’t that be your goal? Make sure that the brand can adapt to changes well.
  2. Don’t leave anything to chance. If you’re designing a logo, make sure that every detail has a purpose. Experiment on the palette, typography, etc. before submitting the final design.
  3. Don’t forget going digital. If you can’t adapt to the digital world, then you’re likely to fall behind your competitors. Keep your brand alive by incorporating it into your social media accounts and website.
  4. Don’t create a vacuum. A good brand should be able to connect with the customers. Without this connection, you can’t possibly persuade them to try your product or service.
  5. Don’t make changes on a whim. Rebranding is common, especially among growing companies. However, this can sometimes be harmful. If you are not consistent, you might end up confusing your loyal customers. If you are making changes, make sure that they are only small tweaks.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Branding is one of the greatest investments you can have. It’s also one of the most expensive, so make sure that you do it right. Otherwise, you’ll be wasting a lot of money and confusing your customers and clients.