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.
A successful brand identity is built around the following 9
key characteristics:
• 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.   Â
• 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.
—————————————————-
Erin Ferree is a brand identity designer who creates big
visibility for small businesses. As the owner of elf
design, Erin is passionate about helping her clients stand
out in front of their competition and attract more clients.
Her “Define Your Difference Branding Workbook” will help
you with your brand definition – the most important step in
the brand identity design process.
http://www.elf-design.com/products-define.html
Comments on this entry are closed.