Designing a Full Brand Identity Suite

Any successful brand has a strong, consistent, and memorable concept that consumers can connect with, but creating this visual component is not always easy. In order to construct a brand identity that represents the goals and values of a brand, a lot of different factors need to be considered.

Importance

How to design a cohesive brand identity is one of the most important skills one can learn to be successful in the public relations field. Once a strong brand identity is established, public relations is in full effect for an organization because it is the driving visual aspect of the brand, no matter if they are dealing with a crisis or implementing a new campaign. Having a brand identity that is powerful and memorable is key to connecting with an organization’s publics; therefore, brand identity is the center of all public relations.

Creative Brief

PURPOSE:

In order to establish a brand identity, the purpose of the brand needs to be identified. Developing a mission or goals can help determine why the organization has been brought into existence and what it can contribute to its consumers.

POSITIONING:

Once there is a clear purpose for the organization including relevancy and goals, brand positioning needs to be determined. Consider the format below from a LucidPress article about brand consistency when trying to position your organization:

For (target customer)

Who (statement of need or opportunity)

(product name) is a (product category)

That (statement of key benefit)

Unlike (competing alternative) (product name) (statement of primary differentiation)

By defining these different components the organization is able to position itself in the market and decide how they want to represent themselves as a unique brand.

PERSONALITY:

Once the purpose and positioning of the brand are established, the brand personality can be considered. Thinking of how the brand should appear to its consumer base is critical to the success of the company. Identifying different adjectives that the brand embodies can help when applying the visual design to the brand. Often, the purpose, positioning and personality of a brand are clearly identified in a creative brief, an outline of the defining aspects of a brand.

Consider this creative brief for Reebok:

STYLE GUIDELINES

Now that the purpose, positioning, and personality have been considered for the creative brief, the style guidelines can be created. These guidelines consist of the fonts, colors, logos and logo variations that the brand will consistently use as part of their identity. Below are examples of how style guides can be organized:

IMPLEMENTATION

The style guide should take a lot of thought, experimentation and modification throughout the design process, but should be consistent in all of the final pieces. Consider the style guidelines as important as a recipe for a cake or step-by-step directions to build a new piece of furniture. Using these guidelines ensures consistency within the visual representation of the brand and assures communication of a common theme regarding the brand. An organized visual representation communicates professionalism and stability within a brand, which can secure a more trustworthy consumer base. A small logo in the top corner of a notepad or on the flap of an envelope not only reaffirms the brand and its ownership of the materials, but the more a logo is tastefully exposed, the more exposure the brand gets.

For a more detailed explanation and additional examples, this video breaks down the importance of unique branding and identity.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-S2Y3SF3mM