Most customers and clients will have formed an opinion about your brand before they even engage with you. From colour schemes to the language you use to promote your brand, this all plays a part in what message you share with your audience. Your brand identity is the image you want to project to the world and is what makes you stand out from your competition. It projects your values so that you attract the ideal client. 

Your brand identity is a crucial visual representation of the values and personality of your brand. It helps to differentiate you from your competitors and can positively influence purchasing decisions. Therefore, your brand identity should be designed to communicate your company’s overall message and how it wants to be perceived in the market. 

So, what should you use to illustrate brand identity and why is it so important?

What your brand identity should convey:

• Your brand’s personality (if your brand was a person, what personality would it have?)
• Your brand’s values and mission
• A brand story that builds relatability, trustworthiness and credibility
• Your unique positioning (how do you differentiate yourself from your competition?)
• Your brand voice (if your brand were a person, how would it communicate?)

A business with a strong brand and visual identity is more likely to be seen as experienced, reliable and trustworthy. Your brand is what differentiates you in the marketplace. When customers recognise and back your brand it builds your competitive edge. 

As such, a well constructed brand identity should have outcomes including making your target audience aware of your brand and inspiring loyalty from those who are already your customers. 

Where to portray your brand identity:

• Printed materials like business cards, brochures and flyers
• Stationery
• Signage
• Product packaging
• Apparel
• A website
• Social media
• Videos

How to create a successful brand identity:

1. Be unique and catchy: You need to make sure you set yourself apart from competitors by focusing on what makes you different and unique.
2. Choose a theme: Your theme is a combination of imagery, colours, language and fonts you have chosen to articulate your brand identity. Think about the colours you choose and what they say - is your brand calm? Use blue. Is it fun? Choose yellow. Is it natural? Try green.
   Also think about fonts. Your message must be easy to read. Think about if your brand is playful or serious and then pick a font that reflects your ideas. Your theme must also be simple to implement. You need to be able to transfer it from an idea to an actual product easily and quickly. 
3. Be consistent and cohesive: Make sure your imagery, language and colour scheme translate across a range of mediums, from printed materials, to your website, to social media. Each different element must tell the same story about your business. This demonstrates professionalism and confidence in your offering.
4. Make it memorable: Your brand identity has to leave an impression when your customers see it for the first time, and it must be memorable. Think about how the Apple logo and Nike swoosh are recognisable without the brand name being present. 
   Make sure your message or images cannot be misinterpreted. The message you convey should be the message your audience is understanding. For example, if you choose to use a cartoon, but are not targeting children, make sure your cartoon is mature and has a message suitable for your audience. This is particularly important in global campaigns, where different colours, numbers or words can have different meanings in different cultures. 
5. Be open to change: No brand identity, once chosen, is set in stone. Your customer base will morph over time and your brand will need to be flexible and keep up with this. Otherwise you risk getting left behind. However, if changes are required, never lose sight of your old vision, as you do not want to alienate your current customers or give the impression that you are a new company. Remember, an established brand is more likely to be trusted by customers. 

These tips should help you get on track to create a strong and memorable brand identity. The best way to get started is to think about the message you want to convey, who you want to convey it to and how you will reach them. 

Related reading:

Avoid audience burnout by not over-communicating

Ensuring branded content doesn’t harm your business

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