Primer
Welcome to Brand School!
I promise, brand discovery is less stressful than you think. If you map out your needs from here, we can spend more time talking about the intangibles: your experiences, your vision… you in general.
We’ll start with everything you need to know about branding – it’s easy as 3-2-1!
3 branding truths you already know
- The Apple logo can’t help you, unless you do Apple stuff. People would walk in, look around, and walk out, confused.
- If you advertise lookpuppies, you won’t get watchdog sales. It takes longer to have a conversation if you redefine everything.
- Names and faces do not define personalities. They only help you to remember who is what.
Simply put:
A brand is everything people know about your work. Your presentation anchors that everything.
If you don’t have these problems, congratulations! Your brand isn’t holding you back. You can cancel the project, if you like – but maybe double-check first?
2 main reasons to worry about your presentation
- Is it putting off potential connections? In the absence of experience, people do judge by the cover. On the Web, we browse quickly to trim down our list of options. A well-executed presentation keeps you on the short list.
- Is it overlooked by your stakeholders? If appearance is an afterthought, you can still have success. But a strong look gives people a way to show they are on your team. You know people really buy the idea when they buy the tshirt.
1 key thing to remember:
My job is to bridge how you want to look, and what people want to see. However, visuals can only frame your decisions and values; the whole experience has to back it up. So we’ll talk about your preferences – but first, let’s discuss your purpose.
Click on each question to dive deeper. Take some time to think about each option.
Important note: any option can unlock success with a specific category of audience. Don’t dismiss anything because it doesn’t fit the stereotype.
If you’re that none of them matches your case, that’s not a bad thing – you just have to spell it out for me!
Purpose
I don’t mean your over-arching purpose, actually. And no vision boards either – just your expectations for the brand you want to build: how and when you will need it, and how it should land with people.
What should your brand do?
What would define a successful visual brand for you? Should it reflect something about you, or make a promise to the viewer?
Identify you
- Match up to competition
- Show your personality
- Reflect your community
Announce you
- Establish your value
- Boost your updates and promotions
- Anchor your content production
How often do you plan to speak as your brand?
A brand with light usage behaves differently from a brand that talks everyday. Higher usage demands more variations, and maybe design support.
If you think your usage may get heavy, but you want to handle it yourself, that’s bootstrapping – a flexible identity pack makes that plan much easier.
What is your brand personality?
This doesn’t have to be the same as your own personality, but that’s a good place to start. It’s your content that defines brand voice, but your visuals shouldn’t fight the impression you want to make.
Internal values
- Understated: “silent partner”, “best-kept secret”. Maybe monthly updates at best. Exclamation marks, no. Hashtags, questionable.
- Craft-first: “attention to detail”, “ground up”, “research”. Happy to share details; photos are zoomed in. Our records are impeccable.
- Hustler: “marathon”, “experiment”, “on the go”. Thinking and living aloud. Perfection is boring – innovation is the goal.
External values
- Professional: “willing”, “over and beyond”, “guarantee”. Clean case studies, with ROIs on point. All messages answered within 24 hours.
- People-first: “roots”, “team effort”, “transparency”. We spotlight the contributions of stakeholders, and quotes from thought leaders.
Preferences
These aren’t yet the nuts-and-bolts of your logo design. We won’t even mention ‘serif’ or ‘sans’. This is about conceptual thinking, informed by the purpose you just mapped out. Remember, your clothes don’t dictate your character. (But don’t worry, I’ll soon be begging you for specifics.)
What is the visual energy of your brand?
This does not define how interesting a brand can be. Many modern brands use controlled visual styles to evoke tension and rebellion. This shows us what categories may relate to your brand – but they won’t restrict you.
Control
- Minimal: grid layout, hard edges, repetition
- Calming: soft shapes, central alignment, less contrast
- Vintage: layers, stacking, details
Surprise
- Urban: variety, contrast, angles
- Youthful: offset alignment, freehand shapes
- Avant-garde: overlaps, high contrast, experimental
What is your brand accent colour?
The colour family does not have to pair with the energy of your style; we can mix it up. Also, feel free to choose a colour that doesn’t exactly fall into either category – for example, gold, or chocolate.
Warm tones
- Sunshine: yellow
- Passion: orange, red
- Style: red, violet
Cool tones
- Nature: green
- Water: blue
- Tech: purple
What logo format do we use?
Type logos have an advantage: they say your name. On the other hand, pictures can famously say more.
For most projects you’ll also get a combination logo that pairs your mark with your full brand name.
Illustrative
- Icon: abstract or representative?
- Mascot: stylized or detailed?
- Badge: vintage or modern?
Type & lettering
- Monogram: vintage or modern?
- Lettermark: complex or legible?
- Wordmark: script or font-based?