5 Things I Want You to Know About My Brand Identity Design

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Brand identity design is the public representation of your company. In other words, it’s what people think of when they think of your company. It tells people what you are and what you aren’t.

It’s more than just a logo or even posting on Instagram. If done well it can create an emotional impact that draws in your ideal customer to your product.

Why is brand identity so important?

Brand identity is important because it can create an emotional response in people to whom they are drawn. They are also drawn into a sense of belonging to a group. Think about the companies that you like to do business with.

There is something there that you connect with. Maybe you like the feel of the store, the values of the company, or even just the overall vibe of the website. The branding of the company has done something with its identity so that you feel connected.

A good brand identity sets a company apart from its competition and shows why people should choose to do business with them. It lets people know what a company is all about and what the company is not. In short, it helps to put the company’s message out there and attract the right type of customers to it. Good brand identity also helps with creating customer loyalty. Remember it is not so much about the product, but more about how people feel about you, your company, and your product.

It is what I am trying to do with my company. You want the brand identity to be clear and easily understood by potential customers. It should create an emotional connection, as well as promote your product or service.

I have felt that my brand identity was not focused and that I was not really conveying what my company and products are really all about. Recently I decided to do something about that and enrolled in a Brand Vision DIY course with Creative Wilderness. I decided to share some of the steps in my journey of creating a new brand identity which will hopefully result in a more successful brand.

My Brand Strategy

Now that you know the motivation behind creating a strong brand identity here are the key steps in my strategy with the goal of a solid foundation for my brand’s identity.

1. Understand your intentions for your brand or your brand’s vision. Charlotte (of Creative Wilderness) has you do this by creating a vision board that consists of images, text, and graphics that express the goals and dreams of your business.
2. The next step is digging into and understanding your brand’s purpose. You want to look beyond just making money and understand why you started your business and the impact that your products have on your customers and potentially the world.
3. After getting a better handle on your brand’s purpose you want to flesh out your brand’s personality. This involves determining the core elements of what your brand is and what it isn’t.
4. Once you have figured out the why and the who of your brand it is time to work on the brand image. This involves all the visual elements of your brand. There are brand identity designers that specialize in this or you can DIY.
5. Last is simply pulling it all together so that this fabulous identity you have created flows through every touchpoint that you have with your people.

Let’s go through the above steps in a little more detail.

Design Brand Identity

As mentioned above going through Charlotte’s course I started with a brand vision board. According to Charlotte creating a brand vision board can help you get in touch with your inner voice to gain clarity and uncover your brand truth. I agree. Here is mine:

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Brand Purpose

Understanding your brand purpose involves understanding your target audience, what they are passionate about, and how you can serve them.

This is my brand purpose:

I create aromatherapy soaps and skincare for people who value chemical and cruelty-free products that delight your senses.

Does that resonate with you? Do you get a clear sense of who I am and what I do? Please post any feedback in the comments section below.

Brand Personality

Your brand personality is essentially about what makes your products unique and different. Why would customers want to choose you over anyone else? While developing your brand guidelines do some competitive analysis on other existing brands. Then decide on 4 core principles that define your brand identity. From that point create a paragraph that demonstrates your brand voice.

My four core elements and my brand statement are as follows:

• Nature-based
• Honest
• Holistic
• Chemical and Cruelty-Free

My products are maker made in small batches using nature-based cruelty-free ingredients. I focus on using essential oils when creating my products that benefit you holistically. They are a delight for your senses. The scents draw you in and resonate within. The feel on your hair and skin is amazing. The balm to your spirit is immeasurable.

Can you relate to my core elements or my brand statement? Do these words make you want to find out more about who I am and what my products are all about? I realize that these principles may not be important to everyone, but they are important to me and why I make my products.

That makes them an important part of my brand identity and hopefully connects with my ideal customer.

Your Brand’s Visual Identity

This is the point where you want to create designs for the visual look of your brand. Your brand colors, typography, images, company logo design, and any other visual elements important to your brand.

Again you can either hire a graphic designer or do this branding process yourself or with the help of a course walking you through it. You want your color palette and other brand identity designs for these visuals to reflect your brand truth so that they will resonate with your target market.

Once you have worked out the details of the design project part of the process create a mood board to help you visualize your brand story. Here is mine:

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Brand Style Guide

The last step is creating your overall brand experience. Here is where you take the brand identity design that you have created and make it flow through every place that your people connect with you.

Creating a strong brand is more than simply social media graphics or a great business card design. It covers many other aspects including the physical experience of your brand whether is a physical store or the packaging for your product. These tangible elements are just one of the key building blocks in creating your brand identity.

It also involves how you communicate with your people whether existing or new customers. Think about your brand identity when you are talking or writing for any of your marketing efforts. Carry that on through to your website and all of the social interactions of your brand.

At this point, you need to identify where what you are currently putting out isn’t reflecting your brand identity and make a plan for changes that better reflect your brand goals. I most definitely have a to-do list of items I need to work on to create a better brand identity for myself. My website is front and center.

If you have any feedback for me on where I need to improve or where you think I am hitting it out of the park I would love to hear.

On the Right Track

I feel like by working through the course at Creative Wilderness that I am heading in the right direction on creating the right brand identity design for me and my small business.

I haven’t even finished the course yet and I already feel much more focused and centered in regard to my branding. Brands evolve over time and I am sure some of my business marketing style may change. Take a look at how Starbucks logo design has changed over the years for example.

But I don’t think my overall brand identity will change. I have had my company for over 20 years and my basic business offers and value proposition are still the same. I think Charlotte has done an amazing job of creating an essential guide to help you build a brand.

My goal now is to complete the brand identity design course and then create my own strong brand identity. I want to be able to see everything from my color palette to my social media posts to my email newsletter and blog posts and know that they are all examples of conveying my brand truth!

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