For a new business, it can be hard to know why investing in a brand identity system is worthwhile, especially when your budget is tight. The number of times a prospective client has asked me to design just a logo is countless, but with proper design and planning at this stage, you could save yourself a lot of time and cost down the line. Rolling out a succinct, streamlined brand identity on day one is far more impactful than attaching a logo to a social media page and calling it a day.
Here are just some of the reasons why:
Recognition
A lot of people rely on their logo alone for recognition and this is a great way to (literally) add your mark to your posts, business cards and t-shirts. A well-designed brand identity system however is another dimension entirely in adding recognisability to your business’ brand and it’s products. Think about Coca-Cola’s primary red and its Christmas ads that are instantly recognisable before the logo flashes up at the end. Think of the words ‘Whopper’ and ‘Big Mac’ and how you know where you could buy one if you wanted to without being told. These are the things that a brand identity gets you, these are intricately woven narratives, not a lone png file.
With the help of a graphic designer and a well-written set of brand guidelines, you have all the tools you’ll need to start creating websites, packaging, and e-mails that fit alongside each other seamlessly and succinctly. As a customer interacts with these touch points along their journey with your company and its products they begin to spot the patterns and there begins brand recognition. The goal isn’t to write your name in the bottom corner in small writing, it is to engulf your audience with colour and themes and ideas that will stay with them out the door.
Confidence
Have you ever been unsure of the dress code at a party you’re attending? As you arrive at the front door you’re unsure if your host will greet you in a suit and tie or a Spongebob Squarepants costume. It doesn’t feel good, does it? This is the equivalent of showing up to your audience without a brand identity strategy. You’re underdressed, your shirt is creased, and you haven’t showered this morning. You wouldn’t do that to yourself so why do it to your business?
Every appearance you make in front of your target customers is an opportunity to enhance your brand in their minds. Knowing you have the right logo for every scenario, a beautiful match of fonts and colours to go with it and the perfect tone of voice to relate directly to their needs is essential to burst out of the starting blocks and make a name for your business. Knowing a professional designer has taken care of all of these things carefully in advance and prepared you for all encounters with the public is the best way to gain the confidence to make that post, to open that shop or to make that call.
Personality
Your personality is what makes you stand out amongst your competitors. Although this is something that comes naturally to some people through confident speaking and effective copywriting, it’s best not to leave these precious first impressions to chance and plan accordingly. Your logo, your colour palette, your shop window signage, your Instagram feed, these are just some of the many elements that can add to a brand’s personality and these can be methodically designed to make gains for your business and its personality.
Don’t let your industry dictate how your brand should look, just because others in your area do things a certain way doesn’t mean you have to follow suit. You want to show who you are and how you do what you do, not how everyone else does it. This is a chance to stand out from the crowd and be memorable for your customers, blending in with the crowd denies yourself that opportunity and sabotages your chances.
Consistency
In the past, I’ve designed a lone logo for a client and they’ve immediately uploaded it onto their social media and begun to post using different colours, fonts and tone of voice. Although it is their business and I have no say in how it is run in the long term, this is a missed opportunity and often a waste of their own time. A strong set of brand guidelines and templates provided by a designer can help not only to set you up with a logo for your business but to maintain and uphold what it stands for. All of the points mentioned previously in this post rely on this one, if you’re not consistent with your messages and tone then you risk damaging or even losing your audience’s perception of your business.
Imagine if Prada, a luxury fashion brand with decades of history aired an ad with misaligned text and death-metal playing in the background. The illusion of sophistication and elegance is shattered, the product cheapened and the reputation bruised. Of course we don’t all run businesses of that scale and these slight rough edges will appear at the lower tiers but with the right design and direction these faults can be minimalised and you will begin to build some momentum in what your customers see as consistencies in your brand.
