You're starting a new business. How do you build a brand identity that stands out? (2024)

Before you design anything, you need to know why you exist and what you stand for. Your brand purpose is the core reason behind your business, the problem you solve, the value you provide, and the impact you make. It should be clear, compelling, and authentic. To define your brand purpose, you can use tools like the Golden Circle model, which consists of three questions: Why do you do what you do? How do you do it? What do you do? Your answers will help you craft your mission, vision, and values statements, which will guide your brand identity.

You can't build a brand identity that stands out without knowing who you're up against and who you're serving. You need to research your market and competitors to understand the trends, opportunities, and gaps in your industry. You also need to research your target audience to learn about their needs, preferences, behaviors, and emotions. You can use methods like surveys, interviews, focus groups, personas, and customer journey maps to gather insights and feedback. By researching your market and competitors, you can identify your unique selling proposition (USP), which is what makes your business different and better than others.

Your brand name and tagline are the first things that people notice about your brand. They should be catchy, memorable, and relevant to your brand purpose and USP. Your brand name should also be easy to pronounce, spell, and search online. You can use tools like name generators, thesaurus, and domain checkers to brainstorm and test different options. Your tagline should be a short and catchy phrase that summarizes your brand promise and benefits. It should also be consistent with your brand voice and tone, which are the personality and attitude of your brand.

Your brand logo and visual identity are the visual elements that represent your brand. They should be distinctive, recognizable, and coherent with your brand purpose, USP, name, and tagline. Your brand logo should be simple, scalable, and adaptable to different formats and contexts. You can use tools like logo makers, color wheels, and font generators to create and refine your logo. Your visual identity should also include other elements like colors, fonts, icons, images, and patterns that create a unified and consistent look and feel for your brand.

Your brand guidelines and assets are the documents and files that define and demonstrate how to use your brand identity. They should be clear, comprehensive, and accessible to anyone who works with your brand. Your brand guidelines should include the rules and best practices for applying your brand logo, visual identity, voice, and tone across different channels and platforms. You can use tools like templates, examples, and checklists to create your brand guidelines. Your brand assets should include the files and formats of your brand logo, visual identity, and other elements that you need to create your brand collateral, such as business cards, flyers, website, social media, and packaging.

Your brand identity is not a one-time project. It's an ongoing process that requires testing and refining based on feedback and results. You need to measure and evaluate how your brand identity performs and resonates with your target audience and stakeholders. You can use methods like surveys, analytics, reviews, and audits to collect and analyze data and insights. You also need to update and improve your brand identity based on changing market conditions, customer expectations, and business goals. You can use tools like surveys, experiments, and prototypes to test and implement changes.

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

Brand Strategy

+ Follow

Thanks for your feedback

Your feedback is private. Like or react to bring the conversation to your network.