up:: [[Modern Entrepreneurship Toolkit (METK)]] tags:: #on/branding #on/design # Brand Identity Design Brand strategy can take many forms, but strive for the same outcome. *Strategy in this context is a set of decisions put in place to reach the goal **before we design**.* Akin to mapping out the journey before taking on a trip. *At times, **creatives** jump directly into design, and often gets **lost or stuck** as a result.* Strategy can act as a guideline to facilitate the design process and give design a purpose. Here are some common goals for brand identity: - I'm attracting the wrong customers. - My identity lacks connection to my brand. - My brand looks outdate compare to my competitors. - I'm rebranding my company to a different audience. Kevin Craft suggests a three workshop framework. 1. Keywords workshop 2. Target Persona Workshop 3. Competitive Audit Workshop ##### Keyword workshop List as many adjectives you can to describe the brand, remove duplicates, and keep up to five dimensions that are the most important. For inspiration on keywords, there's a list on the "brand personality" section available on [Branding Strategy Template](https://findcongwang.notion.site/Brand-Positioning-Strategy-Template-0a1113fd5b764c27818e38f5e5b5847f). Alternatively, here's a short list to get started with. > Adventurous, Minimal, Modern, Creative, Virtuous, Approachable, Knowledgeable, > Local, Current, Progressive, Elegant, Skillful, Alternative, Exclusive, > Fun, Exciting, Tech Savvy, Corporate, Emotional, Sustainable, Classic. ##### Target Persona Workshop There are many persona research processes, some are more in-depth than others. A simple persona template is to narrow down the persona by location, profession, age + gender, and one additional unique trait. This simplified template captures the essence of demographic and psychographic profiles. ##### Competitive Audit Workshop Identify three to four competitors, possibly in conjunction with [[Brand Positioning]] analysis. Look into their website and social media for market materials, then analysis what is working and what can be improved. Do the competitor brands stand out? Are they legible on different mediums? This information helps us define pitfalls to avoid and working strategies to incorporate. ##### Mood Board Collection of pictures or artwork together in one composition, Pinterest and Behance and great platforms to discover and build mood boards. Keep a gathering tool handy, whether it be browser extensions or mobile apps to send any inspirational media you encounter to this mood board. Photography, colour schema, logos, etc. are all fair game, but do remember to keep in line with the identified. ##### Colours Colour is important to the brand. Each colour has a different meaning and should be appropriate to the brand's values. [Coolors](https://coolors.co/) is a great tool for generating colour palettes and supports sourcing colours from images. Pick out a primary colour scheme and a secondary colour scheme. *Consider **pantone** matches for the colours to ensure compatibility with printing.* This can be done in Illustrator in advanced colour edit options, look for "Pantone - Solid Coated". Remember that each selected colour should have a purpose. ##### Patterns *A custom **pattern** is a great way to incorporate more elements from a brand strategy in order to strength the brand.* Patterns can be created from shapes on the logo, illustrations, or typography. Use the pattern screen function in illustrator (by double clicking a pattern in swatches) to help with the editing process. ##### Typography Select a set of primary and secondary fonts for the brand, see [[Basic Typography Design]]. Leave some contrast between the logo text and copy text, shouldn't be the exact same fonts, but rather communicates a similar feeling. * Remember to create type hierarchy, i.e. headline, sub-head, body text, quotes maybe use different fonts and weights. * Remember to demonstrate examples with both light and dark backgrounds. ##### Mockups Only download and use mockups that fits some use case of the brand. Free options are available on Mr. Mockup and Create Market, whereas paid options are available on Envato Elements. It is always good to choose a mockup with shadows, since it provides more depth in its presentation. --- Resources: - [Strategy-Based Brand Identity Design](https://www.domestika.org/en/courses/3410-strategy-based-brand-identity-design) - [Mr. Mockup](https://mrmockup.com/) - [Creative Market](https://creativemarket.com/) - [Envato Elements](https://elements.envato.com/)