3 reasons you need a brand identity
A brand identity is more than just a logo and some colours. It’s a cohesive set of visual elements - including a logo, alternative logos, sub-marks, colour palette, fonts, graphic elements, patterns, textures and photography - all of which work together to represent your business values, brand personality and tone of voice.
Brand identity design takes into account the entire customer experience - identifying the touch-points within the customer journey (places in which customers interface with your product or service) and how can these be branded or designed to enhance the customer experience. Brand identity focuses on how you want your customer to feel at every step of the journey and tells your brand story in a compelling way.
So when I get asked ‘isn’t a logo enough?’ ….well if you want to create a memorable customer experience and grow a profitable business then the short answer is no, it’s simply not enough.
Here are 3 reasons why you need more than just a logo for your blog or business -
1. Stand out from the crowd
A logo is a fundamental starting point for your blog or business but by creating other visual elements such as alternative logos, icons, patterns etc means your brand collateral (the visuals/graphics that you produce such as business cards, blog post graphics, social media graphics) has a higher chance of being remembered by your audience. For example you might recognise your favourite blogger by the patterns and colours they use on their Pinterest graphics, not necessarily by their logo.
In fact, these extra visual elements such as colours and textures may ultimately become more important than your logo as repetitive use of your primary logo can cause your audience to become ‘blind’ to the design. The more you see something the less attention you pay and in a competitive digital landscape where everyone is vying to be noticed, you need to provide as many visual cues as possible to grab your audience’s attention.
A strong cohesive visual identity will help you differentiate your brand from the competition, develop a loyal following and encourage your audience to come back for more.
2. Tell your story and gain trust
A logo isn’t enough for your audience to get to know you. Your visuals need to send a clear message to your audience and show who you are before you can gain their trust. Therefore any inconsistencies in your brand design will damage the first impression and potentially scare away your audience.
A well thought out brand identity that is cohesively applied to brand graphics, tells your brand story, showcases you are a professional and helps convey your message by making your audience feel comfortable that your content, product and services are as high-quality as your visual designs.
3. Catch feels
If you have taken the care and attention to create the best possible way to visually represent your brand (either through briefing a designer or designing a system yourself) then you also give your audience a reason to care and feel something in return. It’s no secret that people make purchasing decisions based on emotions rather than logic, so use the full spectrum of your brand identity kit to create an emotion in your audience every time they come into contact with your brand.
Think of your visuals as sensory magnets with the ability to create a bond between your business and your audience. Brand identity has the ability to create a sense of belonging and reliability which will ultimately helps attract and retain your customers.
In summary
A logo is a fundamental part of your brand identity but there’s no way a logo on it’s own can create an entire experience - one which differentiates your blog or business, effectively communicates your brand story, builds trust and gives your audience a reason to care.
If you would like to start the process of creating an awesome brand identity for your blog or business then download my free resource - an in depth questionnaire to uncover all the elements of your brand personality and processes.
This is the first essential step in my bespoke brand identity design package. Once your mission statement, core values, brand keywords and personality have been established - the next step is to then translated these intangible concepts into visuals.
If not get in touch to find out more about our brand identity design package.