People often confuse graphic design and branding, but branding is a lot more all-encompassing than people realise. Essentially, branding is showcasing the heart and soul of your business to leave a lasting impression on your target market, whereas graphic design is simply a tool and skill set you utilise to get there. Good branding is unique, consistent, and truly encapsulates the important elements of your business to communicate those key messages. The following tips will ensure you get the right things happening to bring your brand to life and make sure it’s true to who you are.
1. Mission statement
Your mission statement is everything your brand believes in and stands for. This is exactly why your brand exists and what it has to offer to put out into the world. You want to let your audience know exactly what your passionate about to the core so when people ask what you represent you can answer with your mission statement.
2. Show off your strengths
You want to use the strengths of your brand to differentiate you from your competitors. Whether you offer something your competitors can’t or you know you provide something better than what others can, make sure this is known. Ensure your strengths shine through and relate to the message of your brand.
3. Logo conveys brand message
Your logo is an extremely important aspect of who your brand is as people can identify you just by looking at it. Graphic design input can definitely be useful here using research into the industry and business to correlate the logo with the brand. Is your brand serious and professional? Are you light hearted and fun? Your message should show through your logo as much as any written text.
4. Consistency is key
Once you’ve built up your brand and who you are, make sure this remains consistent across all platforms. If you’re thinking of changing your brand’s image as well, this is okay, but don’t do it too often or this can confuse customers. Keep your message the same across different media platforms, and the voice of your brand in mind each time you create content.
5. Keep an eye on your competitors
When you are building your brand, or continuing to grow it along the way, you know what you’re doing to improve internally. Sometimes you need to take a step back and assess what your competitors are doing for further growth. How strong is your competitors brand message? What is the quality of their products or services? What are their reviews? You can even create a competitor chart to collect specific bits of information and compare it to your own brand for further improvement.
6. Develop a brand voice
This relates to your branding’s mission, audience and industry all in one. It’s how you communicate to your audience and what they are expecting when conversing with you. This voice could be professional, customer service orientated, laid back, informative or even technical. You want this brand voice to make a connection with your consumers so they further understand your brand.
