15 Dec How To Create (or refresh) Your Brand Identity in 2021

A strong brand identity doesn’t happen overnight. And it’s not enough to pick colors and make a logo. The art of creating a logo is just one part of the process of creating your brand identity – and it by no means ends there. It’s vital to approach your logo and brand design strategically, especially as we approach 2021 where the world is a completely different place for many reasons.

Exploring your brand identity requires thorough research, deep thinking, a great team with strong communication and excellent design skills, and a full understanding of your brand and the way your audience wants to interact.

With so many businesses trying to make a name for themselves, having a powerful brand has become essential for businesses to differentiate themselves from their competitors. The good news is that this isn’t complicated work if you have the right guidance.

What Is a Brand Identity?

A brand identity is the sum of these things: what your brand says, what your values are, how you communicate your product or service, and what you want your customers to feel when they interact with it. Basically, a brand identity is a company’s personality and its promise to its customers.

Brand identity includes your logo, colors, typography, design system, photography, illustration, iconography, data visualization, interactive elements, video and motion, and web design. Since your brand identity needs to translate across mediums, you should include everything from the list to make sure it does.

As we approach 2021, so much has changed over the past year. Refreshing or choosing your brand should be influenced by our ‘new norm.’ Brand identities for companies in the health care space can be updated to reflect a stronger sense of safety or telehealth options, for example. Perhaps new companies that were birthed amid a pandemic can further establish their feel of safety, convenience, communications or health.
There’s plenty to look for when reviewing your brand. Check out these steps to get started.

How To Create a Brand Identity in 6 Simple Steps

1. Research your audience – Think about the customers you want to attract. Learning about what your target audience wants and needs is the basis of creating a brand that people will love. Consider what is going on NOW and the way businesses have changed. Allow that to be incorporated in your research and show up in the end result.

2. Audit your existing brand – Before you develop your new brand identity, it’s good to know where you currently stand in the eyes of your audience. Examine your online and offline branding, including packaging, your logo, slogans and taglines, your physical promotional materials, choice of colors and fonts, etc.

3. Analyze your competitors’ brand positioning – Learning how your competition has positioned their brands will give you enough ideas for your business. It goes without saying: you shouldn’t imitate your competitors but only take what they’re doing well in their brand strategies and compare it in your own strategy. Likewise, use what your competitors are not doing well as a lesson and improve.

4. Define your brand’s USP – Ask yourself what makes your business different from your competitors? Whatever you have is your unique selling proposition or USP, and this unique offering is what your brand should express.

5. Create on-brand messaging – This is where your creativity comes in! Your on-brand messaging should include your brand tagline and slogans, logos, brand images, fonts, colors, photos and graphics, writing style, and word choice.

6. Constantly implement your identity – Once you’ve defined and designed your brand identity, it’s time to apply it through every medium you’ll use in your marketing strategy. Use a social media analytics tool to identify the most popular channels for your industry and put a high-focus on them.

Conclusion

Establishing a strong brand identity is a way of building a lasting competitive advantage, but this is not a one-time job. It is an ongoing process of monitoring your brand’s impact and carefully adjusting it to your customers’ needs and preferences. If you would like to learn more about brand identity, go to our blog page. If you would like a free consultation with NSPR, call us at (813) 865-3093.