10 Attributes Of A Good Brand Identity
So, how do you build a good Brand Identity? Below are some of the factors that you should take into consideration in order to develop a good brand identity.
1. Uniqueness: imagine how you feel when someone walks into a fancy event wearing the exact same outfit as you? In the same way, your identity needs to be unique in “look and feel” and the message about your business. Use distinct graphics to stand out from your competition. Develop your own style of writing. Think Nandos for example, you know their ads even without their logo on there.
2. Repetition: Experts say that it takes somewhere between 6 and 12 “impressions,” or contacts with your business, for customers to truly remember you and connect with your business. Repetitive use of your helps potential clients—and current clients—to remember and relate to who you are and what you do in your business. For this reason, no piece of communication from your business should ever be without your brand identity.
3. Consistency: use your logo, tagline, on materials and what you say about your business consistently. Strong brands are a result of consistent use of unique visual and verbal (yes, words also for part of your brand id) elements and then repeating those elements through all of the materials that you create.
4. Memorability: choose elements that stand out as well. You’ll be able to create brand memorability through consistency, repetition, and uniqueness of your graphics and materials. Make your graphics memorable by creating a unique logo and using a consistently strong visual vocabulary. Create memorable text by using alliteration (repeating similar sounds, such as using words that all start with the same letter), repetition, unique word combinations, and lively imagery in your copy. A simple statement like “How can we help you?” is now deeply engrained as part of FNB’s brand identity.
5. Meaning: so, what does that squiggle you have for an icon symbolise? Bring your company’s message to life through symbolic graphics, colors, and type choices in all of your marketing materials. Meaningful text will express what your business is really all about, and make it accessible to your target market. Sometimes logo icons have hidden meanings. Check out these 30 famous logos that have a hidden message.
6. Clarity: communicate your message in an understandable way. Make sure that your graphics are crisp, clean, simple, and meaningful (A good test for graphics is to check how it looks in black and white; – if it looks good in black & white, then it’ll look good in any colour!). And make sure that your text expresses your point and is not confusing — that it explains your point well.
7. Honesty: ensure that you can live up to the brand promises you made in your materials. Stand behind your brand and deliver on your promises.
8. Cultural Relevance: certain symbols have specific meanings in different cultures. Think global! Do your research before pursuing a certain creative angle which might cost you lots to rectify. Similarly, your identity needs to be relevant to your target market.
9. Longevity: your identity must be able to stand the test of time. Stay away from “fads” unless your brand needs to be forward thinking. What looked “futuristic” in the 90’s is very dated today. Rather go for something elegant and simple. Brand Identity upgrades can be very costly
10. Ease of Reproduction: think beyond your computer screen. A well-designed identity should be flexible enough to be easily applied across a variety of medium. Minimise the number of colours, avoid complex effects like gradients and 3D effects. What might look nice on a webpage might be a nightmare to embroider on a cap or print on a T-shirt.
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