Define Branding
Branding or Brand Identity is a marketing term used when a product or company is advertised with a distinctive design and aesthetic. In the most basic terms branding is the process of giving meaning to a company, a product, or a service in the minds of consumers.
The term branding is one of the vaguest terms used in marketing, but it is also one of the most powerful ones. Understanding branding is tricky and it is hugely because branding is very subjective. When someone talks about a brand they generally refer to a sense of confidence or a general feeling they have associated with a particular product or service.
For instance, when someone talks about the technology company Apple, the words; reliable, or products that just work, are not that far behind. That is the power of branding and marketing. Even though apple laptops from 2015 to 2018 had horrible keyboards (they used to break easily) apple still holds the ‘reliable tech products’ crown in the minds of consumers.
Components of Branding
Branding is as much a marketing challenge as a graphic design one. There are three major components of branding.
Name and Logo
The brand identity starts from the name (and the mission statement) of a product. Depending on your target demographic, it is important to have a name that is appealing to that group of people. To have a mission statement and a name that will create a feeling of confidence while having a little flair or excitement for your target market will make an amazing foundation for your branding.
Logo, the color pallet, the typeface, and the design will reflect your company’s identity. While a high-end luxury brand will have a minimalist design, a mid-market accessible brad will generally have a very in-your-face design. For example, the American car company Ford and its luxury brand Lincoln.
Website
The website for your company is just an extension of your logo. The design language, color pallet, and typeface used in your logo will translate to your website as well. You should consider the website as a public home for your product or service. It is a bigger canvas that will portray the vision of your company more powerfully. With more than half of the searches online now happen on mobile devices, it is really important to have your website mobile-friendly. Being mobile-friendly will include page load speed as well as the design.
Everything from colors, fonts, words, and layouts represents your brand. It is important then to make your website to be not noisy or cluttered. Play with the color theory. Generally speaking, black and red represent edgily, brown represents earthy. In addition, have a personal profile on your website. People trust brands that have a more personal touch and are relatable.
Social Media
In the day and age of Facebook (and other social media platforms) and youtube dominating our interaction with the internet and the sudden rise of TikTok, it is more important than ever for a brand to have a social media presence. People these days trust only the brands that they have a connection with. Brand loyalty is on the rise, and almost all public relations now happen via social media.
Social media plays a big role in the brand perception in the minds of consumers. To maintain that consistent brand image, your social media posts should be consistent in design as your logo and website.
For example, let’s look at Reebok and Jimmy Choo’s Instagram profiles.
Both of these brands have shoes as their main product, but reebok is trying to appeal to a broader audience with sports and casual wear, while Jimmy Choo is focusing on a more luxury and female-focused market.
Conclusion
If you have a business and you want people to find you online and buy your products or services, you need to have a brand. Branding is as much of a marketing problem as it is a graphic design problem. You need to have the name, logo, website, and social media posts consistent in terms of design language, color pallet, and fonts. Keep things simple and personal, and interact with consumers directly. Make sure that your story and vision behind the company are visible for people to relate with.
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