Get noticed
FROM BLAND TO BRAND
How does your brand and your company communicate with your target market? Do you stand out from your competitors? Branding and corporate identity is crucial for any business or organisation and defines who you are. From start-ups to established companies, we have the experience and vision to take your company forward. We have produced this book to help you understand this design process whether you are an established company or just starting out.
Hutton Design Associates, 15 St. Mary’s Street, Canterbury, Kent CT1 2QL T 01227 762621 E bill@huttondesign.co.uk
huttondesign.com
KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE
Knowing your audience can be the difference between your brand being effective or not.Targeting the wrong people can be fatal when starting a new company or brand, so spend time researching whom you want to do business with and what they may be looking for in a supplier.These insights will give you a strong foundation on which to build a successful brand and a successful business!
CHECK OUT THE OPPOSITION
Knowing what businesses, similar to yours, are already out there is a great way to start thinking about your brand. Identify their weaknesses and strengths and their market to get an understanding of the core aspects of your own brand and how it may develop. Check them out regularly to see how active they are, as this will help you understand what’s happening in your industry. Look at their websites and social media platforms for an insight into the range of products and or services they offer and how these sit within their brand. Just because your competitors are successful, don’t try and copy them or have an identity similar in style, typeface, colour etc. In business you need to be different so your customers know who YOU are and don’t confuse you with everyone else. However, gauging the strength of competitors brands can give you a starting point with information about what might – and might not – work.
BRAINSTORMING
Brainstorming and getting a mix of opinions will help to look at the key objectives of the brand and where you want it to go. Bad ideas can lead to good ones and designers will go through lots of ideas and thoughts prior to deciding which they think will work best for you. Having a wall full of ideas and associated images such as mood boards will give you a sense of direction to understand the thinking behind your brand. It’s always nice to have a story that goes with your brand based on how it evolved and what it stands for, giving it a personality and a ‘life’! It’s also beneficial to think about budgets and what you want to spend on the creative process as this cost will probably outlive most things you invest in – a well designed brand will last a lifetime if developed properly. Remember, this is YOUR business, it’s there to make YOU money.
CORE VALUES
Branding is more than just a well designed logo; the process is also about driving an idea or story. Concentrate on your core values and share them with your customers/clients. Useful questions to ask include: What’s the meaning or purpose behind the brand? Is there a story to tell (however insignificant if feels right now)? What personality do you want to share with your target audience? Look at what makes the brand unique and what it stands for and work with the designer to elegantly incorporate these elements!
COMMUNICATE
Today more than ever you have the opportunity to communicate your brand over many mediums from brochures, advertising, the internet, social media, trade shows to networking events. Tell the story of your brand, how the idea came about and why you felt there was a need for a product or service such as yours. People like a good story and it helps to bond you with your brand, if people can remember YOU they can remember YOUR brand.
KEEP IT SIMPLE
Some of strongest brands use a simple system: a limited colour palette, clear typography or a strong image. Some brands don’t even have words and we still know what they are called...
Remember that when talking to people about your business you may not have all the elements that make up your brand to hand and will will have to depend on the name so choose something that is a) memorable and suits you, and b) people can understand it so you don’t always have to spell it out.
GET AHEAD HEAD HATS
GET AHEAD HEAD HATS
HEAD HATS
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FLEXIBLE DESIGN
Once you have your brand make sure it can grow with you. For instance, you may begin with a logo on a business card but as your company expands the brand will have to work on a number of platforms.This could range from a T-shirt to a shop frontage to a van carrying your product to an app on a mobile device etc – in these cases, simple is best, the fewer the colours and words the better. This is where an experienced designer is key.The right composition and colours must convey the right message to the right people in multiple environments and formats. If you and you designer get this balance right you will have got incredible value for money over the lifetime of the brand.
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trousers shoes
CREATE YOUR OWN NICHE
Look into things that are generally associated with your product or service, as this will have an effect on how it will be received. Brands need to stand out with a competitive edge.Think about unusual ‘twists’ that you can put on the brand; it doesn’t have to focus on the product all the time.Think about who is using it and how and build on it. How would your brand fit with other businesses? For example, if you are supplying cakes to a local coffee shop would your brand complement the coffee shop’s own branding?
ATTENTION TO DETAIL From a designers perspective, every facet of your business must be taken into account during a branding exercise.The designer must communicate your personality and core values in a concise and elegant fashion so that the brand is you and you are the brand!
NURTURING
Once you are up and running, have regular meetings with your designer. Ask them if the brand is being used properly, can it be developed as your business grows. Never try and do things yourself, what may take you days to do may take the designer hours so stick to what you know and let them do what they do. A designer can be just as much a part of your business as your accountant, wholesaler, bank manager or member of staff, so work with them.They can provide you with a whole range of services for getting the most out of your business. A designer will have an understanding of marketing on and offline and will feed this into the creative process.
Creative concepts Graphic design Web design Corporate identity Brand development Advertising solutions Brochure and literature design PR Copywriting Photography E-marketing Social network start-ups Print supervision