Business, Creatives
Save time and money while achieving the best results with these steps.
Clients often approach brand designers when they are already well established with existing parts such as websites and store presence. This may sometimes cause a bit of trouble, as any existing visuals that have already been implemented will most likely NOT be consistent with what the designers will create. Oftentimes any work that has already been done by the client must be scrapped or re-evaluated to work with the overall branding. This is detrimental to the experience, time, and finances of the client. It is best to work with your brand designer as early in the process as possible, and here are the steps to take to ensure a strong foundation to layer your brand upon.
1. Always go for the brand strategy first.
The foundation of every successful business begins with the Brand Strategy, reflected in a detailed document encompassing the core of a brand. Imagine each brand as an iceberg, with the little you see above water sitting on an enormous mass of research, thought, and creativity. Although unseen, the Brand Strategy affects every aspect of the design, marketing, and customer experience. Work closely with your brand designer to create this first step that will dictate the direction of your entire brand.
2. Create a brand visual system.
Once your Brand Strategy has been established, the next step is to get into the visuals. Based on the previous step, work with your designer to create an engaging visual system that brings out the core identity of your brand. This is accomplished through research, experimentation, and art direction towards every single part of the visual experience. This may come in the form of mood boards, logos, type suits, brand imagery, color palettes and more. It is important to remember that once finalized, all company visuals will be based off this system
3. Brand photoshoot is highly recommended.
With the Visual System and Brand Strategy in place, next up are photoshoots! Based on the previous 2 steps, it is recommended to get the team together for a photo session to showcase the brand through images. Personalized and unique images will give others an authentic taste of what your brand has to offer. This step is seen as an extension of your brand, bringing it one step closer into reality.
4. At this point, the brand guideline should be born.
Perhaps the most important step to ensure your brand’s future success, the brand guideline is the rule book created by the designer. The guideline teaches you how to use the Brand Visual System properly and to maximum effect. More importantly, the Brand Guideline teaches you what NOT to do as well. It is important for companies to adhere to the rules outlined, as they help to standardize the use of all the assets created for the Visual System.
5. Now you can finally move on to other add-on designs.
Now you can finally begin to apply all the cool designs to every part of your company! Using the Brand Strategy and Guideline for reference, you can now implement the new visuals to all parts of the business while keeping the overall design consistent. Depending on the business, it is best to work closely with your designer to ensure that you understand how to best execute the new design. This could include your website, storefront, packaging, merchandise, and more!
These are the five steps to creating a successful branding process. At times, companies will veer off this order and try to skip steps. It is important to understand that every one of these steps helps to make the next steps work. Much like an iceberg, the different steps, although unseen, are paramount in the creation of a strong brand that raises the design high above water.
At AIKICREATIVE, we strive to provide our clients with a unique and personalized experience to bring out the best design for your business. We have tailored packages that take you through each of these steps. We don’t just want to create beautiful designs, we also want to equip you with the designs you need as stepping stones for success.