How the F*ck Do I….Create a Brand Identity?

Branding is an entire identity. It’s how you tell your audience what you’re all about!

LUX WMN

28 April 2023

What’s a brand identity?

We love branding pro Marty Neumeier who defines a brand identity as “the outward expression of a brand, including its trademark, name, communications, and visual appearance.”

Why is it important?

Makes your brand recognizable
Helps you stand out from competitors

How do I do it?

1. Determine who your brand is!

What message do you want to send?

What’s your mission?

2. Audit competition

What are those in your field doing to define themselves?

3. Ideate visual identity

Mood board: Creating a mood board can be a great way to start getting a feel of your brand. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself in this step, just start collecting photos, illustrations

What is it made up of?

Important Components

Design
Logo
Colours
Typeface (usually 2)
Illustration/Photography Style: textures, treatment of type and images (is there a lot of whitespace? Do photos bleed off the page?), iconography, data visualization
Copy: Brand voice & tone, content messaging, look and feel/aesthetic, brand mission, vision and values. Choose typefaces that display the essence you want your brand to have. You can do this physically with cutout photos and type, or digitally by copy/pasting photos you find online, or just by making a board on pinterest.

4. Logo

5. Color palette

a. Choose colors

1 main color
1-3 accent colors
Color for background (doesn’t have to be white) and type (doesn’t have to be black)

b. Consider color psychology

Red: Passion, love, blood, power, anger

Orange: Warmth

Yellow: Happy, bright, sunshine, light, wealth

Green: Optimism, life, growth, nature

Teal: Calm, peace

Blue: Cool, calm, trust, loyalty, conservative

Pink: Feminine, youthful

Purple: Cool, vibrant

6. Typography

Usually 2-3: One for headings, one for body copy

7. Additional elements

Photography, Illustration style, Icons

8. Build brand guidelines