You might think you know branding, but let’s dig deeper into all the things it can be and how it can take your business to the next level. Let’s jump in.
Branding as a term is always used when discussing everything from website work to your social posts through to your on-street activity and anything to do with the business but, what are we actually talking about and more importantly, what benefits does this bring to a business?
Branding as a subject is an absolutely massive topic, in fact, it’s probably the largest single area that any business really needs to utilise and therefore has multiple scenarios, outcomes and understandings. There are so many different areas to consider, it can be the tone of voice used when communicating with clients, a particular colour palette was chosen to use through your digital and print media or the actual look and feel of everything you produce as a business.
When completed correctly, your company will not only be a flashy logo with nice colours, although of course, this falls in line with your brand too. The business can be recognised due to its distinct design style and completed correctly enables visitors to understand it was your business that deployed the information not just from your name but also from your look, feel and tone of voice.
When this is managed well, everything will be considered ‘on brand’ and consistent by using your detailed brand assets. Even more importantly, it will have an established tone of voice and an ethos of goals that it achieves; a community your brand embodies.
This community can then be pushed throughout the business and include every asset. Each employee will understand this drive and that in turn drives the company values and culture. This will become something that embodies the business, that everyone can understand and will drive your business in a direction you will ultimately be proud of.
Do Your Research!
Where does this all start? Before you even begin to think about logos, colours or outcomes, it’s extremely important to do some detailed research on the issues that your business is trying to resolve and how you want to be represented.
We at Crowdify design would start by identifying your target audience, trying to identify and understand what will have an impact on them. Does your market expect black text on a white background, or something more ‘designed’ in its delivery? Is your font important to underpin the business drive as this will have an impact on the overall typography utilised? Let’s consider the colour palette used. What are the individual pan tones, so every element of your business uses exactly the same format? This leads to imagery; do you have an image bank that all areas of your business can utilise? Let’s remember, these must have the correct image usage rights, or this could be a problem in the future.
The language used is the next area to consider. Are there particular words used to explain different scenarios? If so, they need to be documented so they can always be used. This will form part of your on-brand theme. Finally, for this blog only, the most essential element of the tone of voice: are you conversational or written in the third person? All these areas must be documented as they drive your overall concept.
There are so many more areas to consider but remember, it all begins by choosing the correct partner that can effectively hold your hand throughout the process and deliver something we can all be proud of.
The Crowdify design team start by understanding the brand and then work to expand this to every aspect of our client’s online delivery and therefore, should you wish to discuss this over coffee then our experts are on hand and love to talk.