When people talk about brand identity, most believe that brand identity is merely the logo of a company, however that is only one aspect of it. Of course, logos are critically important. A logo is what is recalled in the memory of an audience about a company, and a great logo helps businesses distinguish themselves from other brands.

When developing a brand, however, most companies make the mistake of just focusing on their logos and ignoring other important aspects of brand identity and branding. With that said, here are several reasons why you shouldn’t just focus on the logo when building your brand:

01 — Your logo is just one layer of your brand identity

Most people indeed identify businesses or companies through their logo, but logos don’t work by themselves. A brand identity is the visual representation of your brand, and your logo is just one part of it.

A team effort between a group of creative directors, graphic designers, and copywriters is needed to develop a cohesive brand look and feel. It would be best if you keep a brand book or style guide to achieve consistency with your brand’s visual representation.

When building your brand identity, you should have the following:

• Logo or wordmark
• Logo lockups
• Primary and secondary colour palette and fonts
• Photography filters
• Iconic graphic elements
• Standard headline treatments
• Voice and tone (for narrative section)

All of these elements shall define your brand identity. Also, once done, you must stick with your brand book, because any changes in your branding will significantly affect your brand identity.

02 — Consistency is what carries your brand

Branding doesn’t end by creating a visual representation of your brand. The next step to do is to build brand awareness for your target audience by creating consistent brand advertisements. Having a consistent look helps your audience quickly and easily recognise and recall your brand. No matter how striking your design is, if it doesn’t hold a consistent look and feel, people won’t feel a connection with your brand.

Put simply: your brand identity would be useless if not executed well. Beyond the look, your brand should also provide a certain “feel” and “emotion” to your audience. For instance, you should integrate the same colour palette that you’ve used on your website on your physical storefront. Audiences are more likely to recognise your company if you employ consistent branding.

03 — What you communicate is what builds relationships

The end goal of brand development is building connections and relationships with your target audience. How do you present your brand to your audience? How does your brand speak?

People engage with brands that they can relate with, therefore, brand personality is probably the most important aspect of your brand. Thus, you’ll want to incorporate personality and character into your business or company. More than aesthetics and consistency, people tend to connect more with a brand personality.

Conclusion

In marketing, your brand identity is your brand’s visual representation. When building your brand identity, remember that the logo is only one aspect of several important parts. While a logo helps your audience identify your company, consistent branding is what helps the audience recall your brand. These two are essential in your brand development, but if you want to build relationships with your audience, it’s important that you give your brand character and a personality.

At North, we help businesses build their brand through a cohesive approach that ensures consistency is always upheld. Contact us today and let us help you make the most of your brand.