What is a Brand?
Brands are used by businesses all over the world as a way of differentiating their products and services from competitors. This can be done using a specific name, trademark, design or any other feature which is instantly recognised by consumers. Here are a few of the biggest brands which you’ll probably be familiar with:
Did you know that the term ‘brand’ originates from american cattle ranchers in the 19th century who would stamp their animals with branding irons so that their cows could be easily identified at slaughter houses in chicago. Some of the first commercial brands that are still thriving in the 21st century include Coca-Cola (1886), Colgate (1873) and Ford Motor Company (1903).
Today, the brand of an organisation can comprise of many different elements including:
- Name
- Tagline
- Logo
- Symbol
- Graphics
- Typography
- Colour Palette
- Website
- Music
Why is Branding Important?
A brand is more than just the sum of these different elements; it represents the vision, values, purpose, culture and personality of an organisation. When customers see your brand, it will arouse certain thoughts and emotions about how they perceive your service or product. This could include feelings of trust or excitement but it can also include negative emotions too so having a strong brand for your business is critical to your success.
Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, said this about branding:
“Your brand is what other people say about you when you’re not in the room.”
Have a look at the logo below and notice what you think and how you feel? Would this make you want to do business with this organisation and buy their products?
Which one would you remember?
The modern Apple brand is one of the biggest and most valuable brands in the world.
It’s clean, simple, timeless and has helped them become extremely successful over the last few decades.
How to Create a Brand for Your Business
When undertaking this exercise for yourself, we would recommend starting off by thinking about the industry you’re operating in and identify your target audience in terms of age, gender, location, income, education etc. Ask yourself this; what is the overall perception that you want to create and what emotion do you want your customers to feel?
There are a number of factors which determine the success of your brand. It should be simple, memorable, timeless and versatile. It should also be appropriate for the industry in which you operate. There’s no point creating an amazing brand for your coffee shop if it looks like something from the tech industry.
Although the brand for your business should be simple in terms of the design, it does not mean that you should take any shortcuts or rush the process. It’s important that your brand appears professional because if your brand looks cheap, what does this say about your products or services?
Your brand should represent the characteristics of your organisation including the vision, culture and values. Every single element should be carefully chosen for deeper meaning and symbolism. For example, did you know that the arrow which is part of Amazon’s logo represents happy customers and shows that they sell everything from A to Z?
The colour scheme of your brand is also important because different colours can invoke different emotional reactions. Colour psychology is something which is widely recognised within the field of marketing and here are a few examples of how colours are perceived by people:
- Green is linked with safety, kindness and the environment.
- Blue evokes trust, calmness and integrity.
- Orange shows confidence, creativity and fun.
Many fast food companies use red and yellow in their logo because these colours are known to make people feel hungry and give people a sense of urgency.
There are many other factors to consider too like typography, symbols, taglines and graphics. Branding is a detailed and complicated process which is vital to get perfected right from the start because if you’re giving the wrong impression to your customers, it will have a big impact on your ability to sell your products and services.
How we Create Brands at KIKLAB
We have been developing brands for our clients for many years and have a team of experts who can make sure that your brand is perfect for your business.
The first step we take is to really understand your organisation, what you stand for and who your customers are. Then we get to work with the creative process of brainstorming and designing prototypes. Throughout the development of your brand we keep you involved so you can see the different designs and have a chance to give your input. This means that there are no surprises and that the end product is exactly what you want.
If you’d like to see an in depth example of how we build a brand from scratch, take a look at our Case Study featuring SIGNUM Construction.
If you’d like us to help with your business brand, please get in touch. The branding services we offer are:
- Logo Design
- Colour Palette
- Typography
- Graphics
- Video Elements
- Business Cards and Stationary
