Branding

The brand is maybe the most important asset of a business. It’s considered the main identifier that represents the business and is the image the clients see when the business is mentioned.

Before the designer starts working on the concept and the visuals, he needs to know what the company or service wants to communicate.

The customer may not think of details and will only ask for an attractive visual presentation that will bring success to their business.  This is why the designer will often ask the customer to make a list of 5 words describing their business/product.

People often mistake the logo for the brand but actually this it is only one step in the whole process of branding.

When the basic information is in one place, the designer moves to the creative process, choosing the style direction and colors that will work best for a specific brand. Using the right logo colors can highlight a business’ strengths and help attract the right customers while failing to do that will cause the exact opposite.

When that is done, he will also test various placements to make sure there’s no surprises also taking into consideration the symbolic meanings logo colors and shapes can have when viewed in other cultures.

When all of the above are done and approved, the designer needs to make a short guide for all the assets to be used properly.

The best way to achieve project uniformity is to have all specs in one place.

The Style Guide should include the description of the idea behind the logo as well as the presentation of the Color Palette which can be used for different purposes. Other elements like Typography, Grid Setup, Imagery, UI Components (CTA buttons, form elements, modals, notifications and so on) should also be in the Style Guide.