The Power of Brand titled with some features on a sheet of paper on a desktop with a light bulb

Brand Self-Assessment Tool

 

What is brand identity? 

Your logo is pretty important. It is the visual representation of who you are and what you do, specifically designed to communicate your unique story to potential customers and clients. 

But your brand identity is more than just your logo. It is a complete package of visual elements designed specifically to communicate the values, personality and messaging of your brand. Anchored by a great logo, the suite of design elements that make up your brand identity features color palette, typography, imagery, icons, textures, patterns and layout guidelines.  

Fact: Your brand truly exists only in the minds of your audience. 

You may know what you want your brand to represent, but your customer’s perception of your brand is shaped by his or her actual experience with it. It is the role of brand identity to help evoke that experience. 

Typeface, colors and textures will elicit various emotional responses in your audience. Deliberately selected design elements will help communicate your brand as playful, serious, professional, traditional or progressive. The right brand identity choices will help shape the essence of your brand in the minds of your audience. 

 A great brand identity package will help guide what your audience thinks of you.

Ask yourself these questions

1. Am I launching a new business or product?

If you are just starting a business or bringing a new product to market, you need to take proactive steps to brand it. If you don’t clearly communicate the purpose, essence and value of your business or product, how will your audience know what you stand for? 

 

2. Does my current brand feel stale or outdated?

Color palettes go out of style. Fonts that were trendy 10 years ago feel outdated. While it’s important to commit to visual consistency, sometimes a dated look will do more harm than good. Minor tweaks can assure your audience that you’re still relevant. 

 

3.  Has my organization evolved away from the image reflected by my current brand identity? 

Businesses and organizations naturally change over time in response to emerging opportunities, market conditions and countless other reasons. It is important to ensure that your brand identity accurately and effectively reflects these shifts. When purpose, culture, products or even the location of a business evolve, its brand identity should too. 

 

4. Do I find that my current logo doesn’t resonate with the clients I want to attract? 

When this is the case, it’s time to reevaluate your entire brand image. The tone may be wrong. Maybe your brand is too casual to appeal to your audience’s more formal lifestyle. Or perhaps your retro-style logo fails to attract the modern tech-savvy audience you desire.  Going back to the drawing board to better understand your audience – its interests, concerns, motivations and values – will help drive a new approach that reflects an image that appeals to your target audience. 

 

5. Does my brand identity effectively cross over into all of my marketing?

Lack of brand consistency across marketing communications is a common problem. Sometimes this simply requires effort from your marketing team to more diligently apply your brand guidelines.  Often, however, technical difficulties prevent consistent application of brand elements across print and electronic platforms. An agile, tech-ready brand identity package will support consistent application of your logo and all of the supporting design elements.


 

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions and are ready to explore a new brand identity package, let us help you rebrand. Don’t try to go it alone. If you are an expert in your business, you are probably not also an expert in creating strong brand identity packages. When it comes to crafting a brand identity that will evoke your desired brand image in the minds of your audience, always turn to an expert team of professionals like the ones at N&C.  We are ready to help you take your brand to the next level. 

 

“If people believe they share values with a company, they will stay loyal to the brand.”
– Howard Shultz, CEO of Starbucks 

“What’s dangerous is not to evolve”
– Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon  

“Color improves brand recognition by up to 80%.”
– Source Unknown

“Your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room”
-Jeff Bezos, Founder of Amazon 

“Products are made in a factory, but brands are created in the mind”
– Walter Landor, Branding Pioneer