How to Build a Memorable Brand Identity
You don’t need to spend a fortune to create a brand that sticks in your audience’s minds. With the right tools and some creative thinking, you can develop a brand that's both real and memorable. Here’s how to use free and affordable tools to develop an effective brand identity for your business.
1. Define Your Brand’s Core
Before you begin thinking about design aspects, take some time to clearly define your brand’s mission, vision, values, and unique selling proposition (USP). These elements are the foundation of your brand, which will guide all your future branding decisions.
Recommended Tool:
Google Docs is a simple and free way to brainstorm and arrange your brand’s core elements.
2. Create a Logo That Stands Out
In most cases, people will first come into contact with your brand through your logo. It should be simple, easily memorable, and in harmony with your brand’s overall personality.
Here are some basic principles to consider when designing a logo:
- Make it simple: Good logos are easily recognizable and can be used across various platforms.
- Avoid copying others: Make sure it stands out from the crowd and is in line with your values.
- Timeless design: Stay away from things that could make your logo look too trendy and thus irrelevant in a few years’ time.
Recommended Tool:
You can design a logo without having prior design experience. You can try Canva, a user-friendly design tool that allows you to create a logo from scratch or choose from their templates. You can change colors, fonts, and elements to fit your brand’s personality.
And here’s a little tip: If you plan on showing off your logo in product photos or on your website, a Neewer Ring Light Kit is a great tool to ensure that your images are professional, crisp, and vibrant. #ad
3. Choose Fonts That Reflect Your Brand’s Voice
Fonts are not just text, but they are a reflection of the brand and its personality. Selecting the right fonts that fit your brand’s personality and using them across your website, marketing materials, and social media is important.
Recommended Tool:
You can get high-quality fonts for your business from Google Fonts for free. It’s easy to get lost when choosing a font, but you can always search for inspiration and see how different fonts work together.
4. Choose the Right Font for Your Brand
As with colors, fonts also have their own personality and tone. The font you choose can tell a story of your brand’s personality, whether it is serious, casual, creative, or elegant.
Here’s how to pick the right fonts for your brand:
- Select a few of them: One for headings, one for body text, and perhaps a more decorative one for accents.
- Make sure they’re readable: No one wants to read a website or ad with hard-to-read fonts.
- Don’t overcomplicate it: Using too many fonts is distracting. Use only those that complement each other and do not cause confusion.
Recommended Tool:
You can get high-quality fonts for free from Google Fonts. You can also see how the text will look before you make the final decision.
5. Craft Your Brand Voice
The voice of your brand is the way you communicate with your audience. Do you have a formal and serious tone, or a more casual and friendly one? Finding your voice is important when you are building a brand that you want to represent naturally.
Here’s what you need to think about:
- Tone: What kind of tone are you going to use? Will it be formal, informal, or something in between?
- Language: Whether you are writing for children or adults, whether you are addressing simple or complex issues, your language should be clear and easy to understand.
- Consistency: Once you have chosen a voice, you should stick to it in all your communication whether it is through social media or email. Your voice should be the same whether you are writing an email or creating content for social media.
Recommended Tool:
I love using Grammarly for writing content that is clear, proportional to the length of the content, and error-free. It is particularly useful when attempting to maintain the same tone throughout different pieces of content.
6. Create Visual Content That Tells a Story
Now that you have your logo, colors, and fonts, it’s time to create visuals that bring your brand to life. Visual content such as photos, videos, and graphics will help you engage with your audience and tell them who you are and what you stand for.
Here’s how to get started:
- Use real photos: Show your audience who you are behind the scenes. People like to see real photos.
- Be consistent: Your visuals should be in sync with your brand’s colors and voice. Consistency is key when it comes to building trust with your audience.
- Tell a story: Every visual should tell a part of your brand’s story. Whether it’s a product photo or a social media post, make sure your visuals are telling your brand’s values.
Personal Example:
For Tamtrumz, my kids’ accessory brand, I wanted the brand to have a playful and fun personality. I hired a photographer and we did a teasers photoshoot of my stepdaughter and her cousin at a tea party in a park with our products. They wore our accessories and the photos really represented the brand. It was so engaging that people even started taking their own pictures with our products!
Recommended Tools:
You can use Canva to design social media posts, flyers, and many other marketing materials. It is easy to use and great for newbies.
For making videos, you should use InShot. It’s a great app for making videos on your phone and then editing them to make great content.
7. Build a Strong Online Presence
In today’s digital world, your online presence is important. Your website, social media profiles, and digital materials should reflect your brand identity.
Here’s what you should focus on:
- Website: Your website is the first point of contact that most people have with your brand. It should look professional, be easily navigable, and incorporate your brand’s colors, fonts, and voice.
- Social Media: You should only be on the platforms where your audience is most active. This means that if your audience is on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok, your social media profiles should reflect that.
- Consistency is Key: This means that your identity should be the same across all online points of contact with your brand.
Recommended Tool:
Shopify is great for setting up an online store and it’s really easy to use and customize to fit your brand.
8. Use Templates to Stay Consistent
Using templates for your marketing materials is one of the best ways to maintain consistency. You can use these for social media posts, email newsletters, and even presentations. This is where templates come in handy to help you maintain that cohesive look across your content and save you time when you need to create more content.
Recommended Resource:
Get all the templates you need to maintain consistency across your marketing channels from Brand Candie Templates.
9. Collect Feedback and Adapt
Your brand identity is not set in stone. As your business grows and changes, you’ll hear from your customers in a way that can help you shape your brand.
Here’s what you can do:
- Collect feedback: You can use surveys or ask your customers directly what they like or dislike about your brand.
- Adapt accordingly: Where necessary, you can make changes to your approach – this could mean changing your messaging, updating your logo, or improving your website.
Recommended Tools:
You can easily get customer feedback using SurveyMonkey or Google Forms. These tools enable you to create surveys that will give you important information.
10. Create a Brand Style Guide
A brand style guide is a document that describes the way that your brand should look and feel across all touchpoints. It is a great tool to ensure that everyone is on the same page, especially if you have a team or if you are going to work with designers.
Recommended Tool:
You can create your own guide using Canva’s brand style guide templates. It’s really easy to edit and will help you keep your brand on track.
Building a compelling brand identity is entirely achievable with the right tools and resources. By leveraging platforms like Canva and using products like the Neewer Ring Light Kit and Avery Printable Sticker Paper, you can create a brand that stands out and resonates with your audience. #ad.
