Creating engaging branding is not easy to do, so often it falls flat. Branding is one of the first things people see when engaging with your business. As much as we don’t like to say it, ‘image’ can be everything especially if a potential client doesn’t ‘know’ you. One definition of branding could be anything that aids in the perception of your business and acts as a pillar to distinguish your business from others in the same industry.
Branding has the ability to communicate the essence of your business whether it is witty, sassy, serious or corporate, or if it caters to an older or younger crowd. It is completely up to you how you want to be perceived. Think of two of your favourite brands — when you think of their branding, what comes to mind?
It does not matter if you are a small business owner or a graphic designer, branding is an excellent way to allow your business to have a persona. In theory, your branding persona should work with your business’s unique value proposition. Finding the correct branding for your business can be a daunting task because there are so many options.
The best place to start is by conducting research. 
A. Research your audience
B. Research your competition
C. Figure out how you want to be perceived
D. Develop a unique logo
E. What ways will your branding be presented?
A/B. Research your audience and competition
Branding is inarguably one of the most important elements of your business you need to take into account. Your branding needs to resonate with your target market and amplify the voice your business has. Your target market can make or break you.
Before you even start to create your branding you should put together customer profiles. The purpose of the customer profile is to round out your target audience. Aim for 3. Make sure to name the profiles, really give light to who they are, what they like and what motivates them.
At this stage, it is also useful to look at your competition and try to understand their customer. Try to answer questions like, are we targeting the same customer? If not, what makes us different? What does my competition’s branding look like?
Then broaden your industry research. For example, if you have a vegan restaurant research a list of 5 other vegan restaurants and look at their branding. What does their branding have in common? What elements make their branding stand out? What could you do to fill the gap?
C. Figure out how you want to be perceived
Branding goes much deeper than just your logo. It entails how you showcase your business; for example, colourways, copy (Hello, how are you? vs Hey, what’s up?), how and where products and services are available. There is a lot to think about and a lot of these little elements affect how people perceive a brand.
Colours, logo, fonts, and images can all help establish your perceived tone – if you want your brand to be soft and feminine, edgy and bold, or cool and artistic. Once you combine section A/B with C, create a document outlining all aspects of your brand so you can read and visually see what and who your business has become.
D. Develop a unique logo
Logos come in all shapes and sizes, which means they range from simple to extremely detailed. Logos can be creative symbols, stylized text, or a mixture of both. You need to figure out what will best represent the business in a visual way.
Start by writing out the business name in lower case, upper case, and jot down some adjectives to best describe the business. Now start prototyping logos; be as creative or as simple as you can. Play with text weights, colours, and position. For example, the project management software Teamwork was chosen to be branded like ‘Teamwork’ not ‘TeamWork’, ‘Team work’ or ‘team work’. Everything needs to be intentional. For inspiration, use Behance to search for great logo ideas. Take the time to also research colourways, because aside from your logo you will need a group of colours that work well together to complete other branding elements.
The visual representation of your brand means something to others. Branding can create a lovemark like when you think of Apple, PlayStation and Tim Hortons. Remember, if you decide to create a symbol as a logo, it does not need to be literal. You want it to be recognizable but unique.
E. What ways will your branding be presented?
A logo and colourway is only one part of your entire branding strategy. Think of your branding as a box that contains many elements and deliverables. Creating several versions of your logo may be necessary to be visually effective on all print and digital platforms. Take Facebook into consideration, the size of the circle profile image and image header. Instagram has a very small logo circle, and to have a successful feed you must create branded photo filters for a cohesive feed. Your logo and branding need to have many variations to work on all platforms while being cohesive.
Some food for thought: Favicon, website logo, image filters, Facebook branding, Instagram branding, stationary branding, email branding, media kit branding, case study branding, Twitter and label branding, to name a few. Make a list of where your branding is going to be and create the necessary materials.
What helps to keep branding in check is by creating a personalized branding style guide. Here you will include all logo options, colourways, font types, and filter types. This will keep everything organized and accessible.
If you’re new to branding, check out Canva – a free platform that can help you start your branding journey. If you’re interested in Web Design services, lets connect!