Decoding Brand Identity: why is so important to shape a brand that resonates

In an increasingly competitive market, a solid and well-defined Brand Identity (BI) is what allows you to stand out.

We will explain what a brand identity consists of and why it is important. I have also scattered here and there some advice on how to build an effective one, you're welcome.

In the article, you will find the following topics:

• Introduction to Brand Identity

• The Importance of Brand Identity

• Elements of Brand Identity

• Conclusions

Introduction to Brand Identity

A quick online search makes it easy to understand that brand identity represents the essence of a company, but understanding what it truly means can be more complicated.

The brand identity is a set of visual elements and values that constitute the perception the market and consumers have of a brand.

This identity is expressed through the different channels the brand uses to connect with its audience: advertising, presence on social media, product design, customer service, etc.

If you want a strong and recognizable identity (and we assure you that you do), it is essential that when designing it, you keep in mind these two fundamental principles: clarity and consistency.

Our advice is to dedicate a lot of time and resources to create the brand identity, as it represents the story you have to tell.

It doesn't make much sense to skimp when we have to tell about ourselves, since we usually are one of the things we care about most, don't you think?

The Importance of Brand Identity

Today, a company's growth is largely tied to the emotional bond it manages to create (or not) with its customers.

To build this bond, a strong brand identity is fundamental because, as we have seen, it is what communicates to the public what you want to represent.

Let's look more concretely at the different ways in which the brand identity becomes essential:

1. It allows you to distinguish yourself: your brand identity shouts to the world who you are, what you can do for your customers, and how you can do it, and the listening audience can thus identify you and recognize your value compared to your competitors.

2. Attracts the right target: your success depends on how well you can make the right people understand that you can offer them what they need, and to succeed, you must have a well-structured brand identity.

3. Helps you create a lasting relationship with customers: this is fundamental because people tend to be loyal to brands in which they recognize their own values, so make sure you can effectively communicate yours with the brand identity, and you will see that those who choose you will continue to do so.

Brand Identity and Targeting

Initially, you might be tempted to try to please as many people as possible in the mistaken belief that this will bring you more customers.

Don't do it.

You would end up with an unclear identity, confusing both those who are not interested in what you can offer them, misleading them and wasting their time, and those who have a real interest in buying what you sell, leading them to prefer another brand.

Try to reach fewer people but in a clear way to have a higher conversion rate.

Elements of Brand Identity

Now that we have clarified the importance and usefulness of a clear and strong identity, let's take a closer look at the individual elements that make up the BI.

Naming
Naming is the process that involves choosing the name of the brand, and it is the first step to be taken to create a brand identity.

An effective name is both easy to remember and representative of the values you want to communicate. There is no rule for finding the right name; it can be descriptive, evocative, abstract, based on acronyms or founders' names. In general, it can be inspired by any aspect of your company that you consider important.

If you are short of ideas, we have some advice:

• You could use a combination of numbers and letters where the way the numbers are read forms a word or part of it.

• Or you could think about the value that you think characterizes your company the most and play with it, translating it, for example, into an archaic language.

• You can draw from historical figures or novels and works of art that have inspired your work.

• Another option is to draw inspiration from what you hope your product can do for your customers, from what you would like it to be for them.

Whatever the name you choose, it is important that the process to define it starts from a deep analysis of the brand itself and what you would like it to represent, only in this way it can be authentic and enhance your identity.

Slogan
The slogan, or payoff, must condense the brand's values into a short phrase, complementing the name and reinforcing its meaning.

A good slogan remains imprinted in the mind and becomes an immediate connection between the public and the brand.

If you think that the slogan can be ignored, that in the end, it is not so important, think again.

We explain why with a game. I will suggest a sector, and you will think of the first slogan and the corresponding brand that comes to mind in that field:

• Fast food

• Photography

• Sport shoes

As you can see, no matter if you often eat at fast food or if you are a photography enthusiast, it is impossible not to know those brands and their slogans.

Don't you think it's worth spending some time creating a good slogan? I honestly do.

Logo
The logo is the main visual element that characterizes a brand, and we can consider it the face of the brand.

It’s essential to remember that the logo must both represent your business and make it recognizable to its customers.

People attribute meanings to images and colors that refer to their experiences, but there are also a series of collective cultural references on which they rely to decipher the information they convey.

Therefore, it is very important to know well the reference environment in which your brand will operate and to understand its symbols and culture in order to create an adequate logo.

Colors
When talking about colors, we are referring not only to the logo, but to the entire visual identity, as they represent the brand even in the absence of graphic elements.

A particular combination of colors, or even just one color that represents your company, can be inserted within any channel to evoke an immediate association with your brand.

Think, for example, of the background of a web page or the graphic templates of columns on social media.

Packaging
Packaging is also an important communication tool and can be used to express the values and characteristics of a company.

Here are some examples to better understand what I mean:

• eco-friendly packaging, for example, communicates the company's attention to the environment and its respect;

• in the case where your brand identity exploits particular and strongly characterizing color combinations, these should also appear in the packaging to make the product immediately distinguishable and recognizable.

Conclusions

Each of the elements we have seen contributes to building the overall image of the brand, its identity, and therefore its position in the reference market.

To develop an effective brand identity, it is important to listen carefully to your audience and at the same time carry out an in-depth analysis of your product and your values.

You should ask yourself some questions before proceeding with the creation of your brand identity:

1. Do I know my audience well?

2. Do I know what they need?

3. How can I satisfy that need?

4. What characterizes my brand?

5. What are the values it is based on?

If you don't have an answer to each of these questions, your identity probably won't be convincing, so think about it some more.

If, on the other hand, you have a clear answer for everything, then you have no excuses for not being able to create a brand identity with all the trimmings.

The last piece of advice: if you don't have training as a graphic designer, find a good one. You can take care of all the conceptual work, but it would be really a shame to waste it because the visual elements are not up to par.

Now you know:

• what a brand identity is,

• that it is very important to have one,

• and what it is made of.

You also have some tips on how to proceed to create your brand identity.

Our job here is done, now yours begins, get to work.

WRITTEN BY Elena Temperini