When starting a new business, there are some key points that you can’t miss or leave for the future. For example, you’ll need to define your business core idea, selling points, tone of voice… Also, you’ll need to come up with a name, preferably one that is unique in the overly saturated market. And given that name, you’ll need a logo that will visualize the name of your business and the business itself.
As a brand designer, I always find it difficult to resolve the key misunderstanding about branding. That is, a logo is not the brand. The logo is just a small fraction of the whole picture. Let’s look back at the beginning of this post; you’ve noticed that I’ve started with a Business Core Idea.
Why?
The Business Core Idea is key to defining a brand. The name is pretty straightforward about it, CORE. So you’ll start with that, and believe me, when you get to the designing part, you’ll get this question. So it’s better to be prepared.
Selling points are also as important as BCI because, with your selling points, you define your target audience, whether it’s B2C, B2B, B2A. Are they kids, adults, kids that want to be adults, or even adults that are behaving like kids (yeah, it happens).
Tone of voice is nearly the last piece of the puzzle when it comes to creating a brand. This is the part where you, as the owner, want to make or break; either the brand will have that friendly (soulful) approach like Ned Flanders, or the foot is down, and we go full corpo. Not to sound like there are two options; I’m just pointing out the farthest points of the voice.
Now let’s say that with these three questions (there are a lot more), you have a blast off. Now it’s time to find a person that will visualize your thoughts. If you find a decent designer, he will offer you a brand questionnaire. A tailor-made list of questions about your brand, mostly the ones we’ve talked about. There is always a couple of questions about what you like, dislike, to provide some examples of what catches your eye. Don’t look at the questionnaire as the designer’s lazy approach. With the questionnaire, you are directly involved in the process of crafting your logo for the business that you’ll start.
We haven’t mentioned the name of the brand; what a catastrophic mistake. The name of your brand, business, project can be and should be something that you and only you find reliable on the foundation of your brand. It can be a mix of two words; it can be in a foreign language; it can even be a made-up word that you used as a child. My advice when picking a name is that you always check the domain availability because I know how it can hurt when you’ve found the perfect name, and someone in this 8 billion people world decided to buy that .com that you desperately wanted and now need it.
So, let’s get back to the design shop. You get a logo, fine presentation, you are amazed, surprised, exceeded your expectations. A perfect copy of what you’ve imagined. YAYYYYY! You’ve done great. The designer got all the information that he needed from you, so he can deliver the perfect logo to you.
And now you are set right?
WRONG.
Here is where it gets interesting. The logo is just a part of the brand. So let’s fix this, shall we?
What to do when you have a logo?
For example, you didn’t know where to look for a brand designer, brand design studio, or brand consultant, so you went to a logo designer that is the alpha and omega in crafting beautiful logos. And they deliver their part, and that’s it. Now what the hell are you gonna do with this pretty picture? Well, let’s start by showing it to your friends and family. Without saying what it is, just a simple “What do you think about this?” catch them off guard and completely honest.
If you don’t like their answers, just remember ONE THING: Your brand is not going to be loved by everyone. And also, as Steve Jobs said, “You can’t make them all happy.”
Okay, back to business. Jokes aside, you’ve done a tremendous work for now. And here is how to finish it (sort of). All your thoughts in the beginning (Business Core Idea, Selling point, tone of voice, etc…) write them down again while having the visual representation of the brand (the logo). I guarantee that besides those three points, you’ll figure out new things, problems and solutions, does and don’ts… And when all that combined is done, you’ve made a brand strategy with brand identity.
What did I mean when I said “And here is how to finish it (sort of)”? As I always put at the last slide of the brand books for my clients, “A brand is like a child, it keeps growing, learning, and evolving if it’s loved and handled with care.” A brand strategy, brand guidelines, brand development process is never fully finished. When it’s created correctly, you establish the brand’s core values, the mission, and the vision of the brand. And once you’ve decided that it’s time to evolve, take a look back at its values, keep them in mind so you won’t break them because they are the foundation of that brand.
I truly thank you for spending your time on this article; hopefully, you’ve started a brand new journey with me. Until next time, remember, brands matter.”