6 Tips for Creating Your Brand Identity

By Olivia Rahim | February 24, 2021

Your brand identity is essentially your business’ personality, style, and values. Consistent brand identity makes your business instantly recognizable and differentiates you from the competition. There are many elements to creating a brand identity, and it can seem overwhelming at first, but these brand identity tips can help you stand out from others in your niche.

1. Establish Your Audience 

Although your brand identity is an expression of your company’s personality, it ultimately needs to speak to your audience. The first step is to establish who your audience is and tweak your branding accordingly. For instance, independent business hub Indy uses bold contemporary colors and stylish photos to appeal to their target audience: Creative modern freelancers.

Research your target audience. What are their likes and dislikes? What kinds of lives do they lead? What colors and images are attractive to them? What tone of voice do they respond to? The answers to these questions will inform your approach to your brand identity.

2. Your Logo Design is Crucial

Your logo is the single most important element of design for your brand identity. It should reflect your brand’s personality, be recognizable at a glance, and produce an emotional response in the viewer, whether that’s trust, excitement, or intrigue. Your logo is also the starting point for other visual aspects of your brand, such as your website.

Many parts of a logo come together, such as the font, colors, and images used. Thoroughly research each element. Look into the meanings and theories of colors and fonts; what reactions do they incite? Does this match your brand’s personality and goals? If possible, text examples of potential logos to members of your target audience and ask for feedback. 

There are many online logo makers available that allow you to design it yourself. However, if design is not your forte, outsourcing to a graphic designer could save you time and result in a better final product.

3. Consistency Matters

Once you’ve decided on your logo and brand colors and fonts, this should appear consistently on all your public-facing content. This makes your brand more recognizable and memorable and gives you a professional image.

Design your website, blog, social media, emails, app, and packaging with your brand colors, font, and logo in mind. Aim to unify the look of documents such as invoices and contracts because these are also representatives of your brand. Tools such as Indy Proposals allow you to customize documents like proposals so your brand identity is consistent across all your activity.

4. Decide on Your Brand’s Voice

In discussions about brand identity, aesthetics are usually the priority. However, the style of your written content is just as important as the colors you choose. You need to establish a voice that fits your brand and is appropriate for your audience. It could be sharp and witty, formal and measured, or friendly and silly – whatever works for you.

Your website, advertising, and social media content should all be written in this style. If you work with copywriters, give them a style guide that explains your desired tone. This guide can also include practical standards, such as using numbers or digits in content, the kinds of images to choose, or formatting settings. This ensures consistency across your brand.

5. Write Blogs and Social Media Posts

Once you’ve got your voice down, think about starting a blog. Blogs allow you to engage with your audience in a more in-depth fashion. They show people who you are, what you do, and what you stand for. 

Social media posts are also a fantastic way to connect with your audience and develop your brand identity. Focus on the platforms that your target audience uses the most and post relevant content regularly.

6. Brand Values

While not as immediately obvious as other parts of your brand identity, your company’s morals and values tell your customer who you are. You can express these values in the About page on your website or in your mission statement if you have one. 

However, your values are also made clear through your actions, such as who you collaborate with, what content you share, and even the type of packaging you use. Today’s customer is extremely discerning, and your target audience may avoid your company if your values don’t align.

Your Brand Represents Your Company Values and Services

As you build your brand identity, it should reflect your company’s personality, appeal to your target audience, and be consistent. If you achieve those goals, you will be well on your way to successfully representing your business.