What is the personality of your brand? Funny or serious, retro or minimalist, loud or soft… The list of questions could go on and on. How do you want your audience/customers to perceive your brand? I know, these are some extremely loaded questions, but they are such important pieces of the puzzle that need to be asked.
First before answering, I think we need to decide what our definition of a “brand personality” actually is. Brand personality is so much more than the adjectives that describe your business… We describe it as the emotional tie to who your customers believe you are. Building your branding around the essence of who you are and want to be viewed as is our ultimate goal. Some of the pieces and parts that we design for clients help to mold their brand are:
Logo Design
Photography
Color Palate / Typefaces
Apparel / Signage
Printed Collateral
Social Media / Website Design
Voice / Written Copy
Overall Mission / End Goal
So much more…
Some of the most prominent and trusted brands are so successful because of their brand personality. They are well-defined and there is no question as to who they are and what they stand for. They have consistent messaging and a look and feel that make them appear to be complete and concise. Isn’t that what we all want and strive for from our businesses?
So, how do we help to create or elaborate on a brand personality effectively for our clients? Once again, another loaded question, and one that’s unique to almost every business we design for. Clients have come to us in almost every stage of their business’s life – whether a business that is so new it doesn’t even have a name yet, or a business that has worked to get to where they’re at for the past 20 years.
Here are a few of the steps we take:
We get to know our customers by researching them, taking a look at all of their social media platforms, website, and viewing reviews to see how their current and past clients view and describe them.
We ask our clients lots of questions, sit back, and listen. You can’t judge a book by its cover even in the design world. There’s always so much more under the surface. A client might have an amazing story that could be pivotal to defining their brand, but they just don’t know how to tell that story. Sometimes it takes an outsider looking in to point out what can make a brand so special.
We start the work, and by work, I mean the design process. We take everything we have learned about our client and put it to good use - whether it be designing a logo, writing copy for a website, coordinating signage and print collateral, or even shooting their photography.
We make sure our clients are 110% happy with the end product, then monitor their reaction and the reactions of their customers. We also help them to understand the importance of consistency along all forms of web, print, social media, apparel, signage, etc. because what will kill a brand personality faster than anything else is inconsistency.
We hope that this article will help you to understand what a “brand personality” is, and push you to take a step back and look at your own brand stance. Do you think that your customers view you how you’d like to be portrayed? If you’re curious as to how a designer can help in this process, please reach out - Elle A. Design would love to help you with a brand audit!
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