My brand identity design process is a series of steps that will take us from a blank slate to branding that’s a perfect fit.
After we talk, I’ll send a proposal for the design package we’ve decided on together. Typically:
On most projects, I send a short brand personality worksheet to get started. This gives your team time to gather thoughts and put a few things on paper.
Then we chat! The Brand Finder interview is a deep-dive conversation with you (and any key stakeholders) about your company background, goals, audience and competitors. We’ll discuss who your brand needs to appeal to and what makes you special.
I’ll review samples of your current branding (if you have any) and your competitors’ branding to see where you’re starting from and where you can stand out. I’ll gather some reference images to narrow in on a direction for your design.
All insights will be summarized in a brief. This gives you (often new) clarity about your business. And it guides the design work to come, so we can distill the essence of your business into a look and feel that connects with your audience. You’ll have a chance to approve the brief before design starts.
Next I’ll design the theme for your brand. Since the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, it’s easiest to evaluate messaging, logo, colors, fonts, shapes, and images when they’re combined together in sample layouts. This way we can get the whole experience of the brand at once, then tweak any individual parts that aren’t contributing to the right vibe. (As opposed to first choosing a logo in a vacuum, then later the colors, next fonts, etc. in bits and pieces.) Typically there can be a couple different solutions for the logo or certain parts, so together we’ll choose what fits best with the overall look and feel.
Concepts are presented in a screensharing meeting, where I explain the research and rationale behind all the decisions. This reveal is the fun part! You’ll also be emailed the presentation PDF.
Because we’ve laid good groundwork for the project, the proposed solutions are usually right on target. But if needed, in the following few days we can make small edits so it’s even more awesome.
Last, I’ll write your brand style guide, a key part of most projects. In it, all the approved elements of your brand identity will be specified: strategy, logo, typography, color palette, any icons, your style of images and how to make more of them, example layouts, etc. This invaluable reference will keep you on-brand going forward. You and any other designers or vendors will know how to make new materials look consistent.
For a typical brand identity project, allow 3-4 weeks. If naming, finalized templates, packaging or marketing pieces are included, add an extra 1-5 weeks.