When you think about the worlds most successful companies, the first thing that springs to mind is their logo, company colours and strapline, basically their visual identity. We’re not saying you have to be as instantly recognisable as Coke or Nike, but creating a strong visual brand identity can be key to helping you stand out from your competitors on a local level.
At Blue Bee we have an experienced team of marketing experts and graphic designers to help you create an identity for your new business, or more simply refresh an existing brand.
Read on to find out whether it’s the right time for you to start working on your branding and the main things to consider when doing so.
Do you need to work on your branding?
If you are a brand-new business, then you will obviously need to start from scratch when it comes to creating a brand and a visual identity. This will include designing a memorable logo, an appropriate colour palette, choose a font, strapline/motto and an overall tone of voice.
If you are an existing company the first and most obvious sign that you need a refresh is if your banding looks old and outdated. A logo, image and colour palette that was the height of fashion a few years ago can soon look out of place against more slick and modern designs of your competitors.
It’s also worth looking at updating your brand and visual identity if your target audience has changed, you’re expanding or merging, changes in the industry or if your branding is inconsistent.
Defining your brand
The first consideration you need to make is defining the core personality of your brand and identifying your vison, values and offering to create a tone of voice that’s appealing to your target audience.
Without these aspects covered, you will find that you don’t have a solid starting point when it comes to developing a visual identity. Your logo, font, name and colour choices should all reflect these core principles and values.
Leave it to the professionals
We would highly recommend hiring an agency and graphic designer to help develop your visual identity. They perfectly understand the principles of design, know what works and what doesn’t, and are up to date with the latest trends and technologies. Sometimes being so invested in a business means you can become less perceptive and blinkered to what you think works, and it takes an outside eye and voice to steer you in the right direction.
Keep it consistent
Once you have your logo and visuals locked in it’s important to be consistent with your new branding. It needs to be implemented across the board – website, social media, signage, print adverts, vehicles and any other collateral.
Ensuring consistency helps lead to more immediate brand recognition, which in turn helps to install more confidence in potential customers, leading to more sales and enquiries.
It also just looks more professional. A lack of consistency can leave people confused to who you are and leave them asking if you’re different to the company with the same name they saw the other day!
Creating brand guidelines and a style guide is essential to ensuring consistency and helps your team and any third parties understand your vision.
Make it adaptable
Visuals can vary significantly across different channels and formats; for example, a logo might appear darker when printed compared to its appearance on a screen. Therefore, it’s essential to tailor your visuals to the specific medium you are using.
Using a branding agency means they have the expertise to modify assets for each medium, ensuring that all components, including colours, fonts, images, and animations, maintain consistency across various channels.
How Blue Bee can help
Blue Bee know that building a sustainable brand requires a strategy that includes business, marketing, and design experts to ensure success. Our skilled teams collaborate with you to develop your new branding or provide a quick refresh if needed. By focusing on your product, business, and target audience, we can deliver exciting brand solutions that align with your creative vision.
