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 Brand Components

Brand Components

How many logos can your fingers count before you stop counting? It's hard to keep track. But it is worth it - brand identity is such an important part of a business that its importance often exceeds the branding tools themselves. It's what sticks with you, what distinguishes you from all other companies in the same market and allows for a singular connection to be made.

This is one of the main reasons why it's so important to have a solid brand - the visual identity of a business can have a huge impact on your reputation. Every time you see something, whether online or out in the real world, it should be instantly recognizable as your brand. If you're lucky enough to have an established brand with a history and recognisability behind it, this step is much easier. But if you're starting from scratch, you need to build your reputation from scratch too - make sure every time customers see your name or logo they know exactly what you do and what they can expect from you. Designing an effective brand identity is therefore a very important part of setting up and maintaining your business.

You may have a great idea, but are you prepared to design a brand identity that will effectively and efficiently showcase your product or service? If not, you may want to look into this important subject before you get started.

This guide will help you establish an effective business identity through the use of brand components. These are the fundamental parts of any logo - the elements that make up your business's visual identity. By choosing and utilising each component with care and attention, you can create a brand that is instantly recognisable, effective at creating interest in your product or business and allows for a link to be made between what people see and what they might expect from your company.

Before we begin, consider a few relevant questions. What is your target audience? Who are your customers? Who are the people who will be using the product or service you have to offer? These are important questions to answer, because they will influence what type of brand identity you should create.

Check out a logo design site such as behance.net , fiverr.com or dribbble.com . See if any designers have already created some logos for your industry and products or services that you can use as inspiration for your own branding. You can also check out some of the best logos from throughout history by visiting LogoOfTheDay.com .

Finding a good designer is the most difficult part of this process. You want to find someone with experience and skills in the field you require, who won't put out something cheap or shoddily put together that doesn't reflect your company's values. You want something polished, professional and effective. This will keep your brand looking good for years to come and allow it to grow as your business grows.

Finding a designer may be a difficult process - here are some tips on how to effectively communicate with designers and get the design you need (rather than just what they decide you need).

Read through their portfolio. Look for repeat patterns or themes, particularly in the logos they have created for other companies or services. You may be drawing on a wealth of experience when looking through a designer's portfolio - however, take this with a grain of salt and examine the styles carefully.

Check out their previous work . A good designer will have some of the best work on their website - it may just be a few things, but if you compare it to other designers' work and notice any common elements between them, that's something to listen out for.

Take time to read through the designer's biography and profile as well as all of the comments left by past employers, clients and clients. Any complaints or suggestions can give you a sense of what their attitude is like to their trade, but also how they operate. Read through their ratings and see how many clients they've worked with. Having a large amount of experience is always good to see, as this means they really do know what they are doing.

Check out the designer's portfolio again (I guess I'm saying that a lot). Look through the comments people have left them on the work they have done - if somebody has taken the time to leave a comment, it is worth taking the time to read through it and see whether there are any common problems that arise frequently. A lot of designers take reviews very seriously and will appreciate any feedback you might give them on their work.

Published: 10 Jan 2015 - Last updated: 16 Mar 2016

There are a number of basic principles that can be applied when designing a logo, but the one I will focus on here is the idea of simplicity and legibility. This guide will use an infographic, rather than just an image, to demonstrate how a logo should work and how it should look.

The logo should not be too busy or crowded, so keep it simple and make sure there is enough space around it to enable identification. This is actually very similar in concept to letterforms in typography - you want your logo to be clear and easy for people to read, so make sure you have ample room for it.

Contrast your logo with other competing logos. When it comes to comparing your logo with others, you need to make sure that yours has the best qualities that other logos have without taking on any of their downfalls. If everyone is using a lot of contrast, you should use a little. If everyone is using a lot of texture or drop-shadows, then avoid them.

The point of the infographic below isn't so much that it is 100% correct - rather, it is to illustrate the idea behind legibility. It also doesn't show all of the options for designing a logo, but more popular ones that can be used effectively if done properly.

I am not a designer - so I have no idea whether any of these designs are "bad", but hopefully this guide has helped you to think about the process and how you can do your own logo.

Published: 5 Jul 2014 - Last updated: 19 Aug 2015

The idea of design is twofold: aesthetic and functional. Aesthetics, or form in its technical sense, refers to the "appearance" or appearance of the design. Function is the idea that something has a specific purpose, regardless of its appearance. In illustration terms, form refers to everything we see (whether it be composition or colour), while function refers to what something is used for.

Conclusion

When it comes to branding, there are several elements that you might want to take into consideration, but it is important that you keep your business's needs and the people who interact with it in mind. Think about who will be using your website, who will be looking at your logo and what they expect from you.

Elementary principles of design and colour theory are very broad in scope - you can find a tonne of useful information online about them. Remember that design is nothing without execution - try out different ideas, approaches and strategies to see what fits best for your brand.