What do brand identity designers do?
Brand identity designers are designers who specialize in translating brand strategy into a visual language.
Brand identity, as opposed to branding, which is a much more general term, is what can be seen when the brand decides to communicate with the world.
Here’s something to help draw a picture of how brand identity relates to overall branding and all its components.
In short, they use brand strategy to create logos, color palettes, typography, patterns and whole visual systems that stem from and support that strategy. They translate a brand’s goals and personality from abstract concepts into visual styles and then build out tangible assets based on those styles. Curious about the process for creating brand identity from scratch? Check it out here.
Do brand identity designers create logos?
Yes! And so much more. Firm proponents of Gestalt principle, they believe that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. A logo is an identifier of the brand but a logo by itself will not create a whole identity, so it will only go so far in making your clients trust you at first sight. The best way to design brand identity is by treating logos as parts of a bigger system that needs to work in tandem with all of these parts and amplify them. Otherwise things will be mismatched and look like scrambled eggs on a hot pan. The runny kind.
At some point, your brand will need to scale, you’ll need a website or packaging for your products, your ads will need to be designed and that’s when having just a logo won’t be enough. Instead of going back to the designer that made your logo or finding a new one (and we know finding a designer you like and trust might not be that easy), consider getting it all done in one take. Stronger base, faster run later.
Brand holistically
One way of making sure all of the brand identity elements will work together nicely (after they’re nicely made…), is to make a stylescape (aka mood board on steroids) - a bird’s eye view that puts all of the styles together to make sure they will work before the actual design begins.
A stylescape shows brand identity inspiration in a holistic way. It shows how all of the brand elements and styles will work together.
Putting it all together
Brand identity designers create sets of brand rules, commonly referred to as brands style guides, which should clearly identify your brand's identity. A brand style guide, also known as a brand book or brand handbook, is a written description of a company's visual identity for consistent application. It also allows you to easily scale when the time comes, making sure all team members and vendors are on the same page.
A full style guide or brand guide defines what elements to use and how to use them. It defines elements like:
Logo usage
Color palette
Typography
Voice and tone
Photography style
Illustration style
Iconography
“A brand style guide is a document that describes a company’s visual identity so it can be applied consistently.”
A style guide is a set of rules explaining how to apply the brand identity
Brand identity is the most visible thing that differentiates you from your competitors and shows your customers who you are. If you want your brand to be seen and heard, you need to nail your brand identity and create designs that accurately reflect who you are. And now that you know what goes into creating a bold brand identity, it's time to get it designed.
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