When it comes to branding your business through Instagram or even your website it’s important to come up with your brand identity. Brand identity can make you stand out and it also helps your customers to identify you. For example, take a look at Coca-Cola, we all recognise their branding because of the red that they use. Also, Apple as we know always uses an apple symbol as their logo.
But branding isn’t so simple, you need to remember what industry you are in and not to over complicate your designs.
Keep on reading to find out our top tips for finding your brand identity.
Do your research
Like anything you are creating, it’s essential to do your research; no business was created without any research.
Take a look at your competitors brand identity and how you can stand out in a competitive or non-competitive market. Write down any similarities that you find across your competitor’s branding.
For example, if you are an estate agent look at the typography they are using – do they use a certain shade of colour? Then reference that to your own ideas, if your branding is too off-topic you need to consider if you will be too eccentric for your industry; if so it might be back to the drawing board.
Look through Google and Pinterest and create yourself a mood board that inspires you and is fitting for your industry. These resources are great to find a vast amount of inspiration that is not only reliable but it can be fitting to your brand identity.
Think about colour
Colour is essential for when you are creating your brand identity. Colours have different psychological meanings, for example, orange means successful and confident, whereas purple stands for luxury and ambition. Play around with what works and remember, when using more than one colour, using opposites on the colour wheel works really well.
Here are a few colour ways that work well together:
- Blue and Orange
- Red and Green
- Purple and Yellow
Refer back to your research and think about any colours that frequently show up – can you utilise them or come up with your own colour scheme? When it comes to colours you need to also consider the long-term associations that people will have to your business. Take Walkers, their products mimic a colour that stands for a flavour, without even looking. I am sure that the UK can tell you what the flavours are just by looking at their colour.
Know your sector
So you have decided on a colour scheme and you have done your research. You will now need to make sure that your goal for your business matches your branding. This is making sure that your branding fits into your sector but it is also unique so you stand out from the crowd.
You want to create a dynamic design that is positioned against your competitors without copying them. Keep in mind your unique selling point as this can play into your brand identity. Once you have your USP then this can be referenced into your brand.
Keeping to your sectors guidelines may seem boring but to gain the correct customers and have them associate with your brand is vital. Brand identity isn’t something that should be rushed, as you want to perfect it and get it right the first time.
For more information check out our recent blog post all about the fundamentals of social media or get in touch.