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This series of blog posts is looking at the four step branding process and why professional and consistent branding is vital to any successful business. In the first step, we looked at brand workshops to develop ideas, followed by the second step of creating the brand manual.
This third step takes the process forward by using all of the information gleaned from the workshop and presented in the manual, to actually start developing a visual brand identity for your business to use in the future.
The brand manual in step two , provided the wording for the brand values and mission, giving a clear idea of how the brand should be representing itself and the kinds of words to be used when talking about it.
This third stage is about translating those words into visuals which work in conjunction with the messaging, bringing the whole look and feel of the brand together. If your words shout ‘luxury’, but the images you use are tacky, then the brand identity won’t work.
It’s important to choose colours, imagery and fonts which all reflect the look and feel the brand identity needs to create . If it’s a fun, vibrant identity then go for bright colours, fun fonts and happy images – whereas if you want a serious corporate look, that type of approach won’t work.
The brand workshop in stage one will have thrown out lots of ideas for design and visual brand identity so this stage is to build from there and select the most appropriate visual options, and then try working with them in different environments.
Take the ideas and ask a designer to mock up how they could be used on a website, or a leaflet, and what kind of logo designs could be created using the kinds of colours and imagery that were chosen in the workshop.
This stage is all about finalising the visual concept of the brand, in line with the wording and messaging from the brand manual, so you start to see a really strong, clear brand identity coming through for the business.
It needs to stand out from the crowd but also resonate with your audience and be instantly recognisable , so when people see the brand logo and colours, they know exactly which company it is and what they can expect from you.
Once the brand identity has been decided upon, the business will be ready to move to the fourth and final step in the branding process – which is Brand Implementation. At this stage – which will be the subject of our next blog in more detail – the business will be applying the new brand identity to create new marketing materials, and developing brand guidelines so they are always produced consistently going forward.
If you would like to speak to our branding experts or book a brand workshop for your business then please do give us a call or send us an email
about your requirements today. Telephone 01489 891870 or email info@lcm.co.uk.