Hi hello! We’ve discussed color psychology, brand strategy and now we’re moving on to… congratulations, you read the title. Brand Identity. Here’s the scoop: Brand Identity represents all the visual parts of a brand (yes, people, that finally includes logos, everyone loves logos), and how your clients/future clients perceive the brand. So. what does that mean? You really want your Brand Identity to work for you (like those electric corkscrews. Have you seen those things?!) meaning it tells the right story. In summary, small or big company, if you need to update your brand identity or if this is your first go around, don’t leave it up to chance. Gossip is vicious and we don’t want people getting the wrong idea about your brand, so let’s do it right from the beginning.

LET’S FEAST OUR EYES ON SOME BRAND ELEMENTS.

If it wasn’t obvious, Brand Elements are the “Legos” that make up Brand Identity. When creating your perfect, incredible, completely original brand elements, make sure to put them to the test and ask yourself these questions about them:

MEMORABILITY

You want your brand elements to be attention-getting and memorable, not like the traumatic death of your Betta Fish from childhood that you already forgot about (did you know that’s how it is spelled?!)

MEANINGFULNESS

Just like they say in those workout videos: this isn’t a rest day. Even though your brand elements are visual, they matter. They should be on-brand and inform people about your product/service while advancing your position in the marketplace. WORK.

LIKEABILITY

This one is easy. Does it have that certain je ne sais quoi about it? It’s gotta.

TRANSFERABILITY

In a job application, they sometimes put: “needs to be able to travel for work”. Your brand elements need to be able to as well. Ask yourself: do these elements work in all cultures and countries? What about platforms? This includes languages too. Trust me, you don’t want to be Chevrolet naming your new car NOVA (which means “doesn’t run” in Spanish).

ADAPTABILITY

You want your brand elements to have staying power, meaning that they are timeless and can be adjusted if time catches up. Fashion trends come and go and so do a lot of brand elements. I mean, Old English Gothic Font is so 12th Century and we’ve all seen those logos that would have done well to stay in the 80’s.

PROTECTABILITY

Just don’t steal the golden arches, okay? Make sure you aren’t copying anyone because lawyers are expensive, especially when you’re wrong.

BRAND ELEMENTS, AKA ‘BUILDING BLOCKS' (LEGOS ARE STILL COOLER).

Now that you know what to look for, let’s get into the actual brand elements:

TYPOGRAPHY

Not only is it important that your font is legible, it also needs to be on-brand. Remember how we discussed how brands are like people? Well, going even further down the anthropomorphic path, fonts have personalities too and your brand and font personalities need to go together like… insert cheesy saying of your choice here.

COLOR PALETTE

Remember that color choice affects people (and most importantly, their judgements/consumption choices). Need more than that? Head on over to the LunaBird “I’m Feeling This Color Psychology Thing” blog.

FORMS AND SHAPES

Logos are made up of shapes and shapes convey visual meaning. Here are your options:

Geometric Shapes
These are ‘person-made’ (that’s right, we’re PC here) shapes. 
  • Circles evoke peace, togetherness, and softness.

  • Squares/rectangles are severe and convey a kind of ‘no-nonsense’, everything is under control vibe.

  • Triangles are a tad fickle- facing up, they are stable and symbolize ongoing success, but facing down, they mean the opposite. Don’t even get me started on right and left facing (I wonder if all those triangle tattoo people know this trivia)

Abstract/Symbolic Shapes
  • Ahh the classics. Hearts, stars, you know the drill. The problem with these is that they are so commonly used that sometimes they convey no meaning at all. If you want to use one of these, you might want a pro in your corner because this is risky business—think Tom Cruise without the sunglasses.
Organic Shapes

Can you spell FREEDOM?? Whether you are using shapes inspired by nature (pronounced NEE-ture, if you didn’t know teehee) or a random squiggle of your own making, remember this: 

  • Nature shapes and curves are calming
  • Sharp angles can be anxiety-inducing
  • Random squiggles, if too random, can confuse people
THE LEGO CASTLE COMES TO LIFE.
Let’s put those “Legos” into place and design a brand, people! Here’s what you need:

BUSINESS NAME

Does it roll off the tongue? Is it distinctive? Does it embody your entire brand and everything it stands for? This is seemingly impossible but it’s possible and we both know it. 😉

TAGLINE

 And you thought coming up with your business name was difficult… Your tagline has to be catchy, informative, and complement your business name like… okay I’ll say it- peanut butter and jelly.

LOGO

The moment you’ve all been waiting for! Logos (not to be confused with Legos)—you need one. Make sure your logo is recognizable, on-brand, and adaptable. Every element of a logo should mean something. And I mean every single one.

Elton John was ready for change, are you? To recap, Brand Identity is complex and has a lot of elements that you need to focus on, but when they come together correctly, they create something gosh darn great. So. We know that New Years came and went so you can’t use the whole New Years resolution excuse, but maybe now is the time to start your new venture or update your existing one. Think about it. 
Continuing with the New Years Resolution metaphor, get your calendars out and start the count down because next up on the LunaBird blog is… Website Necessities. Ciao!