The saying “first impressions are everything” particularly applies to your brand identity that is representing your business. A brand identity helps you establish the first contact with your customers and develop a lasting emotional connection that will bind them to your company or service in the future.
The path to establishing a strong and unique brand identity is simple and fun as long as you follow these basic steps that will guide your ideas forward to a powerful brand design.

1. Research and know

If you have an existing brand, look into how it is perceived, both externally and internally. If you are starting from scratch, forego that step and research the competition.

Don’t copy successful brands. Instead, search for similarities like colors and concepts that are representative of the industry. For example, the coffee industry largely focuses on light shades and earth tones that remind you of your favorite drink.

Don’t forget to get to know your customers. A good brand not only presents company values but also gives customers something they want to engage with.

2. Brainstorm and sketch

Now start thinking about ideas for your brand. Sketch everything you can think of on up to three sheets of paper. Even make drawings of things that represent your key values. Also, draw the things important to your customers that are representative of their needs and expectations.

When you’re done and have many different ideas, let them sit for a day and think on your different concepts.

3. Stick to a concept

After a day has passed, look at your sketch and you’ll have a fresh perspective. Now identify three concepts that have the most potential. Refine all three ideas to make them better, then consult a new set of eyes to help you single out one idea.

4. Work on visuals

The best branding and marketing agencies in the business claim a good brand is all about the visuals. Basecreate points out that a successful brand has a strong visual identity - recognisable even when the name or logo is not apparent.

Designing such a brand is achieved by a careful choice of logo type, coloring, fonts, and graphics so that the logo is both transferable to and recognisable on different media. These include packaging, commercials, website, physical signage or social media. Things like graphics and photography that follow your brand should have a noticeable consistency in style.

5. Apply and review

Every brand takes time to be built and become applied to its parent company. You need a good strategy to market this brand and increase awareness around it. Luckily, social media are a helpful tool to grow brand awareness. Later on you can analyse your brand’s impact on customers. The results you glean from this research will determine if and how you should review and revise your brand. Changing some simple elements like font can make a huge difference.

You might even go for a clean slate and redo all of these steps if engagement with your brand is low. Just remember the best brands out there were built over time through trial and error. You always have the option to consult professionals and get the most out of your brand image.