MAXIMISING YOUR PROFITABILITY
Do this
after you've defined
your brand's purpose, values, promise, internal culture and brand personality
Brand Identity Creation
The things that customers see.
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First up .... a brand identity is what your brand looks like. It's what your customers see and you are 100% in charge of what you want your brand to looks like.
DRAFT
You may be asking, "what is a brand identity and why do I need it?" and then you might ask, "how do I create a brand identity ?" or "how do I brand?".
STEP 1: creating the perfect business name
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CHECK
if your business name
is available
DO THESE
AT THE SAME TIME
CHECK
if your domain name
is available
How much does it cost to register a business name?
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$36 per year
or
$85 for three years
How much does it cost to to buy a
domain name?
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Approx. $15 per year
Branding is the strategy to create an image of a brand in the consumer's mind.
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“A brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller’s good or service as distinct from those of other sellers” (American Marketing Association).
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“Branding is endowing products and services with the power of a brand” (Kotler & Keller, 2015).
YOU NEED A STYLE GUIDE! Why? Because if you're going to hire a graphic designer
Your Style Guide can be laid out very simple on a piece of paper. On the other hand, it can be comprehensive and really detailed, well in excess of just one page and it can list not just the dos but the don't dos too with regards to the visual brand identity of your brand.
Marketers call a Style Guide a Brand Bible or a Brand Charter, but Style Guide sounds more casual and not so boring, so we'll stick with this name.
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Just remember that:
BRANDING IS A STRATEGY USED TO CREATE AN IMAGE OF YOUR BRAND INSIDE THE MINDS OF YOUR CUSTOMERS.
Knowing this and remembering this, will help guide you as you create your Style Guide.
Your Style Guide will be the be all and end all of how anyone handling your brand should treat it when publishing content for your brand on the web or in print.
you’re also beginning to see just how vital it can be to the consistency of your brand presence, both on the web and in print. This consistency is integral to avoiding problems with mixed messaging and consumer confusion from a public who might see multiple representations of your brand, if you don’t have a brand style guide in place.
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Included in the Style Guide will be these elements:
Business Name
Logo/Symbol
Tagline/Slogan
Typography and Font Files
Colour Palette
Images incl. photos, icons, avatars & specs/dimensions
Tone/voice of the brands
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I will take you through a simple step-by-step process to create the branding elements that will go in your Style Guide.
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Watch this 6 minute video - because I think it may help clarify your thoughts:
STYLE
Guide
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EXAMPLES OF ONE PAGE STYLE GUIDES
FONTS
CHOOSING THE 'OUTFIT' THAT SUITS YOUR BRAND
Choosing the perfect font/s for a brand rarely comes easily. But I'm here to help it make it easy for you but you do need to clearly define your brand's personality first.
Let me explain why your brand's personality needs to be defined first, by way of an example we can all understand ....
You all met Olivia when you defined your brand's personality and you'll be pleased to know that she has been invited to a very special event on Saturday night. Olivia heard on the grapevine that so-and-so are going and she has been been dying to meet these people for ages because she's pretty confident that they will be high-value potential customers. First impressions count (what do they say, you've got one chance to make a first impression), so Olivia wants to look your absolute best. Olivia knows what style of dress looks good on her, she just needs to pick the perfect one, with accessories to match too.
Just like Olivia choosing an outfit to wear somewhere special so she can make a great first impression and start developing relationships with potential clients
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I chose the serif font, Baskerville for my logo, FINDHER, because serif fonts are more traditional in their appearance.
This is how I came to choose Baskerville for my logo ..... I learnt marketing the traditional way. I went to university and studied the discipline at a Masters level. I also have traditional values. I dress in a classical way, mostly.
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I do, however, love a good contradiction whether that be wearing floral with stripes instead of block colours, and eating sweet and salty together
and a sans serif font for my tagline, HERE TO HELP.
FONTS ARE ALL THE FASHION
To put this in font language, it's all about serif and sans-serif. Your computer comes preinstalled with many fonts, like the popular Helvetica and Times New Roman.
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Times New Roman is a serif font. For sure you've noticed those little "feet" or curly edge bits at the top and bottom of letters. If the letter has these extensions, then the font is called a serif font. If you don't see the extensions, then it's called a sans serif font. The word “sans” (in French) means without. So sans serif would be without the serifs or “feet”.
Have a close look at my logo and you'll see that I've used a serif font for FINDHER and a sans serif font for my tagline, HERE TO HELP.