Important stages of brand development that a designer has to go through

Brand Development - Kaizen Brand Evolution

If you have established a new business and are thinking of making it popular through print media, then you must understand that this is not going to work. It is important for businesses to be present online these days. Because most of the people have started opting for online channels to buy, shop, and hire goods/services. Print media is a good way to inform people about your existence but it could prove successful locally. For the worldwide or nationwide reach of your business, you should be present online and must have a business website at least.

Merely having a website is not just going to help. You will have several competitors who are sharp and at a much higher position. You have to meet their standards and work in a unique way so that you can stand out among them. Your customers should recognize you which can only be possible if you have a strong brand personality. An attractive website, engaging content, and outstanding graphic design Belfast can make your website complete with all essential elements. Apart from this, it would later need a smart marketing strategy so that it could reach its potential audiences.

How Graphic designing is a silent ambassador of your brand?

Graphics designing plays a significant role in branding. People think that branding is done by marketing specialists, but the fact is somewhat different. It is a graphics and logo that are silent ambassadors of your brand.

If we talk in terms of business, a brand is a unique sign, symbol, words, design, or a combination of any of these that are used in creating an image that recognizes a product and distinguishes it from its competitors. In other words, a brand is a graphical illustration that audiences compare with a company or a product. An effective brand identity is the one in which customers associate with a high level of integrity and excellence.

Let’s check out our division of a branding process into some important stages which designers have to experience while creating any brand.

BUSINESS GOALS AND BRAND NATURE

Though it’s not the designer who decides business goals or defines its personality, still a designer plays a significant role in laying a foundation for the branding process. Of course, they would need to identify the character of the company or brand first before they start working on a visual part. If being a client you don’t give a designer a brief description characterizing your company, then how would he create graphics for your company.

One more thing that a business owner should know is that there is a big role of psychology in design. It can help designers understand user behavior and their possible reactions to the design. So, think from the designer’s perspective when you create your business goals.

MARKET AND USER RESEARCH

When the goals are set and the personality of the business appears to be clear, it’s time to start research work. The research helps to plunge into the situation of the upcoming brand and understand the fads which may impact its success.

Designers discover potential competitors and all about the current market trends. This could help them create a unique and effective logo and shape brand identity.  Designers cannot completely depend on the sense of beauty for designing website elements. They would need data on user preferences and their psychological peculiarities to come up with something unique as well useful.

LOGO DESIGN

A logo is the mark of brand identity and the most prominent symbol of a brand image. One cannot underestimate the role of logo design. It is considered as a foundation of an effective marketing approach empowering its connection with the target audience.

Here are some essential stages of the creative logo design process. These include:

  • Setting the Task
  • User Research
  • Marketing Research
  • Creative Search
  • Choice of Style Direction
  • Choice of Colour Palette
  • Testing in Different Sizes & Environments

After thorough research and collecting core information, designers move further to the artistic stage, i.e. logo creation. They choose the most suitable style direction and colour palette after going through various studies so that it will work best for a brand.

VISUAL ELEMENTS OF BRAND

Logo designing is not where the story of the designer ends. It is not the only visual representation of a brand. There are some more elements that deserve attention like mascots and typography. Every company wishes to personalize their brand and designers have a solution for them. Mascots are the custom design characters formed to signify the brand in an emblematic manner. They can be made as a part of a logo or present as a discrete element. A mascot can serve as a communication and interaction tool that can interact with users and help in transferring the message in a unique way. Typography is another visual element that is responsible for brand identity. Many logos look unique with the best use of typography.

CORPORATE BRAND STYLE

When the logo is ready, the color palette is selected, and other visual elements are all set, it’s time to bond them together into harmonic corporate style. It is necessary when a designer is working on branding tasks.

CONCLUSION

It can be concluded that branding is a complex process. Each step should be carefully performed based on the business goals as well as the needs of the target audience.