Brand Identity Archives

Why do a brand audit?

Why do a brand audit?’ is something I constantly have to educate prospective and existing clients. Brand audits help businesses recognise their strengths and weaknesses, they create opportunities for improving, and find ways to help them stay relevant and move forward.

March 20, 2019 admin Brand Identity, Branding Adelaide No comments yet

Why you should rebrand?

Why you should rebrand is a question I get asked often, and they answer is if there’s one thing that running a branding agency has made me appreciate, it’s the ever-changing nature of the marketplace.

August 1, 2018 admin Brand Identity, Branding, Branding Adelaide No comments yet

What Is a Brand Identity?

A common mistake most clients make is they think a logo is their brand identity. Branding is so much more than a logo and your stationary or website. A brand identity influences your customers’ experience, it’s a way to differentiate yourself from your competition.

March 6, 2018 admin Brand Identity, Branding, Branding Adelaide No comments yet

The Importance Of A Brand Identity Guide

The word “brand” is one of the most overused and misunderstood words in the market place.

Usually, it gets thrown around as metaphor, a label or a descriptor, whether the brand is a entertainer, athlete, movie franchise or just simply a product. Regardless of the use, the goal of every brand is to induce customers to buy their pitch, and ultimately make a purchase.

But, many businesses often rely too strongly on advertising to do achieve this, failing to realise that there’s more to swaying customers than just a message. The employees, culture, identity and tactics of a business are as important as the advertising message when it comes to creating a winning brand.

So how do you make it all come together? By making sure that there’s more than just a great vision being delivered. Management and employees must be on the same page, and this is by implementing a strategy and creating a strong identity to develop and extend a great brand.

What is a brand identity guide?

Simply put, a brand identity guide is a manual that defines the identity and explains how it should be used, both internally and externally. It helps make a connection between the corporate identity and it’s brand promise, so that all elements connect in a coherent way that resonates with both prospective and existing customers.

What is a brand guide

The brand guideline also has instructions on how all the elements of a brand, business cards, adverts, signage, etc should be used in communication across the board.

It functions as outline for both marketers and designers, helping them to work together to perfect the logo, put together ads that are both striking, and maintain the integrity of the brand across a number of different platforms. It ensures that communication with customers is consistent with it’s values, and that all advertisements will resonate both visually with what you provide to your’e customers.

Branding guides

Once these competencies have been established, they can be expanded on to add a positioning statement, that includes the brand promise, as well as the key reason to use the brand. This should also be wary of the brands vision, and it should include the value proposition, which helps build loyalty.

A Brand Guide’s importance

An important part of all this is the brands personality, which poses the question “who is this brand, and what is it about?” Once this has been identified and expanded, it can be taken back down to a ‘brand mantra’, which is a short, clean way of expressing what the brand represents and what is it’s unique selling proposition.

Intel brand guidelines

This mantra must be unforgettable. Ideally, it should consist of an emotional and/or descriptor modifier. For example, the mantra of Nike is athletic performance / authentic. The simplicity of this mantra makes it stick in the minds of the customers.

Nike Mantra

That simplicity makes it possible to manage the mantra with the brand language that follows, whether it appears in a form of visual or verbal codes. The end result is an unforgettable message about how the company (in this example Nike) differentiates itself from their competitors.

The brand identity guide should contain rules for running a brand. It should speak about what your business achieves, but you should always remember that the brand should be focused on customer needs. In the end, the brand comes from the company, using the principals mentioned above out in the brand guide.

On a different level, the brand guide can also be used for budgeting. Budgeting can be broken down into sections, which can include the time spent creating the brand, along with the cost of designing stationery, signage, printing, etc. It could also include the cost of advertising, PR and the expenses of using a agency.

And finally, a brand guide can also be used to introduce new products or services. These must be consistent with existing brand values because pushing a brand too far can ruin it.

In summary a brand guide is most important to any business, large or small. You must think of it as a operating manual for your business. Without one can ruin your businesses integrity and overall brand value. Speak to us at DesignLab about how we can develop a brand guide for your business.

March 6, 2017 admin Brand Identity Comments Off

Social Media Trends to Make Your Brand Stand out in 2016

Are you looking to get tremendous results for your brand through social media this year?

Social media is ever evolving as one of the biggest components for generating business sales and leads. It means that you need to come up with some plans that can stand you out from your competition.

Here is some tips.

Streaming Live Video Plays a Key Role

Brands need to utilise live video streaming as a prominent option to connect with their customers and attract more customers.

Don’t get too concerned about knowledge because Periscope and Meerkat are apps that will let you do it easily.

Something to consider, consumers always trust a brand that has taken care about their customers and make every possible effort to fulfill their desires. We believe that streaming live video will bring you one stop closer to your targeted audience.

You can also use this option to share stories of your brand.

A Brand that Targets on Real-Time Engagement is Already Ahead

When it comes to social media, consistency plays a major role, especially when people are spending 30% their time on social media.

Because this is a massive competition, if you are not listening to your chances properly, you will not be able to accomplish your targets.

So, keep your audience involved through constant interaction.

Have you ever thought that why giant brands like Coca-Cola or Starbucks are so successful on social media?

It’s simple. These brands are always active on social channels, and engage their audiences through a range of techniques. Such types of brands also respond quite efficiently which is yet another prominent reason behind their success.

So if you are expecting outstanding results from your social media, then get more focused towards real-time engagement.

Collect Analysis for Decision Making

Gone are the days when business decisions have been made on a ideal situation. Now with the fast advancement in technology, everything has changed.

If you want to create a social media strategy you have to gather facts and data to make a mature decision.

If you haven’t been collecting data analysis then it’s time for you to take it into consideration.

You don’t need to make any effort because there are plenty of data analysis tools available online. We use Moz Analytics and SproutSocial.

Brands Should Focus More on Visual Content

Content (in text form) will no longer be enough to attract your customers. You really have to include video for making your content stand out more.

It’s a fact that social media platforms gets updated after every second with unlimited number of posts. So sometimes, it’s not possible for your’e user to read everything they come across.

Most of the times they will only consider reading a post that looks more appealing, and this is where video comes in.

It’s obvious that if you want to boost the visibility of your posts, make your content as appealing as possible through quality visuals.

Check out the following brands, they their audiences will get satisfied through visual content. Kate Spade New York and tHe Horse Footwear.

Customers Are Becoming You’re Ambassador

Satisfying your’e customer to make them your ambassador of your product is more important these days.

A potential customer usually conducts a research now before making their final decision. For this, they will ask other people about their experiences about your brand.

If you have already established a good relationship with your existing customers, they will certainly tell all their friends about it.

So, it is vital for you to satisfy your existing customers, so that they can become the real ambassadors of your brand.

New Publication Options Will Provide More Opportunities for Brands

Did you know Facebook has started to roll out a new Instant Article feature. We personally think this feature will be an amazing option for any brands, marketers and publishers and to convey their messages.

We live in such an informative age, which means it has become crucial for any brands to now educate their audience. Instant Article will be an appropriate feature for one of these purposes.

If you are targeting a more mature audience, then try LinkedIn’s new pulse features.

In summary, you now don’t need to miss any opportunity to win your audience, these publication features are quite useful tools that will keep you connected with your audience.

Smart phones Need to be Given Topmost Priority For Marketing

Browsing on your smart phone is becoming more and more the common way to be on the internet.

Do you know that the number of mobile-only internet users now exceeds desktop-only users?

If you are not using your smart phones correctly, then now is the time to think of it as the most powerful element for building up a social media marketing strategy for your brand.

It the sensible move because the majority of people now use smart phones to spend time using social media.

Because of this you will have to use appropriate size of images that look amazing on a smart phone. You may also have to re-structure your social content strategy accordingly to gain better results.

In Summary

Social media is emerging as one of the most appropriate platform for all types of brands. It is an ever-changing industry that requires you to be updated about the latest trends.

July 13, 2016 admin Blogs, Brand Identity, Branding, Branding Adelaide, Social Media Comments Off

Develop an effective brand

Branding is being embraced by small businesses as a means to distinguish themselves from their competition. It takes time to develop an effective brand, both in the creation and the implementation stage. A brand is not created overnight; it is planned, maintained, groomed. Done effectively, the process is well worth your energy.

To explain what a brand is simple, it’s the public image of a business or product. It is a promise. It is reputation. When delivered consistently, a brand shapes consumers’ perceptions and their expectations. A successful brand celebrates personality, values and embodies the spirit of the subject it represents.

The objective of a branding strategy is to develop a clear, compelling and consistent message that is easily conveyed. A good brand contains messages that can speak to a large audience, including it’s current customers, and potential people. This has to be delivered in a short, simple way.

Creating a Logo

A crucial part of developing a branding is the creation of a good logo, but remember your logo is not your brand. This visual element symbolises the brand, plays a large role in establishing the emotional connection with the product. Integrating the logo into all corporate elements, including PR, information packets, brochures, advertising, videos, newsletters, websites and social media, is a important part of building the brand identity. Consistency in design, look is vital in building credibility.

A important rule for logo design is that it must be able to speak on it’s own. Effective logos should not have to be explained. Take a look at some of the world’s most successful brands: the Nike swoosh, the golden arches of McDonalds, the interlocking rings of the Olympics, the colorful peacock of NBC and the bite out of Apple. Brands & a strong visual identity helps this happen.

Investigating a Brand Identity

It is easy to hire a graphic design agency and writer to assist in the creation of your brand. Significant time, money and energy will be lost if a well thought out plan isn’t planned first. The first place to start is with a SWOT analysis. When evaluating your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats to your company, it is important to be honest.

A thorough review of your business should include what it will accomplish, how the products and services will be delivered, why it even exists and what it makes it different from your competitors. Also consider the target audience, what their concerns are, and how the business can help them. Be careful not to quickly reject an idea as ridiculous during this brainstorming phase.

When the list is at a point where it can be narrowed down to the three best ideas, a focus group should be put together to gauge their perceptions, reactions, misconceptions, feelings and opinions. A another focus group of staff and members, as well as current customers, should also be gathered.

Building a Branding Strategy

Negative feedback about products and services should be considered when developing the branding strategy. Make a list of the current public perceptions, then take a critical look at how those beliefs can be repositioned.

At the very least, the focus groups opinions should drive the final branding position statement. Around one to two paragraphs, this statement must embody who the company is and what it delivers differently. From these sentences, sound bites that can be incorporated any time someone speaks or writes about the business.

Once this is done, visual and textual elements can begin the development stage. These should reflect the personality and values of your brand, but also match the interest of your target audience. For example, if a skateboard company wants to attract a young and hip audience, the messages, fonts and artwork should be playful and outdoorsy. In complete contrast, a retirement house needs to build a more subdued brand in order to portray an image of trust and peace.

Utilising a Slogan

A slogan should be developed to define the business to its audience. When a customer hear a slogan, they should immediately think of its associated company. For example, when someone says, “Just do it,” the first thought is Nike. Other large corporations have been extremely successful with these tactics, including M&M’s “It melts in your mouth, not in your hands”.

The objective is to keep the slogan simple and easy to remember. Being clever is only considered if it doesn’t confuse the message. It also has to be short since the slogan is typically incorporated into the logo design, as well as all collateral marketing pieces.

As the brand is implemented, it is important that everyone affiliated with the business is able to convey the brand messages. Each person who represents the company is a brand ambassador, from the CEO, to the sales manager, to the receptionist, to the staff.

May 23, 2016 admin Brand Identity, Branding, Branding Adelaide Comments Off

Rebranding Sydney Opera House

Sydney Opera House’s new rebranding will attempt to solve a problem unique to the architecture.

Since it’s construction was completed back in 1973, the Sydney Opera House has become one of the world’s most iconic buildings. Over 7 million people a year take a photo in front of the building, but only a small fraction of those people actually walk through the doors for a tour. although the Sydney Opera House is a popular arts destination, with over 1 million tourists a year, it doesn’t have much of an identity that it can call its own, independent of the building’s facade.

The Sydney Opera House was meant to be seen as one with its exterior; you supposed to want to go in as much as you wanted to walk around it. Now, Interbrand Australia has created a new identity for the Sydney Opera House that the CEO Cooney hopes will finally succeed in integrating the organisation’s iconic exterior with the vibrant arts.

Inspired by geometry and shadow of the building’s exterior, Interbrand’s new logo encompasses a custom typeface to accompany its old logo (an abstract, geometric representation of the Opera House), as well as a visual language that references the building’s iconic architecture. “At the heart of it, we wanted to help the Sydney Opera House reassert its purpose,”.”To be a source of inspiration within a building, not just a building.” says Cooney.

It’s a problem unique to the architecture, of which the Sydney Opera House designed by Danish architect Jørn Utzon in 1957. Everyone wants an famous building. But what happens when your building is just too famous? How do you refocus attention when the building is viewed as more important than the cultural institution it was designed to promote?

Interbrand’s approach was simple, Cooney said it’s important to understand the history of the Sydney Opera House. It was commissioned at a time when Australia, regarded as a colony, had just stepped onto the world stage as one of the Allied victors of World War II. “Up until then, people had very simple ideas about what Australia was.”. “But Joseph Cahill, the premier of New South Wales, understood that not only is public infrastructure important to the building of a nation, but so was building an infrastructure of the arts. So he put out the task to make an arts center.” This arts center, became the Sydney Opera House. “The project was a crucial part of Australia working out who we wanted to be, and how the world saw us.”

In other words, the Sydney Opera House original purpose was to shift perspectives. Shifting perspectives is also the goal (and even the name!) of the Sydney Opera House’s new identity. “We looked to the structure’s details for inspiration.” “Most of the shapes we use are inspired by the building itself, which is both beautiful in its magnitude, and beautiful in miniature.” Cooney says.

The new identity includes a new custom designed typeface named Utzon. Designed by Swiss typographer Laurenz Brunner, Utzon’s letters are beveled so that any given glyph is made up of multiple slopes and angles. When animated with a light source, these bevels create dramatic shadow patterns, which evoke the Sydney Opera House when it’s at sundown. And these letters don’t just exist as vectors: they have been designed to be real-world objects, so that they can be used as physical signage, and illuminated by real light sources.

Another element of the identity are the colourful new sails used to tie together the posters, commercials, and other materials. The sails are the subtle chevron pattern of the Sydney Opera House’s exterior, but unlike Utzon’s shells, they aren’t just monochromatic: They also are vibrantly coloured with shades plucked from the famous tapestries which hang on the inside of the building. It’s another example of how Interbrand Australia is trying to unite what goes on inside the Sydney Opera House. The sails look great in static form (for example, as the background pattern on a poster for an upcoming program), but like everything about the new identity, also lend themselves to motion. “When you walk around the building, it feels like it moves,” explains Cooney. “We wanted our work to have the same effect.”

It’s a little too early to tell if the Opera house’s new identity will help improve the attendance: It only started rolling out last December in 2015. But Interbrand Australia has succeeded in what it set out to do: The new identity looks native to the place. When Utzon sat down at his desk to draft the original design of the Sydney Opera House, he didn’t simultaneously create an integrated brand identity for the organisation his arts centre would house. But now, thanks to Interbrand Australia, it looks like he did.

All Images: courtesy Interbrand Australia

March 4, 2016 admin Blogs, Brand Identity, Branding, Graphic design Comments Off

The importance of logo identity

Why is a logo identity so important? Because we mostly choose the products we buy based on their perceived value rather than their real value.

Logos are all around us. Think clothes labels, running shoes, TVs, smart phones, computers. From the moment we wake to the moment we sleep, they’re an ever-present part of our every day routine.

The average person sees 15,000 advertisements, logos, and labels in a day.

Don’t believe it?

To illustrate the constant presence of logos in our lives, I decided to spend the first few minutes of a typical working day looking at all logos on the products I interact with, beginning with my morning alarm. They ranged to Apple logo on my iPhone, Kellogs logo on my cereal box, Channel 9 logo on the TV show I was watching, Toyota logo on my car, school logo entrance at my sons’ school, a variety of logos on shop fronts as I drove to work.

All these logos in only 2 hours from me being up already, that’s just a glimpse into my day, which is not to say that there weren’t plenty of other logos around at the time — on other food products, books and newspapers, billboards and my clothing.

A logoless company is a like a person without a face.

For years, we have needed and desired social identification. Think of a farmer who brands his cattle to mark his ownership, or the stonemason who proudly chisels his trademark.

When you close your eyes and picture McDonald’s, what do you see? Golden arches? For those products and services that have a strong logo identity, it’s the identity that people often think of first, rather than the product itself. Think of Apple, Nike, Coke and BMW. Chances are good that without even showing you their logos, you’d have a fairly good idea how they look. But also be, a huge marketing budget is necessary to achieve the recognition rates of such organisations, but it’s important to “put on your best face.”

So you see logo identity is vital to any business that wishes to succeed and be remembered. Can you really out a price on that?

Call Spiros at DesignLab to discuss how we can help better your logo identity.

December 3, 2015 admin Brand Identity, Branding, Branding Adelaide, Logo design Comments Off

Pricing Logo Design

Every graphic designer ask the age-old question…. “How much should I charge my clients for logo design?”. So if you don’t know what your skills are worth, rest assured you’re not alone. I still wonder whether we are doing ourselves justice with the rates we have set, and I’ve been in charge of my business for what seems like a very long time.

There is a great quote I use with new clients which reads ‘It took me a few seconds to draw it, but it took me 34 years to learn how to draw it in a few seconds’. This sums it all up so nicely. As an experienced designer you may be quick, but it has taken years of practice to get to that point.

You can’t be expected to price a design project without first understanding the needs of your client. I just don’t know how some designers can advertise a list of predetermined prices for x amount of concepts with x rounds of revisions, they are attempting to commoditize a profession that by definition can’t be commoditized.

Every client is different, so every design project will be also.
It makes no sense to me to pigeonhole your client into a specific price bracket. What works for one will not work for another, and your time profit a big hit when you limit yourself to a set range and attract clients on the basis of price alone.

The pricing formula

Pricing logo design is far from an exact science formula, and even when you think you’ve covered every factor possible for determining your costs, another one will crop up and force you to recalculate. It’s important to consider what affects the amount you quote, and how you can ensure you actually make a profit.

Print costs

A logo design is likely to contain a range of print design, such as business cards, letterheads, or a brochure, and it is difficult to determine how and what to charge your client for providing this service.

Designers normally charge a markup on the total print costs when they handle this service for the client. This is their way of recouping the time and effort spent liaising with the print company. There’s no industry standard percentage, but somewhere between a 15 and 20 percent markup is a good starting point.

My advice is to advise clients to deal directly with a printer locally. This helps clients in two ways: They save money that is otherwise spent on my markup, and they build a business relationship with someone local, which can save a significant amount of money on future print runs. And if your clients take the time to ask a printer how to make the most of the money they plan to spend on their printing project, they likely will be surprised at the advice and help the printer delivers.

Level of expertise

Only you know how much your skills are worth, and this value is the result of your experience in dealing with clients. I frequently ask myself if I’m charging too much or charging
too little, and I reckon every other designer does too. But the main goal is to make sure you’re compensated for the level of experience and education; the overheads for your office space, equipment, electricity and heating, etc; and the expenses you will incur as a result of working through the design project with your client (travel costs, your time, etc).

Quick turnaround times

If a client is under pressure to have a job completed within a tight time frame, then you need to consider applying a “rush job” markup. Accepting the request means that you, too, will be under increased pressure to get the job done, and might result in a rescheduling of your existing projects. I recommend a markup of 20 percent to 50 percent, depending on the urgency of the deadline and the client.

Additional services

When a client needs a new website to go along with their logo, consider it a wonderful opportunity, even if such a service falls outside your skill set. It’s situations like these that allow you to provide that extra level of service and support that is most useful to your client.

Down payments

It is essential that you receive a down payment prior to commencing work—especially when dealing with a client with whom you have no prior relationship. If you don’t get one, it’s easy to be taken for a ride.

I made a mistake of falling into this trap in my early days of being in business. I once worked with a client with whom I had an understanding that full payment would be made after I sent final artwork. I supplied my client with the designs, but almost immediately after, my client contact evaporated, and I was left with nothing.

I would recommend at leat 25 – 50% deposit. This is not unreasonable to ask, and it quite common practice in business.

The money exchange

After having worked with overseas clients for some time, I began to wonder about fluctuations in exchange rates, and whether I should factor these into my initial quotes. It’s worth considering, because there might be a sudden dip in the exchange rate before you receive full payment, potentially leaving you out of pocket.

November 11, 2015 admin Brand Identity, Branding, Logo design Comments Off

Good Business Card Design Adelaide

Good business card design Adelaide is so important to your brand. Your business card can be considered one of the most important marketing tools you can have for your brand and business. You are giving you’re contact information to potential customers. In order for the business card to do its job, it has to be professional, memorable and attractive.

It is very important for your business card to be attractive and memorable. Think that some people receive hundreds of business cards and they rarely remember any of them. Making your business card memorable is and should important.

Some mandatories we advise all our clients are your logo must be simple and symbolic to your business services and the industry that is associated with. Having your website and email address is a must these days. Customers will be searching for a website where to look for information about your business and for an email if they want to contact you. If you’re missing these, you better keep the cards to yourself, cause handing them to people would be pointless.

What people appreciate more than anything else in a business card is it’s quality. Your brand is reflected by your business card, and if you have one with a good paper quality and print finish, the first impression of a possible client will be far better than from a regular business card.

In short business cards will never go away. They remain an effective tool for building networks and keeping in contact with clients.

The business cards showcased below are a really good example of how to make your card stand out.

Speak to Spiros at DesignLab if you want to take your business card to the next level and really stand out.