Imagine Starbucks -Siren. Imagine now in a light Drift Kings Media Orange. How incorrect Does that feel for you?
As with any brand identity, the Starbucks identity requires many elements that work together to connect with them to the consumer. The siren graphic, the right green tone, the round form of the logo – you need everything to achieve the right effect (and to create one of the world’s best known brands in the world).
Which brand elements create a convincing brand identity? And where can you give a little help or inspiration to make it easier for you to get started? Let us immerse yourself.
Table of contents
What are brand identity elements?
I think of “brand identity” as the personality of your brand – a presence that is different and unique You. It is a picture that is conjured up in the minds of their buyers, one that they feed regularly and consistently. These aspects of your brand – such as your name, your logo and your color selection – create a coherent, recognizable image in your target group.
As soon as you have searched for these brand elements, you will find them in almost everything a company creates: social media photo filter, fonts on YouTube videos, sales decks, websites and products. Removing one of these elements makes this brand feel incorrect or out of (Like an orange Starbucks logo).
These details may feel overwhelming if you build your brand identity from scratch. Let’s go with examples and implementable tips through each of the most important elements.
Brand identity elements
1. Fire purpose
Who are you for your audience? I think that the best brand identity can answer this question with specificity and uniqueness. And her answer leads how the rest of your brand identity development develops.
Check your promise of value, your mission and vision statements and your values. Run the parts in these elements, the emotions of your ignition Target group.
For example, The dog’s dog Is a special feed celebration that started because one of his founders had a dog (Jada) who had stomach problems with processed dog food. He wanted a better way to feed Jada A billion dollar company.
Although I do not use their service, I realize that the desire to take care of their pets runs deeply in every dog buyer. The love for dogs makes the heart of the dog’s dog – and it is obviously in every element of his brand identity.
Pro tip: If you need a little additional help to find out who you are on your market, read these other HubSpot resources:
2. Brand name
A brand name identifies your company and its products or services and distinguishes you from your competitors. It serves as one of the most obvious and unforgettable elements of their brand identity.
If you build customer confidence, your name will represent this trust. This is important for buyers: according to that 2024 Edelman Trust BarometerTrust remains a top three-time purchase criterion for consumers. If you lose it and your brand name will lose it too.
So what about a good brand name? An advice I have: just do it. Studies show that a more easily remembered brand name has More endurance with consumers as something confusing. Maybe that of course-then you ask you then Quibi How did it go.
Pro tip: Consider your options in cultural and social contexts, otherwise your brand or product names can go sideways. For example, I have a few articles from Ikea in my house. But one that I don’t have, the children’s circular description is wonderfully named “Fart. “” What does “full speed” mean in Swedish not entirely in English.
3. Logo
I bet you can identify and describe each of these brands:
Your brand logo is probably the most important visual expansion of your identity. It is not only displayed in ads or on your website, but also in your physical products, in e -mails from sellers or on advertising boards along the highway.
Many brands have a logo market (such as the three examples above) and a Wordmark that contains the brand name. Drift Kings Media, Spotify and Transport for London use all elements of your logo in your Wordmark:
I would advise you to design a logo that can be transferred through the changing market aesthetics (also known as timelessness). Of course, more easily said than done, but the best logos are the ones who hire companies in the long run. Jaguar’s latest logo new design And subsequent flop are reminiscent of a strong memory of the place of a timeless logo in the hearts of the buyers.
Pro tip: Do you need help with your logo? Take a look at our Free logo manufacturer As a starting point.
4. Graphics and pictures
Your general visual identity makes an important first impression for your buyers. And that happens quickly: people make their judgments about the visual appearance of their website in up to 50 milliseconds. That’s about a frame In an average television program.
I will not say that you should end without any picture, but take the time to define and create a coherent and consistent look where the buyers see your brand. There are many ways to achieve this. For example, use the same filters in all Instagram posts to show that you are paying attention to consistency – and help your buyers know what to expect from you.
As inspiration, I would see the Style Guide from Burger King. It precisely defines BK’s values and interprets them verbally and visually.
The Burger King Style Guide Lists its four design principles:
- Delicious
- Big & brave
- Playfully irrelevant
- Proud
The guide interprets “Big & Fett” with clear, implementable instructions: “We play with macro photography with the scale and a focus on details. The colors are unapikely full and rich.”
Let’s take a look at how this affects Burger King on the Instagram account:
Burger King’s pictures play on his burgers (and other food) – they make them in the middle. Scan more Fast -Food -Instagram accounts and you will find that the pictures of BK differentiate it from competitors like McDonald’s or Wendy’s.
5. Forms
A famous linguistic experiment from 1929 asked the participants to look at two forms and read two invented words. “Bouba” and “Kiki”. You are asked to assign the “word” of the right form:
With regard to languages, cultures and age groups, people say that the spiky form is “kiki” and the spotty, rounded form is “bouba” in about 88% of cases.
The Bouba/Kiki effect shows how the shapes deal with the visual identity of your brand (maybe more than expected). Troy rodOwner of Fire popcontinued LinkedIn These “shapes are like the body language of your brand”.
Daniel OcockThe managing director of Vie designsays that he sees forms as “the secret language of design”; They say a lot without saying anything at all. Ocock says These circles are “friendly and inclusive”, steps on “screaming” and triangles call up.
Buyers can remember the shapes even after years or decades. For example, I grew up a nickelodeon child and remember the “Splat” logo that was used in my childhood:
This shape and its variants are burned into my brain. I immediately associate it with pleasant memories in childhood (and the unscovered wish Become slim).
The The company gave it up in 2009 For a “minimalist” attitude, but actually 14 years later his Splat logo arouses up during a greater renaming due to its importance.
6. Iconography
Icons are usually the smallest elements, but can significantly influence the perception of their professionalism. The right symbols increase their presence and add the piece of polish, which provide great first impressions.
If you carry out a symbol development, I would check current design trends and Usability criteria. Things can change quickly, with today’s slim, today’s today.
For example, when Apple published iOS 7 in 2013, his app ikonography was redesigned by A Seuuomorph Design to the flat, two -dimensional design that is used today.
The Skeuomorphism adds texture and details to illustrations of bookshelves can contain wooden grain effects, or a symbol of a camera can have a 3D-looking lens.
When Apple flattened its designs, the rest of the design world noticed. In the meantime, they have probably got used to seeing flat iconography everywhere, so much that the Skeuomorphism looks out of date:
Together with design considerations, consistent symbols keep their brand identity intact over every channel and application. For example, the Google Slides templates from Drift Kings Media include three pages with icons approved for use. Decks in the entire company remain consistent and nobody is looking for suitable symbols for hours.
Pro tip: You wonder how you can design fresh icons for your brand? Take a look at our icon design guide.
7. Color scheme
Color communicates an incredible amount of information. The psychological components behind color selection are complex and their decisions determine how people perceive their company.
For example, my favorite color is red (and one that I often use in my branding work). Red is a color of “passion, energy and excitement” – but can also be “dangerous and defiant” in certain contexts.
In nature that Red ligaments on coral snakes Warning potential predators, you will get a toxic bite if you try something. Interestingly, this deep -seating psychology can also appear in its brand identity.
Be thoughtful in your color selection, as you will infuse every part of your visual presence with your selected color scheme. For example, the aesthetician Sean Garrette uses rich chocolate brown and supplementary earth tones in its entire social media presence.
Consumers can recognize their brand as soon as they have associated certain color pallets to the presence of their company, as they see the three pallets in the GIF below (each brand name is announced after three seconds):
Pro tip: If you are looking for the right color palette for you, try Khroma for AI-generated options. Give yourself some time to work on it because Khroma’s algorithm needs at least 50 color selection. You can also check out Drift Kings Media -free of color generator color rangeCreate the ideas based on information that you provide through your brand.
An important note on color schemes: common accessibility guidelines – especially WCAG 2 – Design color schemes that make surfing more accessible to people with disabilities. These guidelines become critical of how Accessibility grow in number and scale. Whoocanuse.com is a great online tool to test your color palette for these accessibility standards.
8. Typography
The typography of your brand is more than just a letter selection. Writings, distance and sample of size to create the appearance of your text, and this interaction creates its unique appearance.
An element that you probably noticed is the use of serif or sans serif fonts. A “serif” is a small decorative stroke that is usually attached to the ends of the letters. Many designers are of the opinion that serific fonts – similar to Sieuomorphic icons – are outdated. For this reason Sans serif fonts are just hotAnd why it feels like every brand is switching to it.
It is up to you which font you like and where you use it (e.g. serif fonts for headings and serific fonts for body copy). No matter, choose a Web-safe script Or enter you in your font stack as a fallback.
Browsers and devices recognize web-safe fonts in general. Although modern web design enables more briefs, it is good to have a backup ready to offer users a consistent experience on the devices.
9. Brands voice
Your “voice” is how you sound in the thoughts of your consumers when you deal with your brand. It gives their content volume and depth and helps them to shape their clear identity.
I think most of the brands define their voice with three or four descriptive adjectives: helpful, friendly, playful, playful, funny, analytical, factual, academic or youthful. The trick with a branded voice, however, is to know When In order to apply these feelings to their points of contact and to optimize them in such a way that they meet the specific requirements of a channel.
For example, the Style Guide from Burger King defines the company’s voice as enthusiastically, confident, funny and accessible. The guide also notices that Burger Kings Content manufacturer “has to bend our voice a little for different situations: a little fun here, a little more direct.”
Imagine now that you are a Burger King textor who is commissioned to write two versions of an advertisement, one for an older audience and one for a gene z- audience. The connection with Gen Zers may need a crown or a burger emoji – something you would do from content that will be aligned with more mature crowd.
If you build your brand identity, I recommend choosing four specific words that define your brand as Burger King did. You can then adapt to your target group, the type of display and other considerations and at the same time match your core identity.
Pro tip: Visit my article about the development of your branded voice to find much more details about the subtleties that determine who they are and how they sound for their audience.
10. Slogan, jingle or keyword
While B2B providers may want to spray a funny slogan about their e -mail signatures, I have found that slogans, jingles or keywords are best suited for B2C companies. And even then I would use them carefully.
However, if you create a little catchy, it can become one of your most memorable brand elements. Can you imagine these brands without their slogans or Jingles?
- “Have your way” by Burger King von Burger King
- “The snack that smits back”, Crackers Goldfish Cracks
- “America runs on Dunkin”, from Coffee Company Dunkin ‘
- “Because you are worth it”, L’Oreal
- “Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there”, from the insurance company State Farm
- “Schnapp, crackle, pop!” From rice crisis
It doesn’t have to be complicated either. I couldn’t endure these commercials when they were broadcast, but I still catch saying: “Frontal: Apply directly to the forehead. ““ You probably don’t want to cause trouble from your target group, but the basic but catchy and catchy slogan from front-on show that finding your brand’s slogan could be a simple process.
11. Brand guidelines and application
An identity requires cohesion and cohesion requires documentation and enforcement. If you focus your teams on your identity, it is no fun like designing logos, but it is important if you want buyers to connect with your brand.
I shared examples of the brand style guide in this article that you can imitate. However, the basic document should be a clear, written guideline set, including rules for use (or not using) logos, colors and visuals as well as practical DOS and donges for real applications.
A written guide keeps your identity consistently about your points of contact and gives your creators an approved sandpit for testing and itering.
Pro tip: Take a look at our Template for brand guidelines Building your brand identity documentation.
Together together on brand elements
When you go through this guide, I recommend that you create your brand elements in or at the same time. This proximity helps to breed the consistency of what your team produces. This is of crucial importance than your brand elements must work together. Your Jingle will not recover if nobody can remember your brand name. Your logo does not look professional if your colors do not match.
Take the time in your brand development process at an early stage to plan these elements. You don’t have to have every answer immediately. I often think that brands develop, add and drop elements if they do not meet the purpose or needs of the brand. Use this guide and resources to start your brand identity foundation and put your elements in order.
Note from the publisher: This post was originally published in December 2021 and updated for completeness.