5 Things Your Brand Identity Should Have

So you’ve already identified the foundational elements of your brand and brand strategy. Now, you’re ready to dive in a little deeper. If you’re hoping to create an unforgettable brand, one of the best things you can do is establish a thorough brand identity. Brand identities usually take the form of a brand book — essentially, a document that sets distinct guidelines for maintaining branding across all aspects of the business.

Brand books, also known as brand bibles, are instrumental in helping companies create and maintain a consistent message and presence — and that can pay off in a big way. Consistent branding increases revenue by an average of 33 percent, yet less than 10 percent of companies say their branding is “very consistent.” 

Staying consistent takes effort, and even more importantly, it takes guidelines. The exact information included will differ from company to company, but there are some things that all brand identities should have in common —  here are a few of the most crucial ones.

1. A Unifying Brand Identity Theme

Your brand identity may contain a lot of different parts, but it should feel like one cohesive unit. That’s why brand identities should always be built around one solid concept or vision. The unifying factor itself can be any number of things — a look, a feel, a vibe — but no matter what, it should be unique and make sense for your business.

Let's say your company offers a customized vitamin product. Maybe after digging into your values and goals, you realize that your mission is all about helping people navigate their health. You could then take this concept of navigation and incorporate it into your brand identity design, maybe by taking a common navigation symbol, like a compass, and using that as the company’s icon.

Whatever you choose as your overarching theme, the key is to make a connection with consumers so you’re able to hold a special place in their hearts and minds. 

2. Logo & Usage Guidelines

As the most critical component of your brand identity design, your logo will of course need to be included in your brand book. But this means more than just slapping your logo on a page and calling it a day. Display not only your original logo, but also all of its different color schemes (e.g. full color, grayscale) and lockups (e.g. vertical, horizontal). 

Make sure to also create rules around the usage of your logo, such as the minimum size that the logo must be for digital or print and how much clear space is required around the logo to create a buffer between it and any other content that appears alongside it. But just as important as the “dos” are the “don’ts” — for example, don’t flip the logo or alter the proportions.

3. Color Palette

Your brand colors will need to include more than just what appears on your logo. Yes, most brands will have one primary color, but to keep the design on your various marketing materials engaging, you should ideally include a set of secondary colors as well, including some neutrals.  

It’s important to remember, too, that not all blacks/grays/shades are the same. If you truly want to maintain consistency, include RGB (digital) and CMYK (print) breakdowns for each of your brand colors listed, as well as your hex code and an identified Pantone swatch. 

4. Typography

Typography and all of its components — typeface, kerning, hierarchy, etc. — play an important role in expressing your brand personality. Sans serif typefaces generally evoke a modern look, while serif typefaces have more of a classic feel to it. Usually, brands will include at least two typefaces in their brand books: one for headers, titles, or display typography, and another for body copy. When choosing typefaces, you’ll need to have one that either works well for web design or matches digital typefaces that are similar to your primary one.

Just as you did with your logo, you should include usage guidelines around your typography, including when and where each typeface is used — for example, is the display typography only used for headers, or can it be used in CTA buttons as well?  

5. Other Design Elements

Think of any other design elements you’ll need to use (illustration, icon sets, photography, etc.) and provide guidelines around their usage so that they complement the rest of your brand identity. Not only will this help you stay consistent — it will provide direction and clarity for any other future team members or partners that will be creating imagery featuring your brand. When in doubt, more information is better than less. Think about the specifics that you should include so that even someone that’s new to your brand can maintain consistency with what’s been done in the past.

There’s virtually no limit to the other sections you could choose to add to your brand book, such as layouts, messaging, marketing templates, co-branding and social media, to name just a few. What exactly you need to add will become apparent over time, but concrete rules around theme, logos, color, typography and other design elements will provide you with a solid foundation to build on.

And remember, your brand book doesn’t need to be set in stone! It’s a living, breathing document that can be adapted and updated as needed — just make sure to include a sign off at the beginning to keep track of how up-to-date yours is, and who’s been editing it. Refreshing your brand identity design regularly — every three to five years — will help keep your brand relevant and effective, ensuring that your brand evolves as the market does.

Anastasia Salazar Ltd. is an independent design studio for tailored branding and digital designs. Reach out to learn how we can help you fuel growth and maximize your brand’s impact.

5 Great Brand Identity Examples (& Why We Love Them!)

In the design world, it’s easy to get intimidated by the big guys. Companies like Nike and Apple are just a couple of iconic brand identity examples that are recognizable worldwide, with sharp, consistent looks across every medium. “How am I supposed to compete with that,” you might think. Often, this kind of mindset results in a creative block.

But at times like these, one of the best ways to move forward is by stepping back. When it comes to looking at other brands, choose to be inspired instead of envious — with so many companies, agencies, and individuals designing incredible work, you’re doing yourself a disservice if you don’t seek it out. Of course, you don't want your brand to look like the clone of another, but surveying the landscape can play a key role in informing your own brand identity and strategy.

There’s no shortage of impressive brand identities out there, but for this post, I compiled a few favorites across a range of styles and industries so you can sample a little bit of everything. Look through them below, making sure to take note of what you like, what you dislike, and how those takeaways can be applied to your own brand identity design.

Top Brand Identity Examples

NASA

While NASA’s brand book, pictured above, was created in 1975, designers Richard Danne and Bruce Blackburn managed to create an enduring look that still holds up well today. Even the packaging of the book is amazing. I love the space-age metallic pouch it comes in, and the black texture on it that gives off a cool, retro, Xeroxed feel. Their logo, meanwhile, is a real testament to timeless design — while it did change in the 90s, NASA recently announced that they’re going to revive the old logo for use on a space shuttle called Falcon 9.

The content of the book itself is just as solid as the logo. I love how their brand identity reads almost like a textbook — it does a great job conveying NASA’s scientific, intellectual vibe, which helps to emphasize their credibility and expertise. The print medium sets it apart as well, with so many other companies today opting for digital brand books. It’s so thorough, too. Every use case down to the “confidential” stamp is included. (On a side note, how badly do you want their clothing? I would totally buy their flight jacket!)

Overall, I consider it the standard to which all other brand books should be held.

Fort Point Beer Company

Shoutout to SF-based agency Manual — this group does super cool work, including the brand identity design for Fort Point Beer. As an SF native, I often cringe when companies try to capitalize on San Francisco-related imagery in an attempt to look “authentic,” but Fort Point succeeded in creating a tribute to the city rather than just trying to profit off of it. Anyone can slap an icon of the Golden Gate Bridge on their product, but many of the landmarks that appear on Fort Point’s products — like the Dutch windmill in Golden Gate Park, or the Bay’s ever-present cargo ships — are references that only locals can recognize.

Speaking of which, the geometric, single-weight illustrations really work for Fort Point. Although it’s a very trendy aesthetic right now, Manual was able to put a unique spin on it that Fort Point could own. The monochrome photos look great, too. Each of the different elements present complement one another to create a cohesive visual system that's contemporary, authentic, and meaningful.

Allbirds

With the Allbirds brand identity, design and marketing agency Red Antler completely nailed the look that most of today’s direct-to-consumer brands are going for: clean and bright minimalist photography, playful illustrations, and geometric color blocking. In fact, in the 4+ years since the brand identity launched, it’s become so popular that many other brands have tried to pull it off themselves — although no one has ever quite been able to measure up to the original, in my opinion.

One of the best things about Allbirds’ original design is that it left room for branding evolution and growth. Now that Allbirds is a well-established, widely-recognized brand, they’ve begun to take some more creative risks. Increasingly, the photography featured on Allbirds’ site is expanding beyond its original immaculate, highly-manicured format to show unexpected details and textures, like the dirt sprinkled on the background of a recent homepage header (see below). The company has also begun to embrace more natural colors instead of the strictly pastel palette they started out with. Throughout all of the change, though, Allbirds has always been able to remain true to their brand.

Seed

I’m calling it right now: Seed, a woman-run microbiome product company, is going to be a branding trendsetter. Designer Jam Sayne has created a brand identity design that really leans into the company’s grounding in science and research. The visual style strikes a perfect balance between a cutting-edge look and an organic, natural feel. The clean, straightforward sans-serif text of the website is complemented by artful, almost floral, images of bacteria blooming in petri dishes. Even the UI is inspired, with your icon serving as a magnifying glass as you hover over text and images.

Usually, design agencies specialize in either digital or print, but the team behind Seed’s brand excelled at both here. The packaging is simple to the point where it’s almost anti-design, but the dead-on execution of the fine details — color, font, icon — make it masterful. 

Madre Mezcal

Madre Mezcal is one company that has put art and tradition at the front and center of their brand identity. Initially, I wasn’t sure how I felt about an agency run by two white guys using a traditional Oaxacan aesthetic, but I have to hand it to them — they really paid their dues to understand the craft of mezcal making. 

On the website for the agency, Land, the Madre Mezcal case study shows the lengths they went to in order to honor the culture. Photos — both in color and black and white — of agave plants, workers, and daily life in Mexico drive home the rugged authenticity of this family-owned company operating out of Oaxaca, while vintage packaging details like the image of a woman riding a bull, faded print, and paper and twine wrapping bring to mind the rich history of traditional mezcal making.

It goes to show that companies don’t need to jump on the bandwagon of computer-forward design, sans serif fonts, and vector illustrations — embracing your roots can be even more powerful. The end result isn’t just pretty graphics, but rather, a brand identity that pushes the boundaries of how we define contemporary design.

While the five brand identity examples above are among my recent favorites, the amount of incredible design being produced today is nearly endless — so keep researching until you find a style that speaks to you!

Anastasia Salazar Ltd. is an independent design studio for tailored branding and digital designs. Reach out to learn how we can help you fuel growth and maximize your brand’s impact.