Get noticed

FROM BLANDTOBRAND

How does your brand and your company communicate with your targetmarket? Do you stand out from your competitors?

Branding and corporate identity is crucial for any business or organisationand defines who you are. From start-ups to established companies, wehave the experience and vision to take your company forward.

We have produced this book to help you understand this design processwhether you are an established company or just starting out.

Hutton Design Associates, 15 St. Mary’s Street, Canterbury, Kent CT1 2QLT 01227 762621 E bill@huttondesign.co.uk

huttondesign.com

KNOWYOUR AUDIENCE

Knowing your audience can be the difference between your brand beingeffective or not.Targeting the wrong people can be fatal when starting anew company or brand, so spend time researching whom you want to dobusiness with and what they may be looking for in a supplier.These insightswill give you a strong foundation on which to build a successful brand anda successful business!

CHECK OUTTHE OPPOSITION

Knowing what businesses, similar to yours, are already out there is a greatway to start thinking about your brand.

Identify their weaknesses and strengths and their market to get anunderstanding of the core aspects of your own brand and how it maydevelop. Check them out regularly to see how active they are, as this willhelp you understand what’s happening in your industry. Look at theirwebsites and social media platforms for an insight into the range ofproducts and or services they offer and how these sit within their brand.

Just because your competitors are successful, don’t try and copy them orhave an identity similar in style, typeface, colour etc. In business you needto be different so your customers know whoYOU are and don’t confuseyou with everyone else. However, gauging the strength of competitorsbrands can give you a starting point with information about what might –and might not – work.

BRAINSTORMING

Brainstorming and getting a mix of opinions will help to look at the keyobjectives of the brand and where you want it to go. Bad ideas can leadto good ones and designers will go through lots of ideas and thoughtsprior to deciding which they think will work best for you.

Having a wall full of ideas and associated images such as mood boards willgive you a sense of direction to understand the thinking behind your brand.It’s always nice to have a story that goes with your brand based on howit evolved and what it stands for, giving it a personality and a ‘life’!

It’s also beneficial to think about budgets and what you want to spend onthe creative process as this cost will probably outlive most things youinvest in – a well designed brand will last a lifetime if developed properly.

Remember, this is YOUR business, it’s there to makeYOU money.

COREVALUES

Branding is more than just a well designed logo; the process is also aboutdriving an idea or story. Concentrate on your core values and share themwith your customers/clients.

Useful questions to ask include:

What’s the meaning or purpose behind the brand?

Is there a story to tell (however insignificant if feels right now)?

What personality do you want to share with your target audience?

Look at what makes the brand unique and what it stands for and workwith the designer to elegantly incorporate these elements!

COMMUNICATE

Today more than ever you have the opportunity to communicate yourbrand over many mediums from brochures, advertising, the internet, socialmedia, trade shows to networking events. Tell the story of your brand,how the idea came about and why you felt there was a need for a productor service such as yours.

People like a good story and it helps to bond you with your brand, ifpeople can remember YOU they can remember YOUR brand.

KEEP IT SIMPLESome of strongest brands use a simple system: a limited colour palette,clear typography or a strong image. Some brands don’t even have wordsand we still know what they are called...

Remember that when talking to people about your business you may nothave all the elements that make up your brand to hand and will will haveto depend on the name so choose something that is a) memorable andsuits you, and b) people can understand it so you don’t always have to spellit out.

HEAD HATS

GET AHEADHEAD HATS

GET AHEADHEAD HATS

www.getaheadgetahat.co.uk

FLEXIBLE DESIGN

Once you have your brand make sure it can grow with you. For instance,you may begin with a logo on a business card but as your companyexpands the brand will have to work on a number of platforms.This couldrange from aT-shirt to a shop frontage to a van carrying your product toan app on a mobile device etc – in these cases, simple is best, the fewerthe colours and words the better.

This is where an experienced designer is key.The right composition andcolours must convey the right message to the right people in multipleenvironments and formats. If you and you designer get this balance rightyou will have got incredible value for money over the lifetime of the brand.

tie

hat

coat

trousers

shoes

CREATEYOUR OWN NICHE

Look into things that are generally associated with your product or service,as this will have an effect on how it will be received. Brands need to standout with a competitive edge.Think about unusual ‘twists’ that you can puton the brand; it doesn’t have to focus on the product all the time.Thinkabout who is using it and how and build on it.

How would your brand fit with other businesses? For example, if you aresupplying cakes to a local coffee shop would your brand complement thecoffee shop’s own branding?

ATTENTIONTO DETAIL

From a designers perspective, every facet of your business must be takeninto account during a branding exercise.The designer must communicateyour personality and core values in a concise and elegant fashion so thatthe brand is you and you are the brand!

NURTURING

Once you are up and running, have regular meetings with your designer.Ask them if the brand is being used properly, can it be developed as yourbusiness grows. Never try and do things yourself, what may take you daysto do may take the designer hours so stick to what you know and letthem do what they do.

A designer can be just as much a part of your business as your accountant,wholesaler, bank manager or member of staff, so work with them.They canprovide you with a whole range of services for getting the most out ofyour business.A designer will have an understanding of marketing on andoffline and will feed this into the creative process.

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