As a business owner, we get that the last thing you want to do is carve out even more time from your already busy schedule to start establishing your brand. We get it. “What is a brand?” “Why is it important for my company?” “Why should I care?” The list could go on and on about concerns you may have regarding how to establish a brand. But building a brand doesn’t have to be daunting. Why?

Our logo design Seattle team is here to help guide you in the right direction. You don’t need a huge budget or fancy bells and whistles to start. Wherever your starting point is, rest assured that you can develop and maintain a killer brand identity for your business– big or small.

What is a Business Brand?

A business’s brand is how a potential client or customer interacts visually and nonvisually with your company. All of these elements can invoke emotion and connection with your audience and your business’s story. In simpler terms, it’s what someone comes to know you by- “the go-getter,” “the optimist”, or “confident”. 

Think about your favorite clothing store or coffee shop. Why do you keep going back? It’s not just about their services or products; it’s about the connection you experience with them. 

Elements of a Brand

Non-visual elements that make up your brand include:

• Mission
• Purpose
• Values 
• Personality
• Voice and Tone

Your company’s mission and purpose are at the center of your brand- the “why” behind why you do what you do. 

Visual elements of your brand entail the following:

• Logo
• Graphic style
• Colors
• Typography

Think of visual elements as the visual depiction of all of your non-visual elements. You can tell the story of your purpose through your visual content to represent all you stand for and for people to resonate with who you are.

Establish Your Brand – Defining Who You Are

Circling back to the visual and nonvisual elements of your brand, it’s important to note that you can’t have one without the other. While you could develop the visuals first, would it truly reflect who you are as a business? And could you accurately reflect your mission and values without taking the time to develop a logo and graphic style that can convey your identity?

Knowing where to start can feel overwhelming, but you can go right to the beginning when defining your brand. Think of each principle as a building block for the next in your brand identity pyramid.

• First, identify your company’s mission and vision. 
• From there, determine your values.
• Once these are established, you discover what type of personality that particular brand would have.

Think of how these factors address your potential audience’s specific pain points. You don’t have to change your positioning but keep in mind how you connect with your future customers and their needs while building a brand. It’s almost as if you’re curating this metaphorical person who represents your company, and they are the greeter every time someone comes to the door. First impressions matter.

Developing Visual Brand Elements

After you’ve established your nonvisual business brand elements, you want to take the time to develop a solid visual identity. While this doesn’t have to be perfectly refined for you to hit the ground running, it’s important to start with a solid foundation. This will leave room for improvements and refinements, all while performing at a high level with your demographic.

Colors

When it comes to colors, think back on your values. What colors best represent your values? For example, if you’re a law firm, you could use a rich green to represent integrity and prosperity. Blue for calm and serenity. Whatever you choose, allow them to showcase your beliefs and personality.

Typography

A simple guideline to keep consistency throughout your graphics is to have a font for your headers and a font for your body copy. Two fonts. It keeps it simple for you and for whomever you charge to make your graphics and assets. 

Work with a Graphic and Logo Designer

While this isn’t necessary, working with a professional graphic designer or web designer in Seattle could help you effectively curate a logo and graphic style for your business brand. As a business owner, you already wear so many hats. There is no need to add another one to your wardrobe. It also can be beneficial for an outside pair of eyes to help you develop something that would resonate with your demographic through research and trial runs.

Consistency is key when it comes to the visuals you post and publish. Do your best to curate and put out assets that visually depict your brand and its values.

Developing Your Brand Voice

Brand voice is the tone you use while interacting with your audience, whether through words or visuals. So, when you think of how you want to be received by your customers, is it friendly and professional? Confident and amusing? 

Brand Voice Exercise

Write a social media post for a product or service your company offers. Keeping in mind your mission, values, and personality. Whatever you write (with some refining and drafts) is likely how you want it to be conveyed to your audience.

Whether on printed assets, social media posts, or collaborated content, your brand voice should read and feel the same across all mediums.

Keep Your Branding Consistent

Write a social media post for a product or service your company offers. Keeping in mind your mission, values, and personality. Whatever you write (with some refining and drafts) is likely how you want it to be conveyed to your audience.

We suggest three tips to help you maintain consistency and organization with your brand identity, making your life easier in the future. 

1- Create a Brand Kit/Guidelines // This outlines when and when not to use certain assets relating to your brand, such as colors, fonts, pictures, and graphics. 

2- Refine as You Go // As your business evolves and grows, so should your brand. Schedule out checkpoints to ensure everything still feels consistent and relevant.

3- Ask for Feedback // If you work with a wa logo designer, they’ll likely conduct experimental research and test audiences to see how your logo and brand resonate. If not, it’s essential to regularly keep your team and existing clients in the loop to see if you’re maintaining brand consistency that connects with them.

Building a Business Brand – Start Now

As you develop your business’s brand, start simple and strong. And stay consistent and patient as you build it out. Your business and its ideas weren’t born overnight, and neither will you business brand identity. You can tackle the simple things, such as defining your mission and values, and build from there. 

If it all feels overwhelming and you think you can’t do it alone, don’t! Outsourcing for Seattle, WA logo design services with logo design professionals and our team, Highstreet Marketing Inc., will save you in the long run. Our work is consistently well-researched, tested, and developed. You don’t cut corners when it comes to the success of your business, and neither will we. 

If you are looking for a logo design professional to help curate the perfect business brand identity, our team is here to help! Schedule a free consultation with our designers today!