What they do, why they are important & why you should hire one
If you’re just starting out planning your business and brand you might be wondering: brand, brand identity, logos, graphic designer, logo designer, brand identity designer: aren’t they all interchangeable? What’s the difference?
And the answer is: No. No they are not interchangeable, although initially some people think they are. We’re going to get down to the details of why they are different and how each one fits into your business and marketing strategy and why they are important for your brand.
A brand designer understands these parts and how they all work. By the time you get done reading this you will also have a good idea about why you might want to hire someone to do this ground work for you.
What is a Brand Designer?
You might be asking: what’s the difference between graphic design and logo design? Aren’t they the same thing? Can’t I just hire a graphic designer to make me a logo?
First let’s break down the definitions of both, plus the other titles and skills associated with creating a brand.
Graphic Design vs. Logo Design vs. Brand Design
Graphic Design
Graphic design requires skills in employing visual design software (like Adobe Illustrator, Affinity, Photoshop, or InDesign) to create visual communications using typography, imagery and layout. This can include producing various media to convey the specific message or intent.
Examples of graphic design work include:
- Digital layouts
- Social media graphics
- Digital advertisements
- Logos, icons, backgrounds
- Product packaging
- Posters
- Brochures
- Flyers
- Book covers
- And other more creative digital graphics
The technical skills involved in being a graphic designer are focused on the technical ability to use the design software and executing the elements of design (line, color, shape, texture, balance, hierarchy, space and typography) in a design project.
Graphic design skills are foundational to being a logo designer.
Logo Design
Logo design requires graphic design skills focused on creating the brand mark (symbol) and logo that represents a brand or business. It also requires story telling and distillation skills to take a complex brand personality and create a scalable and memorable icon to represent it.
There is an increasing need for logos today to be simple yet versatile for the purpose of showing up in so many places and in many ways. Logos from decades ago were very detailed and difficult to scale down to smaller applications. Today, a logo, or the versions of it, need to be large and visually complex enough to possibly fit on the side of a building; down to the teeny tiny brand icon that shows up on an internet browser tab about the size of a pencil eraser.
Brand Design
Brand design is more or less an expansion of visual elements to coordinate with and complement the logo. This can include colors, typography, textures, patterns and images. A brand designer will take the storytelling aspect of logo design and create a visual system with graphics to communicate the brand’s message, values, industry and aesthetic.
A brand designer should have the skill to combine their technical design abilities with the abstract idea of a brand and the marketing strategy to create a fully formed brand. The brand created should have everything the business owner needs to market their business in all the places and platforms they want to show up.
There’s a lot more to learn about marketing, you can start with Marketing for First-Time Entrepreneurs: The Elements of Effective Marketing.
The Strategy of Brand Elements
Now, you might be thinking that all those elements are just over-kill, that you don’t need them. And you may not. Depending on your industry, the size of your business and where you plan to take it, some of those details might be arbitrary. But deciding on some of those elements now will save you time later and will help your business remain scalable as you grow.
So, I’ll let you in on the details that I rarely hear people talk about (and by people I mean self proclaimed brand or marketing “experts” on social media trying to make a buck by selling you their “define your brand style” worksheet PDF). I will outline WHY those details are important and what parts of your marketing strategy they will INFORM.
Having a well formed brand identity will be the guide and map for your business.
Elements of a brand identity can include:
- Mission, values, and vision statement
Your mission is what you do; your values are how you do it; and your vision is the outcome of your impact and what the future of your business looks like. Each of these can help define what your brand looks and sounds like.
- Defined brand personality with specific brand traits
Is your brand personality modern and quirky? Is it refined and classic? Is it basic and straightforward? These personality details can inform how you communicate with your audience and the type of content you produce for your social media channels and the production style of your advertising.
- Language guide that defines tone and voice
What words do you use in your emails, website and social media captions? Does your brand use humor, legal jargon or a mentor tone? Do you use emojis or acronyms? The tone and voice of your brand defines how you communicate with and what you sound like to your audience.
- Logo, brand mark, icons
Your logo is used in a lot of ways and shows up in a lot of places. Having different versions of your logo for versatility while still being recognizable as your brand is part of the consistency your brand needs to maintain. It’s how your audience will recognise you and it’s a sort of bridge to the emotional associations you want your customer to have with your business and product.
- Color palette
Your colors are part of that emotional association and recognition you want your brand to have. Colors can also communicate what your product or service is about since, as consumers, we’ve come to associate certain colors with certain industries. A well planned color palette will give you colors to work with for your packaging, website, signage, etc. There are also accessibility considerations for your colors that a good brand designer will plan for so you don’t get fined, or worse, hit with a lawsuit because your website was not up to accessibility standards and laws.
- Typography
Typography is the visual representation of your brand’s voice. It can be part of your logo and it communicates aesthetic, style and emotion, just like your logo and colors do. Typography is another instrument in the symphony that is your brand. Having a predetermined set of fonts and styles will save you time when you create and put together your packaging, design your website and any media, digital or printed.
- Brand guidelines and image guide document
Your brand guidelines document is the master instructions for your logo and all the elements of your brand; even down to what your brand photography should look and feel. This is the guide that you give to all the graphic designers, photographers, social media managers, copywriters, email marketers and marketing employees who will ever have anything to do with putting your brand out into the world.
You can read more about How to Craft Your Business’ Brand Identity here.
What is a Brand Identity Designer?
Brand Identity Designer
A brand identity designer understands the importance of all the brand elements listed above and knows how to craft a brand that will set you up for success. Keep in mind that a lot of successful marketing means remaining flexible to a degree. Businesses are always making micro adjustments to their strategy to grow with their market and better meet their customers needs. But the more well rounded, though out and strategically designed your brand is, the better chance you have of getting it right the first time.
Choose what’s best for your business
Now, you can absolutely teach yourself all of these design and marketing principles to design your own brand. That’s exactly what I did to create my business brand. But also, take it from someone who’s been there, that’s not always the best or most advantageous way to approach creating a brand. I have given my brand a visual make over more times than I care to admit. There was a lot of trial and error along the way and I learned a lot.
At the end of the day that is a decision you have to make for yourself and your business. I hope I have demystified some of the ideas around this topic and given you valuable information to make your decision.
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