Introduction
Brand consulting is the process by which a brand consulting firm carries out an audit to design a brand identity for a company.
This process takes into consideration the visual elements and the emotions that the brand evokes, so that the logo, the logotype, the color palette, the typography, the claim (slogan), and the elements of the website are based on the values, the history, and what the brand intends to transmit.
Table of Contents
1. What does a Strategic Brand Consulting firm do?
Brand consultants assist businesses with focusing and developing effective branding strategies, identifying opportunities for brand growth, and overcoming issues that have previously held the company back.
These consultants work closely with organizations, performing audits and making recommendations to improve operations and strategy.
They provide substantial industry experience and skills to assist in identifying inefficiencies and pursuing new strategic opportunities.
2. Strategic Brand Consulting: Key Aspects of Brand Identity
Adaptable to your brand's growth, whether you're expanding into new goods, services, or even sectors.
Intuitive and built in such a way that each part complements the others.
Depicting the brand's story and conveying the key emotions customers should feel when using their products.
Images should be guided by a brand's identity, not the other way around. After all, your graphics are supposed to convey who you are, so it makes sense to first figure out what you want to be.
A brand's identity is the visible element of your development efforts that help shape customers' perception of your brand. This includes the logo, name, or corporate voice, to name a few.
As with brand voice, logos can also change when there is a change in the company's goals and visions. It is for these reasons that having a sound branding strategy in place is key.
3. Strategic Brand Consulting: Step by Step
It usually depends on what your company is focusing on at the moment, for example, creative agencies can offer different branding packages depending on whether you are starting a large-scale marketing campaign or rebranding your existing image.
These are the key visual elements that your brand should have before the launch:
Logo size and placement
Color palette
Typography and fonts
Iconography
Photography/image style
Web elements
When looking at our daily life, we encounter countless design aspects that make our life easier and that should also be the goal of your visual identity.
From the stop sign on the road, passing through the text that got crossed out in a menu because it is out of stock to the indicators that tell us we got a new message on Instagram or Facebook, these design elements have functional aspects linked to them.
The more intuitive and easy to understand your brand’s visual identity is, the more people will understand it and recognize it.
Therefore, it is crucial to know the services that creative agencies or others usually offer in a branding package.
a. Logo Design
Because every logo is an integral aspect of visual brand identification, logo, and brand design are inextricably linked.
Furthermore, a full branding package nearly typically includes logo development as one of its core services.
Logo design is an excellent approach to distinguish your firm from its competitors and to create the groundwork for future marketing success.
A logo, from its inception, will create a strong relationship with your organization and services. As a result, ensure that you invest in its quality and design.
Also, keep in mind that there are several types of logos to pick from.
Designing a logo is a must and it should be established before the launch of your brand.
Therefore, consult a logo design agency if you want to put emphasis on this part of your brand. Otherwise, you can ask any other creative agency to develop your logo design.
b. Color Palette
If you are just starting a business or haven't decided on your brand colors yet, request that this option be included in your branding package.
A color palette has a tremendous impact on the image and impact of your brand.
No matter if your brand goes for a more serious tone and includes only 1 or 2 colors in its design or if it uses the complete rainbow spectrum to portray its playfulness; your visual brand identity should be balanced and contrasted appropriately with the right colors.
Especially, when designing the logo you should have in mind the color theory and be aware of the meanings and connotations that every color has in order to have a perfect picture of your brand identity in mind.
c. Website
We understand that websites aren't the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about business branding solutions. However, they play a key role in the development of your branding.
Either design or branding consultants could help you develop your website along with the brand kit for your company.
Furthermore, it is beneficial to include certain branding aspects on your official website in order to distinguish your business online.
Even the most well-known offline businesses must have a solid online presence in order to broaden their target audience and advertise their products. As a result, an attractive, functional, and useful website is essential for any business.
d. Brand Book
This is your company's bible. A spectacular narrative collection of words, photos, graphics, and inspiration created by combining your brand platform, brand message, visual identity, and brand rules.
It is essentially the document that establishes different criteria for sustaining brand identity across all elements of the firm.
Anyone who opens this (digital) book will immediately grasp what your brand stands for, as well as its personality and promise.
This makes it an integral part of every branding package offered by branding consultants and others.
One of the most significant advantages of having a brand book is that it provides the organization with a framework of consistency and cohesiveness.
This consistency and unified message are excellent tools for creating your company's identity, which over time creates trust.
When your audience notices that the color scheme, tone of voice, and logo usage are consistent across all platforms, it conveys a degree of professionalism that informs your consumers you're a brand they can trust.
e. Package Design
Branding consultants develop packages that have a significant impact on the decision-making process of individuals.
Furthermore, consumers frequently buy something only because they enjoy the way it looks.
As a result, if your organization manufactures any mass-market goods, you should entrust your product package to pros.
This will be a prudent investment in the development of your company and a great way to differentiate yourself from the competition.
Brand packaging, like any design, conveys a narrative. It's also a sensuous experience, engaging us physically through all the senses.
All of these facts help us understand what your product is, how it should be used, who should use it, and more importantly, whether we should buy it.
f. Typography
Fonts are another crucial part of your brand identity that should be included when looking for suitable branding packages.
Branding consultants choose a rather generic-looking font that can reflect on your brand and have a negative impact on getting the attention that you need. It is often not only what you say that is important but also how you say it.
However, this doesn’t mean that your text cannot convey a second meaning with the typography as well as provide structure between your other visual elements.
Therefore, when choosing your typography it is key to either differentiate the size and boldness of one font or select 2 fonts that complement each other.
Separate the font style that you use for your headlines from the font of your text body.
This ensures that your (sub) headlines stand out from your main text.
You should put as much thought into which font you use as you set the overall tone of your product by choosing your typography.
Not only will the typography emphasize your brand identity and improve the personality of your website but also your visitors will subconsciously begin to identify the typeface displayed on your site with your visuals.
Unique and consistent fonts will help your target identify your brand while establishing trust among the segment.
4. Benefits of having a Strategic Brand Consulting firm
As a strategic brand consulting firm, we know that chances are that when you think of one of your favorite brands, you imagine its logo, brand colors, and other visual features, as well as its products.
Most people associate a brand's identity with the visual elements of its branding strategy, as these are often the first point of contact most consumers have with your brand.
It is crucial to hire a branding consultancy to develop a strong and visually appealing brand identity for both your company and your customers.
Today, more and more branding consultancies are opting to have customized branding packages tailored to their clients' needs.
This means that, for example, branding consultancies offer a much broader offer than simply the service of designing a logo.
Branding consultancies use advertising, including the use of images, graphics, and other visual elements to actively reach consumers.
These graphic elements must be adapted to different formats such as leaflets, brochures, billboards, television, magazines, banners, digital advertising, social advertising, and other digital channels.
Conclusion
The key to successfully communicating your brand story is to be consistent and deliver content that aligns with your brand strategy.
Consumers connect with a brand's identity directly through digital imagery.
Aspects of visual identity are frequently included in this context through website photos, color schemes and interface design, social media content, animations, iconography, and other formats.
This is why your brand needs a strong visual design that you can get through custom branding packages from branding consultancies, logo design agencies, and others.
It is important to hire branding consultancies to do the job right to ensure the right branding package for your business.