Branding Toolkit — Overview

22.08.19

Through this series of posts I will attempt to de-myth the branding process by explaining our approach and process in depth.

Overview
Brand Strategy
Visual Identity
Brand Launch

The first post in the series is a brief overview of the three core phases of a branding or rebranding project.

A brand is a person's gut feeling about a product, service or organisation.
—Marty Neumeier

Branding is a necessary part of setting up and positioning a business. Rebranding is an active action or reactive response to various situations a company may come across. The process of branding or rebranding is not forcing a client towards a particular solution.

Branding is a process of understanding and being sensitive to the clients brief and finding possible solutions. If rebranding, the clients brief might include problems that the current visual identity is creating. Perhaps the branding does not scale well, perhaps the colours or forms are not contrasting in digital applications, perhaps the logo is part of a trademark dispute, or the company has gone through a merger and name change. Whatever the reason for rebranding, the approach remains the same.

Phase 1. Brand Strategy

During the first phase we build the design brief. We research the company including informal stakeholder interviews, where we can understand the client, their industry, competitors, key points of leverage and understand any issues facing a company’s current branding.

Phase 2. Visual Identity

Once these reasons are understood, we move to the creative part of the process. Putting pencil to paper and ideating from the creative brief.

During this phase we create the visual identity that will be a vessel to translate your company’s purpose and mission to the world. The brand identity will be formed from a visual language system of logomark, logotype, visual assets, illustrations, patterns, colour palettes and typography. During the design process, there will be a large focus on functionality to ensure the brand translates it’s purpose and personality consistently, across every physical and digital brand touchpoints.

Two to three fully fleshed-out visual identity concepts are presented to the client. We dissect and discuss the concepts with the client. The visual identity concept is dissected and revised through three stages of revision.

Phase 3. Project Delivery

During this phase we then future-proof the visual identity with a comprehensive brand guideline.

Next post in our branding toolkit series —
Brand Strategy

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About the author, Adam

Adam is the design director of BrandCraft. BrandCraft is a branding and design consultancy based in Hong Kong. We specialise in branding, visual identity, corporate identity and rebranding.

Adam is a branding consultant and has worked with clients in the UK, USA, Hong Kong, Tokyo, South Korea and China. He has had self-initiated art and design projects exhibited at various galleries and museums including the Victoria & Albert Museum of Art and Design and regularly writes about branding and design theory.