Today, consumers are almost overwhelmed by visuals. Whether driving down the highway, watching a television program, surfing the Internet, or shopping for groceries, consumers come across multiple brands during most daily activities. So is it even possible for a company to create a brand identity that will be remembered even after consumers encounter it?
The good news is that, yes, creating a memorable brand identity is entirely possible with lots of research, thought, and consideration for today’s technology. The following 5 tips are some of the most important for making sure that the brand you build is one that not only stands out but that consumers remember anytime they are in need of your products or services and can access from anywhere.
1.) Know Yourself
A memorable brand starts with a clear definition of your goals and mission as a company. A stronger vision of your company gives you a firm foundation to build your brand upon.
Resources
If you are unsure of where to start with defining your company, try one of these resources:
- 12 Brand Definition Questions – very in-depth questions for defining your company.
- Brand definition from About.com – includes questions for defining yourself and your target market as well as a forum to post your answers and see how other companies defined their brands.
2.) Research Your Customers
You can’t stop with knowing yourself because self-identification means nothing if you don’t have a clear picture of your target audience – your ideal customer. Knowing the consumers you will most likely attract as a company will help you better choose aspects of your brand design that customers will relate to and remember.
Resources
Once you define your target market, do some research using some of these resources:
- Google Keyword Tool – see how consumers look for your type of business by entering keywords; Google will show how many searches are done for that keyword as well as give you related keywords and their search numbers.
- Online Research Ideas – this list of ways to research your target market will give you a good starting point.
3.) Create a Brand Story
Developing a brand story goes back to making sure your company is relatable. A story draws customers in, and appeals to their emotions. If you can get them to feel an emotion that they relate to your company, then they will definitely remember you. Just make sure that your story is the same across every media that consumers encounter you – online, on their phones, or on a poster.
Resources
See some examples of companies who have built their brands on a memorable story and discover which story type you want to use for your brand:
4 Leading Brand Stories – read about four different brands and just how well they built their brand around a strong story.
7 Basic Types of Brand Stories – learn the different types of stories a brand can tell and choose which one is best for you.
4.) Be Simple but Creative
A complicated design is never memorable. So keep everything about your brand simple. Limit your colors and your fonts, and design a minimal logo. Keeping your story simple as well ensures that customers remember it and the emotions it elicits better. Keep in mind, though, that you also want to be creative. The most creative brands have always been the ones the public remembers long after their initial emergence.
Resources
You may want to research other simple yet creative brands before outlining your own design parameters:
DesignCrowd – this crowdsourcing website is not only a great source of inspiration for seeing creative and logo designs, app design, business card design, website design, and more; but it is also a great place for getting different elements of your brand created. Check out the blog for tips on how to create an effective design brief.
Dribbble – this is another excellent place to find inspiration for a simple yet creative brand design; lots of professional designers post examples of their brand work on this site.
5.) Be Consistent
A simple yet creative brand also ensures that it is still translatable between screen sizes or digital and print marketing media, for example. If you are able to maintain brand consistency no matter where customers encounter you, then you will build a much stronger and memorable brand. They will recognize your company whether they access your website on their laptop or on their mobile phone.
Resources
Make sure that your website looks the same from any device and works on most browser systems:
Responsive vs. Adaptive vs. Mobile – this site gives an excellent definition of each along with when to use each; it also explains mobile apps.
Mobile vs. Responsive Websites – this site puts the pros and cons in a table format, making the differences of each type of web design easier to understand.
Creating a memorable brand today involves more than just a nice logo. You have to be more aware of yourself, your target market, and the technology that consumers may want to use to access you. So do your research before hiring a design firm or crowdsourcing the different aspects of your brand. A clear outline for designers to follow will mean that your brand is much more likely to be one that clients remember no matter where they come across your company.
Author Bio – By Tara Horner, freelance writer at DesignCrowd.com
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