The document defines key branding terms and outlines the branding process. It discusses defining a brand's construct and strategy, naming a brand, designing logos and visual identities, using color and typefaces, and creating branding materials like letterheads and business cards. The branding process involves research, analysis, concept development, design, and implementation to create a coherent brand experience.

3. Definitions
• A brand is the complete image that differentiates a
product, service, or group from its competition and
creates meaning and enthusiasm in the mind of the
consumer.
• Branding encompasses the entire visual identity and
messaging—name, logo, promotions—to create a
meaningful story using print, digital, social, and motion
graphic formats.
• An integrated branding program is the creation of a
comprehensive, strategic, unified, and transmedia
program for a brand.
• Brand strategy is the core tactical underpinning of
branding, uniting all planning for every visual and verbal
brand expression.
• A logo is a unique identifying symbol that represents and
embodies everything a brand or company signifies.

4. Everything/one has a brand…
• Whether people like it or loathe
it, almost every product, service,
major city, business,
organization—and some would
say person—has been branded.
• Your brand is how you are
perceived by the public.

5. Differentiation
 Two main verbal differentiators are the brand name, a
proprietary name, and the tagline, a slogan or short
distinctive phrase.
 The main visual identifier is the logo.
 Every brand also has intangible assets—emotional benefits—
due to its heritage, visual identity, package design,
environmental design, advertising, endorsements, and other
associations.

6. Branding Process
• The design process for branding:
 Orientation
 Analysis
 Concepts
 Design
 Implementation

7. Strategy
• The tactical underpinning of branding.
 Defines the company’s personality and promise.
 Differentiates the brand from the competition.
 Codifies the brand essence.
 Provides a conceptual plan with guidelines to drive design
solutions.
öola: Identity
© Pentagram, New York

8. The “Construct”
Every brand should possess a core value or construct, a quality or position a
brand “owns” against the composition.
• Establishes a brand in the audience’s mind as the primary possessor of
that quality.
• Captures the public’s mind against the competition.
• Claims ownership of a benefit or quality before anyone else does.
Several factors must be considered when formulating a brand construct:
 Differentiation
 Ownership
 Consistency
 Relevance

9. Brand Process: Naming
• A brand name is a signature.
• Naming a brand involves crucial
considerations.
 What does the name mean?
 What spirit or personality should it
convey?
 How will people react to it?
 What does the name mean across
cultures?
• Names can be explanatory, expressive,
invented, allegorical, symbolic, or
acronyms.

10. Visual Identity Design
The visual identity differentiates and builds a sustainable
presence and position in the marketplace while
engendering trust in the brand.
• It is the visual and verbal articulation of the brand and
includes all pertinent design formats…logo, letterhead,
business card, website, social media, and more.
• A visual identity should be:
 Identifiable
 Memorable
 Distinctive
 Sustainable
 Flexible/extendible

11. The Visual Identity Design Brief
Preliminary steps leading to the design brief include:
• market research
• a brand audit (assessment)
• competitive audit
• setting or clarifying existing strategy
• naming or renaming.
After analysis, conceptual design begins,
based on the brief.

12. Designing Visual Identity
• Conception
 The concept is based on a brand’s or group’s core
value and positioning in the marketplace.
• Coherence
 A program of brand strategies results in
harmonious experiences for its audience
 A brand experience defines how the consumer
interacts with the brand at every touchpoint.

13. What is a Logo?
A logo is the keystone of any visual identity program.
It is a unique identifying symbol.
This single graphic design solution will be a part of every other
brand design solution. It is the primary brand signifier.

14. LOGO
 Stemming from the word
logotype; related terms are
symbol, mark, brand mark,
identifier, or trademark.
 With one glance, the
average person should be
able to recognize and
assess a brand or group by
looking at its logo.

15. Logo Categories
• A logo can be a wordmark, lettermark, symbol mark,
combination mark, or emblem.
(Logotype)
(Lettermark)

16. Lettermarks

17. Pictorial Logos

18. Character Logos

19. Abstract Logos
(Abstract Symbol)
(Nonobjective Symbol)

20. Emblems
(Emblem)
(Emblem)

21. Designing a Logo
• Generating design
concepts depends
on compressing
meaning into one
small unit that will
have to function,
endure for years and
be integral to every
visual message.
VisionSpring: Logo (and Runners-Up)
© UnderConsideration LLC, Austin, TX

22. Designing a Logo
Visual Brief
A visual brief or collage board is one way of determining the construct;
also called a visual positioning collage.
 Using a visual brief collage board is a great starting point, in
particular for logo design; it can encompass the general look,
mood, personality, colors, imagery, and typefaces.
 A visual brief collage replaces a written design brief or brand
brief, which is used to determine strategy before concept
generation.

23. Core Values and Attributes:
 The defined principles that guide an entity’s
conduct.
Moomah: Identity
© Apartment One, Brooklyn

24. Brand Essence and Story:
 Entity’s fundamental characteristics or
narrative expressed concisely in a core
concept.
Oregon College of Art and Craft: Branding Initiative
© Ziba Marketing, Portland, OR

25. Symbolic Meaning
 A logo can be based on a symbol or attribute
symbolic meaning to an object or form.
Holocaust Remembrance Project/Before and After: Logo
© Jeff Fisher, LogoMotives, Portland, OR

26. Archetypes
• Archetypes are found in the
themes of myths (e.g.,
death and rebirth),
characters in literature (e.g.,
hero and villain), and
imagery in dreams (e.g.,
eyes and teeth).
• They are believed to be a
product of unconscious
biases and dispositions that
have been “hardwired” in
the brain over the course of
human evolution.
• Identifying and aligning
appropriate archetypes
with a design can increase
its probability of success.

27. Archetypes
• Harley-Davidson aligns its
product design and
branding with the outlaw
archetype, emphasizing
freedom and living outside
the rules of society.
• Products have a certain look
and feel (e.g., black and
chrome motorcycles with a
loud, distinctive sound) and
marketing images often
emphasize rugged looking
people in black leather.

28. Archetypes
• Nike (named after the
Greek goddess of
victory), by contrast,
aligns its brand with
the Hero archetype,
using heroic sports
figures to promote its
product. Michael
Jordan, Tiger Woods,
and Lance Armstrong
are all shown wearing
Nike products while
typically striking a
heroic pose.

29. Archetypes
• Consider archetypal
themes and forms in all
aspects of a design—from
form and function to name
and brand.
• Since archetypes influence
perception on an
unconscious and primarily
affective level, they are
especially useful when
traditional modes of
communication (e.g.,
language) cannot be used.

30. Logo Format: Compositional Unit
• A trademark—the representational part of a logo typically
separate from typography--must be visually independent, able
to stand on its own.
 It is incorporated into many other solutions, including
print, screen, and so on.
 Some formats include self-contained unit, breaking the
unit, and free-form.
Mermaid Inn: Logo (Self-contained)
© Louise Fili, Ltd., New York
Byader: Logo (Free-form)
© Brandcentral
Interaccess: Logo
(Breaking the Unit)
© Underline Studio

31. Visualization
The characteristics of all shapes, forms, typefaces, colors, images,
and symbols of a logo contribute to its denotative and connotative
meaning.
• Here are some fundamental ways of depicting shapes or forms.
 Elemental : line or flat tone used to reduce an image or
subject to stark simplicity, similar to a pictograph.
 Linear: line used as the main element to depict the ojbect.
 High contrast: depiction of forms based on extreme contrast
of light and shadow falling on a three-dimensional form.
 Volumetric: light and shadow, gradation, or modeling used
to suggest the illusion of three-dimensional form.
 Texture or pattern: line or marks used to suggest form, light,
texture, pattern, or tone using hatch, cross-hatch, cross
contour, dots, smudges, etc.

32. Remember the Gestalt principle of closure?
• Closure enables designers to reduce complexity by reducing the number
of elements needed to organize and communicate information. A logo
composed of recognizable elements does not need to complete all of its
lines and contours to be clear and effective. Reducing the number of lines
in the logo not only reduces its complexity, but makes the logo more
interesting to look at—viewers subconsciously participate in the
completion of its design—it resonates and lights up the brain like a puzzle.

34. Color
Many brands are synonymous with the
color or color palette
of their visual identities.
• Color contributes to distinction and
influences people’s brand perception.
Cultural and psychological color
associations influence these choices.
 Companies may use color
variations in logos for the same
brand to represent different
operating units or brand
extensions.

35. Type Gestalt
A typeface for a logo should be chosen for its form, appropriateness, and expressive
potential.
• Keep in mind these considerations for logo and identity design:
 Legibility
 Connotation: appropriateness, voice, and expression
 Uniqueness and distinction
Select a typeface family for range, flexibility, weight, etc.
 It should work in a range of formats and media
 Work well in black and white as well as color
 Pair with a typeface for correspondence on stationery to complement the logo,
not replicate it

36. The Letterhead
A business tool used for formal or legal purposes.
• printed on a sheet of fine paper or viewed as a digital page, is
a core visual identity component, part of a broader viual
identity system.
 The design of the letterhead should be consistent with
other components of the visual identity
Columbus Band and Trust Co.: Stationery
© Topos Graphics, Brooklyn

37. The Letterhead
• Every decision counts, from typography to positioning of
the contact information.
• Functional considerations include size, legibility when
faxed, how it folds, ability to take ink well, a secondary
sheet (with less content), and template guidelines.
Composition
• Very often, pertinent information resides at the head (or top)
of the page; others break with tradition and position type,
graphics, or illustrations in any number of ways
 Some designers feel it is perfectly acceptable to have
slight to moderate variations in color, type, or
arrangements among the letterhead, envelopes, and
business cards.

38. The Business Card
A business card is, perhaps, the most intimate design format.
• Often passed from hand to hand, it quickly and directly tells its reader who you are,
what you do, with whom you are affiliated, and how to contact you.
Identity Standards for Business Cards
• Guidelines usually include:
 Individual’s name, job title, organizational corporate unit or department
name, address or office location, office phone and mobile numbers, E-
mail address(es), and web address
Some designers prefer a two- sided card, utilizing the reverse side.

39. Review: Purpose of Branding
• In an overcrowded marketplace,
relevant branding can ensure
success for a quality product,
service, group, cause,
individual, or commodity.
• Branding builds equity.
(RED): Branding
© Wolff Olins, New York

40. Designing Visual Identity
With visual identity projects, there must be preliminary steps
including market research, a brand audit (assessment), competitive
audit, setting or clarifying existing strategy, and naming or renaming.
After analysis, conceptual design begins, based on the strategy set
forth in the design brief.
• Conception
 The visual identity design concept is conceived based on the
group’s core value, narrative, communication goals, and
positioning in the marketplace.
• Coherence
 A program of strategic solutions results in harmony
 A brand defines the user experience as we interact with the
product at every touchpoint.

41. Taglines

42. Taglines

43. Taglines

44. Color
• Color contributes to distinction and
influences people’s brand perception.
• Cultural and psychological associations
influence these choices.

45. The Brand Type
A typeface for a brand should be chosen for form, appropriateness, and expressive
potential.
• Keep in mind:
 Legibility
 Connotation: appropriateness, voice, and expression
 Uniqueness/distinction
Select a type family for range, flexibility, weight, etc.
 Should work in a range of formats and media
 Work well in black and white as well as color
 Pair with a typeface for correspondence on stationery to
complement the logo, not replicate it

46. The Letterhead
A business tool used for formal or legal purposes.
• printed on a sheet of fine paper or viewed as a digital page, it is a core
visual identity component, part of a broader visual identity system.
 The design should be consistent with other components of
the visual identity
Columbus Band and Trust Co.: Stationery
© Topos Graphics, Brooklyn

47. The Letterhead
• Every decision counts, from typography to positioning of
the contact information.
• Functional considerations include size, legibility when
faxed, how it folds, ability to take ink well, a secondary
sheet (with less content), and template guidelines.
Composition
• Very often, pertinent information resides at the head (or top)
of the page; others break with tradition and position type,
graphics, or illustrations in any number of ways
 Some designers feel it is perfectly acceptable to have
slight to moderate variations in color, type, or
arrangements among the letterhead, envelopes, and
business cards.

48. The Business Card
A business card is, perhaps, the most intimate design format.
• Often passed from hand to hand, it quickly and directly tells its reader who you are,
what you do, with whom you are affiliated, and how to contact you.
Identity Standards for Business Cards
• Guidelines usually include:
 Individual’s name, job title, organizational corporate unit or department
name, address or office location, office phone and mobile numbers, E-
mail address(es), and web address
Some designers prefer a two- sided card, utilizing the reverse side.
Standard Size = 3.5 x 2 inches