Brand identity

Brand identity is everything people can see and hear from your organization. When the pieces work together, people recognize you on a sign, a shirt, a website or a flyer before they read your name.

• Name and logo: the name people remember and the symbol that represents it, with versions for wide, square and small spaces.
• Colors: a small palette with exact values for screens and for print, so your brand looks consistent everywhere.
• Typography: the fonts for headlines and text, used the same way on every piece.
• Imagery: the style of photos, illustrations, icons and backgrounds that feels like you.
• Voice: the words, the tone and the main message your organization uses, in English, in Spanish or in both.

Brand identity is part of your brand, but it isn't all of it. Your brand also lives in the experience people have with you: how you answer the phone, how you deliver your work and how you follow up. Identity is the part you can design, write down and hand to others.

Customers judge quickly. A clear, consistent identity tells them you're established and careful, even before they meet you. An inconsistent one, like a logo that looks different on your truck, your Facebook page and your invoices, makes a good business look smaller than it is.

Consistency also saves money. When your printer, embroiderer, sign maker and web developer all work from the same files and colors, you spend less time fixing proofs and reordering pieces.

In California, where 41.2% of residents are Hispanic or Latino according to U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts, many organizations serve customers in English and in Spanish. A strong identity keeps the same look, promise and personality in both languages, so a family that speaks Spanish and one that speaks English recognize the same organization.

1. 01Start with strategy. Decide who you serve, what makes you different and how you want to be known. That's your brand strategy, and every design choice should follow it.
2. 02Check your name. Make sure people can find it, and that no similar business name causes confusion online.
3. 03Design the logo and its versions. A main logo, a rectangular or square version when needed and an icon for small spaces.
4. 04Set your colors and fonts. Write down the exact HEX, RGB, CMYK and PMS values of each color, so every vendor starts from the same codes. Our guide to brand colors that print correctly explains each code.
5. 05Write your main message and keep everything in one place. A slogan or main message, plus a one-page identity sheet or brand guidelines with your logos, colors and fonts, ready to hand to any printer, designer or web developer.

Our Essential Corporate Identity package covers these steps. It includes a name and digital presence check, a 90-minute goals consultation, an original logo with three concepts and three rounds of revisions, logo versions and a brand icon, a corporate color palette, a slogan, a custom brand background and a one-page identity sheet.

Want to see how your brand holds up today? Take the free Brand Integrity Self-Audit: six short steps, with your results on screen.