How to Build a Memorable Brand Through Creative Design

Building a brand is part of starting a business. A great business idea or product means nothing if you can’t communicate it to the world, specifically to your target audience.

How customers, competitors and the market see your brand image is down to brand positioning and aesthetic choices, but your brand identity is more than a logo. It’s everything from your brand personality to your mission statement to the colours you use across channels. In this guide by FOR®, you will learn how to build your brand from scratch and create a brand that will stick with your target audience.

What are The Components of a Brand?

A brand is more than a logo, slogan or colour palette. To build a brand, you need to do a lot of groundwork before you can design a website or create marketing materials.

Target Audience

Defining your target audience is one of the most important parts of building a brand from scratch. It all starts here. Defining your audience in detail helps you build a brand that speaks to them. Later in this article, you’ll learn how to do that.

Brand Identity

Your brand identity is your business name and the visual elements that make up your brand, from your logo and colours to the style of your photography and your social media handles. Brand identity also includes your brand story and unique selling proposition.

Brand Voice

Brand voice is how your brand sounds. Defining this means brand consistency across every customer touchpoint. If your customers expect a cheeky, honest tone from you on social media, carry that through to your website copy and other comms.

Mission and Values

Your brand’s mission is the guiding light for your business. It sets a goal for your company and a promise to your customers. Your values are what your brand stands for. Both are important as you build your brand because they keep your decisions in check. Whatever you do as a brand should always align with your mission and values.

How to Build a Brand

As a small business owner, you need to take the time to establish your brand image, especially if you’re entering a competitive market. Having a solid foundation for your brand identity will help you build brand awareness over time.

Research your Target Market

The first step to building a brand is to understand the market: Who are your potential customers and competitors? Every good brand strategy and business plan starts with this question.

You can’t design a brand logo unless you know your audience’s preferences. And you can’t develop a unique brand personality unless you know the competitive landscape.

Find your Brand Voice

Branding isn’t about being everything to everyone. A strong point of view will speak to the audience you care about most. It will tell that audience your brand is for them. To find that point of view and a distinct brand voice you can do these exercises.

Choose your Business Name

Your business name is probably the first big decision you’ll make as a business owner. Ideally, you want a brand name that isn’t being used by another company (especially in your industry), has available social media handles and is a fit for your brand or products. It should be easy to remember and hard to copy.

Write your Brand Story

Your brand story is the autobiography of your business and sometimes your own story as a founder. It’s a useful tool for branding because it makes your business human and creates connections with customers. Buyer trends show an appetite for connections with brands. The best way to do that is through a compelling, transparent and authentic story.

Design your Logo and Brand Assets

While a logo design is one of the first things you think of when building a brand, it should happen later in the process. That’s because it’s a critical identifier for your brand in the wild—and it’s hard to change once you’ve committed to it.

Your logo should be unique, identifiable and scalable so it works at all sizes. It should also encompass all the work you’ve done on your brand so far. Does it evoke the feeling you hope to inspire in your customers? Does it tell a story that aligns with your brand values? Does it work in your brand colours?

Apply your Branding Across your Business

Applying your branding across your business gives you a cohesive brand story. No matter where customers encounter your brand TikTok ad, retail store or in their inbox the experience should be familiar and recognisable.

As you build your website, set up your social accounts and create your marketing plan refer back to your brand guidelines, mission statement and values to ensure every decision keeps your target customer top of mind.

Conclusion

Building a brand doesn’t stop after you design a logo. It’s a continuous process of embedding your brand in your customers’ minds. Building a successful brand means being consistent in your message and deliberate with your brand marketing.

Now that you know how to build a brand from scratch, you’ll be building your brand for the life of your business. You may need to evolve your brand as your values change or as consumer trends shift. Remember if you rebrand, your loyal customers should still be able to recognise your brand and get the same experience. If you want to Boost your online presence by building a memorable brand, you can contact Toni Hukkanen, the head of FOR®’s Digital Marketing Agency.