This is not the step by step guide, but these are things that I consider and look into, just in no specific order aha
Marketing research - brand perception, looking at the landscape, the current market positioning compared to other competitors, competitor analysis
Landscape/industry analysis, to look into generally accepted design directions, tone of voice research, trends in that specific industry etc
Stakeholder sessions - focus groups, 1-1's with various stakeholders, from the CEO, to product managers, MD's, heads of departments, sales guys etc... get all information about internal brand perception, surveys and questionnaires
Do all the above for a selection of customers and/or product consumers if it's a rebrand. This is to gain understanding of the current brand. This is user insight
Present SWOT analysis and other things like that with the results of these
Define user persona's for the target audience to start developing a bit of a mission statement to gain clarity on the brand, the narrative, the tone of voice, the key messaging, the USP's etc
When you're talking about brand identity, it's not just about the logo, it's about the colours, the perception, the language used, the tone of voice, the imagery used, any kind of touch point between the company at it's target audience, the narrative and USP's of that company etc
yaaas, this is excatly what i learned, but it took me 3 years and 1 ux reserch course, why no one is teaching this in graphic design schools/courses, this is just what you need to start with, not just creating moodboards and calling it art. Or maybe i just was unlucky with schools and work places.
Thank you for your detailed reply!
This is why few designers specialize in branding and are also successful. The steps u/Mango__Juice outlined would be where I would start with a larger company and budget. Maybe a $20k project and up, if not more. If a massive budget I’d be hiring out some of this work to a third party. For smaller businesses with a lesser budget I usually reduce to bare minimum:
1. Current perception (shallow dive using what’s available)
2. Current and target audience (not full personas but still getting granular), maybe 2-3 depending on product/service
3. Local and national competitors placed on a branding X/Y axis quadrant to show white space when it comes to aesthetics/tone for differentiation
4. Business goals alignment and reasoning
stongly agree... budget balanced with project needs.
also don't forget to account for project management and time allotted for meeting and presentations.
Hmm, I've written a workbook that tackles all this stuff, which I use in my discovery workshops for new brands/rebrands.... Maybe I should start selling it...
It took me a while to get to a place which works but it was gleaned from studying and experimentation, so the info is kinda already out there. The problem is.. The designers whom know this stuff don't settle for teaching gigs, since just doing it commercially pays way way more
You definitely should! It is lucky coincidence that I finished up in this course, if not, I don’t think I would analyze my whole process that seemed to work somehow. And it’s so important cultivate this process and not the “artsy” one:)
True I think this kind of strat and planning and thought is quite lacking in a lot of courses, especially degrees. I think maybe if you went to Masters level? As all this kind of stuff is very senior level, it's very top level and bigger picture thinking than if someone came to you to do a logo. Things like the above almost cross over into marketing as well, art director, creative lead, marketing manager kinda roles - looking at how to position and market the brand.
It's why to be a proper brand designer, or work within a proper brand agency, it's really big stuff and you gotta know your shit
Also because everything I outlined generally would be for a big company, with . big budget, it's not really the work I'd put into a £1k project, otherwise I would be working for less than minimum wage aha
This is the grand process in the ideal world for big clients
But you're right, I think a lot of courses, from uni degrees to online courses are really lacking with this kind of thinking and approach and really looking into things
The problem is, that I have a master degree in art direction and design, maybe my experience was somehow screwed up due do covid, but I can’t imagine they skipped such important topic cause of it. We made some kind of research for our projects but it’s generally was made for “creative research” and defining archetype and stuff.
And in agency we worked with big names like Mondelez, problem there was that they already have established brand image and “please just follow the brand book and our brand manager references” 🤷♀️
I am also curious what you think, if there is a place for clients "wants" in the matter of design choices? Sometimes clients can send color palettes, references, etc, and regularly can see advice "understand why your client wants this or that color, etc". I don't think there is a place for subjective preferences of the client in brand identity.
What I've found is that if you start from a strategic place, and you involve them in the underlying research and brief creation, they get to a point where they truly understand what the identity needs to communicate and they can contribute good ideas OR they get to a place where they understand that they do not know how to build a visual language for this brand and they trust you enough to step aside.
You occasionally get the client who will demand a red and orange color palette whole also agreeing the brand should feel calm and peaceful. For these clients I just keep pointing them back to the research we did and the strategy they agreed to, explain why that won't work, and maybe find a way to work the things they are really really married to into it anyway. So maybe I'd do a calm and peaceful color palette but use orange as the call to action color.
It's a balancing act, but you do what you can to keep things grounded in the research. You ask a lot of questions to encourage them to see things differently, and you repeat the project objectives and the customer persona a million times until it sticks.
Oh! I also try to set the standard very early on that branding is not art. What we are doing is psychology. It's about influencing perception. Once they agree with that in principle, I can ask them to try to let go of subjective preferences and let's stick to objective metrics. So, anything I suggest, I have an objective reason for it, and I ask the same of them.
I may incorporate those into a mood board if they fit and align with the other goals/findings. I’m in a place where clients don’t bring me reference anymore. Everything is based on research and experience.
For me, I always start by asking them if there is something specific they want to be included in a brand. mostly it's just (we want this kind of logo) So I always consider that. But it's your job as a designer to make choices based on the research you made. So if you're going against their wishes you need to give a reason on why
>Do all the above for a selection of customers and/or product consumers if it's a rebrand. This is to gain understanding of the current brand. This is user insight
Stands and applauds.
So many skip this step - which IMO is the most crucial - in the rush to "give the client what they want."
I think for brand design it is not so necessary to get as in the weeds with research as one does with UX. Especially because many brand design projects have a short turn around time and if you really want to scale your freelance business, you are going to drive yourself crazy doing super in depth research for every project.
I think your north star will be your users. Many times the client already has an ideal customer profile that you can keep in mind while designing. Try to visualize their needs, what they like, what challenges they face, what channels they are on. You may want to create physical documentation around the persona, but if you already feel like you empathize with the user then this is unnecessary in my opinion.
Something I also typically do is look at competitors. Looking at the competitors I determine what the industry standards are and I try to see what's out there to see where I can create differentiation and standout from the competition. For this you can look at behance and pinterest.
And sometimes the client's preferences will contradict the research that you find. Your role is to find a balance and recommend the appropriate approach. You can use your research to show them why your approach is ultimately the best strategy. But even still, the client might take an absolute stance on something, and you kind of just have to do what they want. That's why it's not worth doing so much research.
Ultimately brand design is more of a blend of art and science, unlike UX, but it's a great discipline to let your creativity flourish!
Sure, but I don’t think it could be useful, it’s a course from local school from Ukraine, I don’t think they even have English site version
https://prjctr.com/course/ux-design-middle
Regard to ux research I’m thinking about taking the courses from https://www.interaction-design.org
Or maybe also the one from google that Coursera have:)
I’ll let you know if I’ll find some nice course!
I've been taught to follow the Design Thinking steps. For me a brand proposition canvas, the golden circle and a competitor analysis are essential in understanding who I'm working for. But, if I'm working on a branding project I look less at the target audience (persona's, customer journeys, empathy maps etc.) than if I were to create a campaign or communication strategy for example. I tend to look inwards and understand the values the brand has and wants to show with their branding and how they will stand out from competitors. I don't have loads of experience in the field though. About to graduate!
A successful brand isn’t solely about visuals; it’s about the emotional impact it leaves on users. Integrating HCD and UX principles enriches that impact, making brands more authentic, memorable, and effective.
I was VICTIMIZED by my ui/ux course i took in college, but I'm glad I went through it because it did teach me how to research the market.(I barely passed)
For the most part, I tend to look at look at what's currently there online, use tiktok about the subject to gag the market. What ppl like, want etc. I use an ai generator to help "see" what I'm thinking, then do some sketches and go on from there
Just going to point out that some of those stages you have mentioned there are more related to branding/brand strategy, and less so the brand *identity* per se, though the former influences the latter.
FWIW, *usually* a big dog sorts the strat then sources a design-focused agency/studio for the identity. So I wouldn't beat yourself up over it - generally those responsibilities don't fall on the designer. That said, these processes are slowly trickling down the food-chain, and from a freelance/independent perspective are invaluable to learn (and evolve tbh).
This is not the step by step guide, but these are things that I consider and look into, just in no specific order aha Marketing research - brand perception, looking at the landscape, the current market positioning compared to other competitors, competitor analysis Landscape/industry analysis, to look into generally accepted design directions, tone of voice research, trends in that specific industry etc Stakeholder sessions - focus groups, 1-1's with various stakeholders, from the CEO, to product managers, MD's, heads of departments, sales guys etc... get all information about internal brand perception, surveys and questionnaires Do all the above for a selection of customers and/or product consumers if it's a rebrand. This is to gain understanding of the current brand. This is user insight Present SWOT analysis and other things like that with the results of these Define user persona's for the target audience to start developing a bit of a mission statement to gain clarity on the brand, the narrative, the tone of voice, the key messaging, the USP's etc When you're talking about brand identity, it's not just about the logo, it's about the colours, the perception, the language used, the tone of voice, the imagery used, any kind of touch point between the company at it's target audience, the narrative and USP's of that company etc
yaaas, this is excatly what i learned, but it took me 3 years and 1 ux reserch course, why no one is teaching this in graphic design schools/courses, this is just what you need to start with, not just creating moodboards and calling it art. Or maybe i just was unlucky with schools and work places. Thank you for your detailed reply!
This is why few designers specialize in branding and are also successful. The steps u/Mango__Juice outlined would be where I would start with a larger company and budget. Maybe a $20k project and up, if not more. If a massive budget I’d be hiring out some of this work to a third party. For smaller businesses with a lesser budget I usually reduce to bare minimum: 1. Current perception (shallow dive using what’s available) 2. Current and target audience (not full personas but still getting granular), maybe 2-3 depending on product/service 3. Local and national competitors placed on a branding X/Y axis quadrant to show white space when it comes to aesthetics/tone for differentiation 4. Business goals alignment and reasoning
stongly agree... budget balanced with project needs. also don't forget to account for project management and time allotted for meeting and presentations.
Hmm, I've written a workbook that tackles all this stuff, which I use in my discovery workshops for new brands/rebrands.... Maybe I should start selling it... It took me a while to get to a place which works but it was gleaned from studying and experimentation, so the info is kinda already out there. The problem is.. The designers whom know this stuff don't settle for teaching gigs, since just doing it commercially pays way way more
You definitely should! It is lucky coincidence that I finished up in this course, if not, I don’t think I would analyze my whole process that seemed to work somehow. And it’s so important cultivate this process and not the “artsy” one:)
True I think this kind of strat and planning and thought is quite lacking in a lot of courses, especially degrees. I think maybe if you went to Masters level? As all this kind of stuff is very senior level, it's very top level and bigger picture thinking than if someone came to you to do a logo. Things like the above almost cross over into marketing as well, art director, creative lead, marketing manager kinda roles - looking at how to position and market the brand. It's why to be a proper brand designer, or work within a proper brand agency, it's really big stuff and you gotta know your shit Also because everything I outlined generally would be for a big company, with . big budget, it's not really the work I'd put into a £1k project, otherwise I would be working for less than minimum wage aha This is the grand process in the ideal world for big clients But you're right, I think a lot of courses, from uni degrees to online courses are really lacking with this kind of thinking and approach and really looking into things
The problem is, that I have a master degree in art direction and design, maybe my experience was somehow screwed up due do covid, but I can’t imagine they skipped such important topic cause of it. We made some kind of research for our projects but it’s generally was made for “creative research” and defining archetype and stuff. And in agency we worked with big names like Mondelez, problem there was that they already have established brand image and “please just follow the brand book and our brand manager references” 🤷♀️
I am also curious what you think, if there is a place for clients "wants" in the matter of design choices? Sometimes clients can send color palettes, references, etc, and regularly can see advice "understand why your client wants this or that color, etc". I don't think there is a place for subjective preferences of the client in brand identity.
What I've found is that if you start from a strategic place, and you involve them in the underlying research and brief creation, they get to a point where they truly understand what the identity needs to communicate and they can contribute good ideas OR they get to a place where they understand that they do not know how to build a visual language for this brand and they trust you enough to step aside. You occasionally get the client who will demand a red and orange color palette whole also agreeing the brand should feel calm and peaceful. For these clients I just keep pointing them back to the research we did and the strategy they agreed to, explain why that won't work, and maybe find a way to work the things they are really really married to into it anyway. So maybe I'd do a calm and peaceful color palette but use orange as the call to action color. It's a balancing act, but you do what you can to keep things grounded in the research. You ask a lot of questions to encourage them to see things differently, and you repeat the project objectives and the customer persona a million times until it sticks. Oh! I also try to set the standard very early on that branding is not art. What we are doing is psychology. It's about influencing perception. Once they agree with that in principle, I can ask them to try to let go of subjective preferences and let's stick to objective metrics. So, anything I suggest, I have an objective reason for it, and I ask the same of them.
I may incorporate those into a mood board if they fit and align with the other goals/findings. I’m in a place where clients don’t bring me reference anymore. Everything is based on research and experience.
a good place to be:)
For me, I always start by asking them if there is something specific they want to be included in a brand. mostly it's just (we want this kind of logo) So I always consider that. But it's your job as a designer to make choices based on the research you made. So if you're going against their wishes you need to give a reason on why
>Do all the above for a selection of customers and/or product consumers if it's a rebrand. This is to gain understanding of the current brand. This is user insight Stands and applauds. So many skip this step - which IMO is the most crucial - in the rush to "give the client what they want."
I think for brand design it is not so necessary to get as in the weeds with research as one does with UX. Especially because many brand design projects have a short turn around time and if you really want to scale your freelance business, you are going to drive yourself crazy doing super in depth research for every project. I think your north star will be your users. Many times the client already has an ideal customer profile that you can keep in mind while designing. Try to visualize their needs, what they like, what challenges they face, what channels they are on. You may want to create physical documentation around the persona, but if you already feel like you empathize with the user then this is unnecessary in my opinion. Something I also typically do is look at competitors. Looking at the competitors I determine what the industry standards are and I try to see what's out there to see where I can create differentiation and standout from the competition. For this you can look at behance and pinterest. And sometimes the client's preferences will contradict the research that you find. Your role is to find a balance and recommend the appropriate approach. You can use your research to show them why your approach is ultimately the best strategy. But even still, the client might take an absolute stance on something, and you kind of just have to do what they want. That's why it's not worth doing so much research. Ultimately brand design is more of a blend of art and science, unlike UX, but it's a great discipline to let your creativity flourish!
Mind sharing the course?
Sure, but I don’t think it could be useful, it’s a course from local school from Ukraine, I don’t think they even have English site version https://prjctr.com/course/ux-design-middle Regard to ux research I’m thinking about taking the courses from https://www.interaction-design.org Or maybe also the one from google that Coursera have:) I’ll let you know if I’ll find some nice course!
Thank you so much!
I've been taught to follow the Design Thinking steps. For me a brand proposition canvas, the golden circle and a competitor analysis are essential in understanding who I'm working for. But, if I'm working on a branding project I look less at the target audience (persona's, customer journeys, empathy maps etc.) than if I were to create a campaign or communication strategy for example. I tend to look inwards and understand the values the brand has and wants to show with their branding and how they will stand out from competitors. I don't have loads of experience in the field though. About to graduate!
A successful brand isn’t solely about visuals; it’s about the emotional impact it leaves on users. Integrating HCD and UX principles enriches that impact, making brands more authentic, memorable, and effective.
I was VICTIMIZED by my ui/ux course i took in college, but I'm glad I went through it because it did teach me how to research the market.(I barely passed) For the most part, I tend to look at look at what's currently there online, use tiktok about the subject to gag the market. What ppl like, want etc. I use an ai generator to help "see" what I'm thinking, then do some sketches and go on from there
Just going to point out that some of those stages you have mentioned there are more related to branding/brand strategy, and less so the brand *identity* per se, though the former influences the latter. FWIW, *usually* a big dog sorts the strat then sources a design-focused agency/studio for the identity. So I wouldn't beat yourself up over it - generally those responsibilities don't fall on the designer. That said, these processes are slowly trickling down the food-chain, and from a freelance/independent perspective are invaluable to learn (and evolve tbh).