A brand identity is traditionally defined as the outward expression of a brand, including its name, trademark, communications and visual appearance—it reflects how the owner wants the consumer to perceive the brand.
TSG’s Brand Identity Design Process
In order to create strong brand identities, we first start with research and discovery. We want to help your brand be as strong as possible and it begins with a full understanding of the existing brand as well as discovering new potential directions for the brand to grow into. At TSG, we go the extra mile to learn as much as we possibly can about your organization’s target audience and customers so we can base our brand identity creation on the best knowledge possible. We augment our knowledge of your situation with thorough research, including market analysis, competitor analysis, surveys and secondary research.
Once we have enough information to fill out a creative brief, we can move on to developing creative concepts, which often start with the logo. A logo is the defining visual element for a brand, and it sets the tone for the rest of your brand identity, so we don’t take this task lightly. Instead of creating one or two logos we think are best, we present you with multiple design directions, usually producing between four and six original ideas. From there, we will work with you to gradually narrow the choices down to a single direction you feel most articulates your vision for the brand.
Once the logo and design direction are established, TSG’s team of talented identity designers develop primary and secondary color palettes and typography styles. We typically illustrate these color palettes and typography styles by beginning to design the brand identity system, which consists of letterhead, envelopes, business cards, mailing labels, etc.
At TSG, we often recommend creating a brand style guide to go along with every brand identity we develop. Style guides are documents that outline usage and application rules for a brand. They ensure that employees, media and anyone else who is responsible for communicating the brand identity will know how to “use” it.
Brand Refresh vs. New Brand Identity Design
There are some instances when we recommend to clients - particularly those who have a lot of established brand equity - that instead of completely redeveloping their brand, they should simply refresh their existing brand. This involves creating a sharp, unique and polished brand identity, but stops short of a complete departure, preserving existing equity by making sure the refreshed identity is current and well-positioned, but also relatable to the original brand identity.
Even the most established and recognizable brands undergo a brand refresh from time to time. Sometimes tosimply update the logo, while other times it represents a business strategy shift or management change.
If you don’t think your brand identity needs a total overhaul but still feel it could be improved, you might consider having our brand identity design team take your brand through the refresh process.
Experienced Brand Identity Designers
Regardless of whether your organization needs a brand identity created from scratch or just a brand refresh, TSG’s talented team of brand identity designers is up to the task! We’ve been developing brands and designing logos for 25 years – check out some of the work in our portfolio:
RegenX, a bioscience startup company, wanted us to create a strong, credible brand identity for them that would help establish them in their competitive industry. The brand identity we created for them is well executed, unique and helps position them as a credible organization in the bioscience industry. Check out the RegenX brand identity.
We worked with Winvale, a government sales consultant, to redefine their brand and create an updated, fresh brand identity that encapsulated their brand positioning and made them “feel” young and energetic. We developed a logo, website, business cards, letterhead, a style guide and all other marketing collateral for the organization. See how we transformed Winvale’s brand identity.
SKYLouver is a startup company that manufactures high technology sustainable industrial skylight systems. They came to TSG to create a brand identity that would give them the credibility they needed to successfully go to market. This is an ongoing project, but the logo and materials we have developed so far have provided a modern, attractive baseline for further development. Learn more about the brand identity of SKYLouver.
Contact TSG’s Brand Identity Design Team
If your organization is considering a new or refreshed brand identity, we’d love the chance to meet with you to discuss what we can do for you. We've worked with a diverse range of clients across Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. on brand identity design projects. We’ll even perform a free brand identity audit to start the discussion about where your brand stands, where you want it to be, and the different directions we can take to get it there. Contact us!
