Designing a successful brand

Good design plays a major role in building a great brand. It is important to understand how the two can benefit your business.

Advantages of designing a brand

Branding offers a number of key benefits:

• A competitive advantage - eg it can help you compete for audience attention, employee talent, resources and funding.
• A stable asset - when aligned with your business strategy, it can outlast products, technologies, market changes. Consider, for example, the 'Coca Cola' brand that's been around for more than a century.
• Financial value - although intangible, branding can create a lot of value for your business. For example, by building awareness for your business and helping you attract customers, suppliers, etc.

While branding is a strategic activity, there is usually a vital creative component too. Think about - for example - the Nike 'swoosh', which is a simple, yet effective, logo that conveys energy and movement, and is appropriate to a company that makes performance sportswear.

Types of design used in building a brand

Many design disciplines are used in developing a successful brand, including:

• graphic design - to create a visual image for your business
• website design - to help you market and sell your products online
• retail design - to build the look and feel of the environment where you sell your products
• office design - to create a space that expresses your brand and shows what your business stands for

Find 8 design tips for creating a successful brand.

Building a corporate identity

Your corporate identity is made up of the visible elements of your business, including:

• logo
• business and brand names
• any specific colours you use in your logo, branding, premises, etc
• letterhead
• advertising
• packaging
• website
• retail environment or office

Read more about branding for your business.