Branding is a crucial element for businesses of all sizes. The human mind creates images about entities, and these images are recalled when people think about a business. Branding exists to help people form these images, and consistency is necessary to reinforce them. Here are a few tips for forming a consistent brand.
Start with the website
New businesses should consider their brand one of the most important elements for reaching customers. Since so many potential customers are using the Internet to find businesses, the best place to start is with the website. In particular, businesses should spend time crafting the perfect logo. Redesigns require businesses to re-establish branding elements, so it helps to have a logo that will not need to be redesigned in the near future.
Great logos
Designing a logo is challenging. Logos should be simple but memorable. They should say something about the business without being too direct or too abstract. Balancing these competing factors is difficult; so many companies are best served by hiring a professional designer. By using crowd-sourced options, businesses can choose from a number of different logos. Further, businesses should ask for input from others before finalizing a selection.
Colors
Colors are a crucial component of a brand. Again, choosing the right color scheme requires balance, and companies will want a palette that is not too simple but not too noisy. If possible, it can help to use a color theme that matches what the company deals with. Blues and light greens are great for businesses that relate in some way to water, and greens and browns can serve a company dealing with nature.
Printed material
Despite the popularity of the Internet, business correspondence is often done with paper. In addition, many customers still use paper for their bills and invoices. Because of this, companies will want to spend time developing the perfect letterhead for their printed material. When designing or purchasing a logo, it is important to have a version of the logo that looks great in black and white.
Advertising
Website logos and letterheads are small, but advertising material often requires larger versions of logos. Businesses will want to spend time ensuring that their logos look great even when filling a television screen or a newspaper page. Again, businesses will want to address this early when creating their branding. In some cases, businesses have been forced to change their logos to ensure that they are acceptable for use in advertising material.
Author Bio: Jennie is a branding consultant based out of Chicago IL. Additionally, she owns and operates several web based printing services. Away from work, Jennie enjoys spending time exercising, cooking and scrapbooking.
