Startup Branding Kit: first steps to your brand identity

First things first

Imagine a small boat in the ocean, its main task is to reach the destination and sell the goods it carries. The amount of goods is naturally limited, the small boat couldn’t compete with ships. But having passed a certain number of such “routes”, it will be able to buy a ship and carry more goods. The benefit is as follows: it will be recognized on land, where it takes the goods and it will show itself as a competitive one.

The comparison is simple: the boat is a branding kit, the ship is a full-fledged brand. The minimum required content of branding kit is logo, font and color. Why is it like that? Everything is simple – it is a basic level of identification of the company.

Get inspired by Nike’s budget, but don’t fail in today’s market

Almost everyone knows the story about the fact that the Nike logo cost $35 and was painted by a student Carolyn Davidson. The logo was further modified, but the swoosh that she created for the company has remained unchanged. And, inspired by the story of such a stunning logo for such a price, many people are looking for something similar. And they will definitely find what they are looking for. For example, using the service of 99designs, you could create a logo at the most affordable price.But the question is the following: is that logo right for you?

For instance, let’s take the popular Airbnb service. Their story is as simple as possible: two friends, Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia, couldn’t afford to pay the rent and decided to earn money. So, they turned their attic into a living room, put three air mattresses on the floor, and included a home-cooked breakfast in the description. A special key to their future success was that they were designers and decided to create their own website instead of placing an ad somewhere else.

Their name is as straightforward as possible: Airbed and breakfast = Airbnb. And the logo includes such concepts as: people, locations, love and Airbnb. Also note the colour and typeface, which have also been rebranded. This is quite unusual for the Silicon Valley, where their headquarters are located (Facebook, Twitter and other products are mostly in blue colors). This choice was motivated by the fact that red is associated with holidays, but it is too aggressive. So, they have softened it and that’s how the Rausch shade has appeared.

Logo: how is it created and how does it work?

The company uses a logo as a tool to convey a strong message about their brand to the public. Most often it is related to the ideology of the company, its philosophy and image. The iconic logo is often a simplified activity. In marketing, the logo is something unique that expresses the individuality of the company. It is a real masterpiece to create a logo with which a marketing specialist can work in the future.

This is why we will tell you about the process of the logo creation. First of all, it is about the available information.

The process of researching ideas is creative and may happen in different ways. When working with the logo, the choice between a wide range of different options and working out a smaller number depends on how well we are informed. Let’s examine both cases.

Case #1. Lack of information – a great number of ideas.

When there is a lack of information, you can work with a lot of concepts. This is more of a free hand, but there is also a lack of understanding of the specific needs of this client. Showing the client from 3 to 7 versions of the logo, we receive additional information from him.

The result is the following: “I like it”, “This version speaks well about our brand”, “We need to change something”, “I think we need something dynamic”, “It’s a bad image”, etc.

The danger here is that sometimes the client has personal tastes that may differ from the designer’s. But here we have a set of tools to find a compromise. A good company and a designer are able to discuss their point of view with the client, and offer solutions when necessary.

Case #2. Several different implementations of the same concept

This means that we initially have enough information and the amount of work is significantly lower.

The main thing is to come to the qualities that will be beneficial to your client, appropriate in the field of his activities and will give him a winning position against the competitors.

It is possible to create a magnificent logo visually, but it will be absolutely disastrous for the client, because it is not designed for its consumers and field of activity.

And now let’s explore the work process:

1. Client briefing (goals and objectives);
2. Research (competitors, subject research, field of activity, clients, hot and cold analytics, etc.);
3. Brainstorm, analysis, ideas and thoughts;
4. Light sketches of these ideas;
5. Screening out bad ideas and developing good ideas;
6. Demonstrating the work to the client and obtaining the necessary information from him/her;
7. Selection of several options and their improvement, or search for new ideas;
8. Development of the sign and its testing;
9. Approval of the final version.

Logo is only part of the brand! Especially a branding company. An important part, but it will work completely only when this tool will be supported by color and typeface, creating an identity of the company.

Regarding the creation of a unique font, this is a completely different story from the use of the font in the logo. The fonts should be in harmony, but the question is: how the selection process is going?

In studios that are engaged only in branding, the font is played around the logo. For example, we select a font after we have a certain design, patterns and then display a common font style, and based on it we select harmonious pairs and font parts for the logo.

It is interesting that each font has its own target audience and characteristics. For instance, rounded fonts convey a sense of comfort and coziness, oblique fonts cause a feeling of lightness and beauty, and handwritten fonts emphasize the exclusivity of the product.

And now let’s move on to the selection of colors. It’s no accident that we mentioned that Airbnb changed its corporate color after rebranding, taking red as the basis and softening it. Imagine the same service, only in scarlet tones, it would be uncomfortable to use it.

To say that isolated color is nice or bad is absolutely incorrect. Some shades are either suitable for your product or not.

We’re not going to give you a color characteristic in the branding, like green is the nature, and blue is the water. Colors might set the mood and they may also vary depending on the country, mentality and other factors. The point is that the overall presentation looks confident and stylish, and all the details (logo, font, concept) are combined.

What are the conclusions?

So, when you are a startup and need to make everything as fast as possible, the best choice for you is the Startup branding kit. It includes everything to convey the strong and informative message to the client: color, logo and font. The right choice of them can cause pleasant emotions among customers, which is the key to long-term relationships. It is essential to remember that a startup does not need to create a brand at the beginning, it is unprofitable and too costly. But the unique branding kit ― yes, indeed, it is necessary!