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I’ve seen various D.I.Y. brand boards over the past few weeks, and I say Good job!
I’m glad more people are confident enough to work on their business’ brand. It can be a personal process for many business owners, making the process difficult when handing the reins over to a branding expert or a graphic designer.
While I commend other business owners for doing their branding, I also want to make sure they are doing it correctly and understand how to create a brand mark design and many other elements effectively.
Some of the primary logos I’ve seen over the past months can become impactful logos if given the right adjustments—the same as their brand marks. Most of the primary logos need a slight push to make them worthwhile to become a brand.
Canva and other logo-maker websites make a number of these logos. A novice or inexperienced graphic designer can also make them.
Please understand: I’m not passing judgment on skills others want to learn. If they weren’t being shown or critiqued, I’d reason we have a problem. I’m grateful that those that have been willing to be criticized have come forward.
The biggest problem I’ve seen is how to transition from a primary logo to a brand mark.
So, for those of you who are learning or wanting to develop your business’ brand identity as a D.I.Y. project, here are my recommendations for a great brand mark.
Related Content: How to design alternative logos and how they can expand and develop your brand identity
Simplicity
Remember the acronym K.I.S.S.- Keep It Simple, Stupid.
You should always remember that a brand mark is just that: a mark. You should be able to narrow down your primary logo to a single element.
The more simple you can make your brand mark, the better off it will be. If you can, remove any bevel or emboss effects, as this dates your logo to the early ‘90s.
It might be complicated to make, but it should look simplistic when compared to your primary logo.
Recognizable
While your brand mark should be subtle to your primary logo, remember to make it recognizable to your brand.
Whether you include its likeness in your primary logo or not, your brand mark needs to connect somehow to your business. Some brands, like Nike or Apple, include their brand mark in their primary logo. For example, others, like Coach leather, are a farther stretch with the reflected C pattern as a more primary brand mark than the horse-drawn carriage.
Both approaches are great examples of employing brand marks and how they can be recognizable for different reasons.
The primary purpose is to create a significant and recognizable mark for your business brand. Make sure the style and the type of simplicity reflect your brand.
Related Content: Key elements to include in your personal brand
Small
You want your brand mark to make a significant impact, so business owners might place them on a broader product area to juxtapose a brand marks purpose.
Remember Coach leather goods, for example. You will see their brand mark of reflected Cs as large staple designs for many of their products. While it is smaller, a brand mark can make a more considerable impact as a larger pattern.
Making it smaller also means it can lend a hand to mark smaller advertisements, however. For a digital ad or smaller print ad, you might use a smaller and simpler brand mark than a primary logo to be easier to identify by consumers.
The term: ‘Though she be but little, she is fierce’ comes to mind. It should be impactful in the most narrow components of your logo.
Relatable
Just like a brand mark design needs to be recognizable, it needs to be relatable as well.
Some brand identities are more recognizable by taking literal brand marks, but some, say like Chanel, are relatable to the public by their design elements.
If your business is going off a name or unrecognizable identity, you might have more success creating a brand mark design that is more relatable more than recognizable.
You can find excellent brand mark design inspiration when looking at typographical elements, like Chanel and Coach. Otherwise, you might need to find something completely new and might not be already in your primary logo.
Cohesive
Make the brand mark design extend to various aspects of your business’ brand identity.
When I say keep your brand mark cohesive, I’m not saying shove everything into a single element and call it your brandmark. But you should be able to use similar styles, typography (if needed), or color schemes to reflect a sense of similarity with your brand identity.
Again, you don’t have to include all of the elements, but it should be similar. Don’t include script fonts in your brand mark design when your primary fonts are serif fonts. It won’t be relatable or recognizable to your brand.
Just think of it as narrowing down your elements for your primary logo, and you should be fine.
Related Content: CREATE: How to make a clear a cohesive digital presence for your small business
Brand identity development is a long and thought-provoking process for both graphic designers and business owners. Elements are hardly used as a pretty element unless that is the aesthetic and impression we want to give our customers.
When learning how to brand your business, remember to consult a professional. You might not be hiring a graphic designer or have one on your team, but use your resources like Facebook Groups or family friends who might be willing to critique or give advice when you need it or at your wit’s end.
Do you need help with your brand? See if my style or services can help. I’m willing to create custom and knowledgeable resources to carry out designs that will help you make a compelling brand identity.
