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.

Your logo and brand name are part of your corporate identity, which includes the visual elements people associate with your business, such as your letterhead, business cards, packaging and advertising.

Brand vs. logo

A common belief is that a brand is simply a logo. The logo is just one part of a brand - although it's often the element that's most widely seen and remembered.

A whole range of other design elements can convey a brand and help make it successful. For example:

• colour
• shape
• name
• touch/materials
• sound
• illustration
• typography
• environment

A logo should embody the key ingredients of the brand in a distinctive, recognisable way. For more information, see key elements of a successful brand strategy and branding for your business.

Creating a logo can help your business by:

• enhancing the experience you deliver
• improving the feeling of brand spirit across the business
• representing a reassurance
• acting as a guarantee of quality

How to create a logo

To create a logo, you will probably need to commission a graphic designer who is used to creating visual languages that communicate values as well as information.

A graphic designer will make sure that the logo:

• is designed so that it can be printed or reproduced according to the media you use
• conveys the right message about the business
• fits with your business image and branding

Find out how to choose and work with a designer.

Importance of brand name

Your brand name is important in setting the tone and personality of your brand and should reflect your overall brand strategy.

A brand name may be:

• descriptive - the name states what the brand is or what the product or service does
• evocative - it suggests associations to the brand without describing the offer precisely
• abstract - it makes no reference to the nature of the business

Choosing the right brand name can be difficult. It's important to check that names aren't already in use and protected by trade mark law. Find out how to search for trade marks and read top tips on selecting a strong trade mark.

Your brand strategy defines what your business stands for. It captures the promise you make to your customers and the image that your business conveys.

Businesses often rely on the creative elements to express their brand, for example:

• their logo
• colour scheme
• tagline
• website
• sales literature

It's important to remember that your brand exists in every day-to-day interaction you have with your customers as well. This could be your:

• messaging on your websites or advertisement campaigns
• recruitment drives
• customer interactions

Your brand strategy should consider both the fixed creative elements and the less prominent, day-to-day dealings with your market. It should be an integral part of your overall design strategy for business.

Strategy for creating a new brand

When developing a new brand, you can build your strategy around:

• emotional benefits - focus on the features and benefits of your product or service that will appeal to your customers or meet their needs
• brand personality - describe the essence of your business then convey these traits in everything that you do or create
• positioning statements and brand story - choose colours, fonts and other visual elements that match your brand personality and help you convey the story

Small businesses will often need to start developing their brand from scratch, including choosing a logo and brand name.

Strategies for existing brands

If you have an existing brand, make sure that you keep your communications fresh. Review regularly if your brand is working for your and - if not - decide if you want to:

• overhaul your brand
• reinvigorate it occasionally
• create additional endorsed brands
• develop sub brands and use brand stretching

For more information, see branding: the basics.

Using designers to help with this process every few years should be an ongoing investment rather than a costly extra.

Rebranding strategy

Rebranding might be an option if your customer base is declining, the market has changed substantially or you have no point of difference from your competitors. It can be a good idea to hire a designer to help you rebrand. Find out how to choose and work with a designer.

Consistency is an important part of branding and brand management. It reinforces your business identity, drives positive sentiment and builds consumer trust.

This doesn't mean that all of your communications have to look the same, but you should strive for visual cohesion. As a minimum, make sure that you follow set standards, such as your colour palette, visual style, font and size and spacing of your logo.

It is important to consider how you can apply your brand consistently across all the different media that you use, from online and print, to billboards and packaging.

Brand guidelines

After working through a branding project, your designer should give you brand guidelines to ensure consistency. These will tell you how to apply the different design elements in different situations, contexts and scales.

For example, the brand guidelines can specify:

• typography - the layout and style of lettering, including typefaces and fonts
• graphics - images, design, etc
• colours
• materials
• templates

Brand guidelines may also include specific areas such as cultural or behavioural directions for staff training.

Managing your brand

You can use brand guidelines to manage the brand after the designer's work on the project is completed. This will help you to ensure you maintain brand consistency and - most importantly - your original big idea.

Consistency can help your business move into a new market sector without changing its core brand identity. For example, application of the Tesco brand, such as ease of access and low price, has allowed the business to move into new market sectors including financial services and mobile phones.

Find out more about key elements of a successful brand strategy and branding for your business .

Websites are increasingly important for many businesses to reach new customers and keep existing ones, so it's important to have a brand that works online.

Online branding strategies

Larger companies will have specific brand guidelines that their web designers will need to incorporate, which will dictate style, colours and fonts, position of the logo, etc.

Small businesses will often need to start developing their brand from scratch, including designing a logo. A web designer can often help you with this - see how to choose and work with a designer.

A web designer or a web design agency can help you:

• do your customer research
• plan the scope of your website
• design a website suited to your customers - see user-centred design for website
• move your brand onto the web, keeping its values and identity preserved
• create content to attract and engage visitors and convey your brand

Online branding techniques

The web is an excellent platform to build your brand, so it's important not to ignore branding when working on your website. The elements you will have to pay particular attention to are:

• Colour - stick to your brand colour palette, but perhaps use different shades for different elements (eg background colours, headings and links).
• Character and tone of voice - think how the content and images used on your site match your brand personality. Does your brand promise reliability? Does it stand for adventure? Is it trust-worthy? Make sure that your content and web visuals support your brand promise and position in the market.
• Consistency - you should keep colours, visuals and typography consistent throughout so that your website can project a uniform image. See ensuring brand consistency.
• Positioning of the logo and navigation - follow accepted norms, ie a logo in the upper left area of the page, linking to the site's homepage. Navigational elements will generally sit horizontally on top or vertically aligned to the left.

See more on best practice in web design.

Creating a brand is a difficult task. Here are eight design tips which you can follow to help you create a successful and memorable brand.

1. Keep it simple - building a brand doesn't have to be complicated. It can start with a clean, simple typeface that's followed consistently through all corporate materials. Be thorough and careful when choosing the right brand strategy.

2. Make your offering distinctive - this could be as simple as your choice of colour in design or packaging - one which no other competitors are using. A distinctive offering creates a strong impression in consumers' minds.

3. Be consistent - every aspect of your brand should make customers feel the same way about you. Read more about ensuring brand consistency

4. Listen to and understand your customers - your brand is no good to you if it isn't delivering what customers want. Learn more about your brand and your customers. User-centred design techniques can help you create a successful brand by engaging directly with consumers in the early stages of the design process and involving them throughout. For more information, see user-centred design.

5. Communicate your brand - make sure every advertisement, brochure and letter helps reinforce the same message. If you have a logo, use it whenever possible.

6. Manage your brand - continually look for opportunities to make improvements. Read more about how to manage your brand.

7. Involve your employees - make sure they understand the brand and believe in it. Find out more in your brand and your staff.

8. Create an aspirational brand - pay attention to customers' needs, but control what you want your brand to mean to them, creating something customers can aspire to. For example, visible aspects of mobile phones are typically designed to project a lifestyle image.