rands and branding have taken over a lot of aspects of our lives, it’s much deeper than we think. Even just a hundred years ago, if you talked about brands, no one would understand you. Now, everything we do is commercialized and businesses are trying to make a profit in every aspect of our lives. It’s not just about wearing shoes because you have to, it’s about showing what type of shoe you are wearing.
It’s not about meeting someone and having a nice time with them, it’s all about finding a way to enjoy this consumeristic hellhole. Everything you wear and do is in some way or the other controlled by a certain brand that profits from this. This is why branding is so important to everyone and why everyone wants a piece of this pie. Here is a comprehensive guide on how you can build your business identity.
Archetypes
Our monkey brains evolved to seek patterns and make quick judgments based on trivial facts. This behavior is deeply rooted inside us and it can be described through archetypes. This is why the more information on archetypes you have, the better the chances are of understanding branding. By understanding what those patterns are that we seek, you can make a brand that will have the same psychological reaction.
Symbolism
Branding is heavily associated with symbols and symbolism, which is another example of our dependence on vision. We all know what good logos and symbols can cause us to feel and behave. You need a logo that will be pretty synonymous with your business, something simple yet effective.Â
When making a logo, it is important to make a balance between complex details and simple details. An overly detailed logo may look nice, but it is hard to remember it correctly. It can also be hard to print that logo on other merchandise, for example, badges that are popular again.
Emotion
Good branding is supposed to evoke a certain emotion when you see a brand. For example, Coca-cola went as far as making it synonymous with holidays and a lot of other brands are hitting family feelings. There is a reason why so many brands want to associate themselves with love, they know it is a strong emotion. You need to find an emotion that you want to convey with your business if you truly want effective branding.
Limits
Not all branding is good branding, you need to know the healthy limits of branding. The aforementioned example of Coca-cola is an example of what you should not exploit. There are some emotions that should not be associated with consumerism and your brand.
It is better to aim a bit lower than aim way too high up when trying to find your brand identity. People are getting sick of these overly aggressive advertisement campaigns and branding that seek to interfere with every aspect of life. That’s when a brand starts becoming uncanny and that makes everything awkward.
Staying coherent
People want to see a brand that stays true to its own words and its statements. Once you make an identity for your brand, you need to make sure your words are backed up with action. If ecofriendliness is a big part of your branding, you need to make sure you can back up your claims.
Staying coherent is what makes a brand truly alive, it is what makes it more than just words and pictures. This is another reason why it is better to aim lower with making a good brand identity. You need to make sure you can prove your words and statements and never make promises you can’t handle.
Diversifying
Brands are always in the middle of staying true to their original words and diversifying their points. If you never change, you will lose some audience over time because you are not dynamic enough. If you constantly keep changing, people will not have an idea of what your brand is. The point is to make sure that you are making changes from time to time that are in character with your brand and vision.
This guide serves to introduce you to a certain way of thinking about brands and your business identity. It’s not just about making a brand for the sake of branding, it is about understanding the thought process of branding. It is about understanding the human brain and the psychology of what it means to see a brand.Â
It is about understanding the higher effects on society and humanity of what brands are. This is a very complex topic that requires a lot of understanding of our own neurobiology. Cracking the code to successful branding is in a big manner similar to cracking the code of the human thought process.
