What Goes into a Brand?

“Your brand isn’t what you say it is. It’s what they say it is.”
– Marty Neumeier, ‘The Brand Gap’

Have you ever wondered how much work goes into a logo? Or what your designers are really doing behind their computer screens when you hand over your company identity for them to redesign, or maybe build from scratch? I know what you’re thinking; it’s magic. Well almost. A surprising amount of preparation and forethought goes into bringing a competitive brand into this world, and okay, a little bit of magic.

So, for your eyes only, we’ll let you in on our top secret branding process that is guaranteed to make you stand out from the crowd and be generally all-around awesome.  

• Initial Meeting: First thing’s first. We love to get to know our clients, not just because they’re all cool people, but it helps us learn more about their business and who they are, and most importantly, how they want to be perceived. This allows us to establish a strong foundation from the very beginning instead of taking shots in the dark.
• Research: Brands are constantly evolving, so it’s imperative to stay ahead of the game. So we dive into the wonderful world of market research, to see what competitors are doing, what’s working and what isn’t. This step is especially important, much like knowing the other player’s hand in poker. If you know what others in the industry are doing around you, you are better positioned to establish a strong identity and compete with the biggest guys out there.
• Conceptual Stage: This is where we really start to get our hands dirty. This phase involves anything from word-maps to pages and pages of rough sketches. We can easily go through a hundred (or many more) ideas before we find the one that truly shines. The process of quickly laying out concept after concept on paper allows designers to weed out the obvious or weaker ideas, while continually pushing the envelope to really hone in on something unique that’s able to communicate with the client and tell a story.
• Production: The final stage of our process involves taking those awesome ideas from the sketchpad and bringing them to life in all of their full-color, polished glory. This usually includes 3 or 4 of the strongest concepts developed from the previous stages in the process. Here the client will get a very clear idea of how their brand will be presented and used across their entire marketing platform.

All in all, when you hand us a branding project, we don’t just whip any ol’ thing up. We care about your business and we know our stuff. The least we can do is spread the knowledge around to help you get a good understanding of how we ensure your business identity is as strong as it can be.

If you have any questions, or are interested in a brand refresh, or just a fresh start, don’t hesitate to give Printing Solutions a call at 480-596-6300 to learn more!