The Importance Of Branding

We call bubblegum “Chappies”, our soft drinks, Cokes, we don’t even search for anything anymore…we Google it. These brands have risen to a level of popularity whereby they become bywords for the products and services they provide.

When we meet someone new, within the first few seconds, we instinctively formulate assumptions about who he or she is, what he or she does, their personality, and so on. These assumptions are based on nothing but visual communication, this universal facet of human interaction holds true for the brands we interact with as well. Just as we analyze people’s hair, clothes and polka-dot socks; a brand’s corporate identity speaks volumes about the brand itself. A brand’s corporate identity is far more than a mere collection of colours, fonts and a logo. A brand’s corporate identity is in fact a promise, a promise to your audience. Communicating the brand’s attributes, beliefs and overall personality. The Googles and Coca Cola’s of this world understand that about their brands.

Brand Promise

A lot of time, money and design go into ensuring that when you pick up a Coke anywhere in the world, you do so with the promise of quality and refreshment. The red and white colour pallet and iconic logo go beyond distinguishing the brand apart for the competition it also gives the audience a sense of the Coca Cola Company’s personality. Design professionals go to great lengths in creating exquisite corporate identities, which perfectly encapsulate a brand’s identity; every minute detail and design decision is carefully calculated, scrutinized and passed through a filter of expertise, talent and experience in the field of visual communication.

Consistency

The paramount importance of a brands corporate identity emphasizes the need for consistency in adhering to the brand’s identity guidelines. Once design professionals have meticulously executed a brand’s identity, it runs the risk of counting for nothing if implemented incorrectly.

Confusion is costly

Consider for a moment, that you visit a doctor, and you are diagnosed with a particular ailment, the next day you go back and you are diagnosed with a different ailment. The symptoms are the same but the diagnosis is wildly different, would this not cause you to lose confidence with your doctor? The same basic idea is applicable to the relationship between a brand and its audience. If a brands presence is not consistent across all platforms it results in doubt and confutation from your audience. If a brand uses a different hue of red in their stationary and their digital material or has varying types of fonts for their logo, the brands stands very little chance of establishing itself as a trusted/recognizable entity in its industry. It all boils down to the simple truth that people will not trust a brand if they do not understand what said brand stands for, what it believes and what it promises…Its Identity!