How to Develop a Unique Brand Identity in 2023

Brand identity is one of the latest buzz phrases. While brand identity is far from a new concept (Coca-Cola has boasted a strong one for decades), it is still misunderstood and underutilized by many businesses.

Your brand identity is much more than simply a logo. The logo of the business is merely one of the several digital assets that you can use to create your brand identity. Thus, to create a unique brand identity, you need to pay attention to various other elements in addition to your logo.

So, whether you are a solopreneur or a global conglomerate, your first step should be to create a unique brand identity. Here are simple steps to help you develop a strong brand identity for 2023.

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如何在2023年开发独特的品牌身份：

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What Is a Brand Identity?

简而言之，您的品牌标识是您业务价值的总和，您如何描绘产品或服务的方式，最终，目标受众直接与您的品牌直接参与时。它是指帮助人们立即认识您的业务的要素。

While the term “brand identity” is sometimes used interchangeably with “branding”, these are, in fact, different concepts. Simply put, “branding” refers to the process of actively creating the perception of your business among consumers.

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The Importance of a Brand Identity

数以百万计的企业正在寻找创新的方式，以使自己与竞争对手区分开来。为了有效地，您将需要一个容易识别且令人难忘的品牌。

Though, your brand identity is so much more than simply making sure you get noticed. It is a personification of who your business is and their offerings. Thus, a strong brand identity can help you to become more likeable among your audience (sadly, the reverse is equally true).

它不仅会使您更受欢迎，而且还可以帮助您脱颖而出，成为行业中可靠的领导者。通过不断地致力于自己的身份，您的受众以及竞争对手将认为您是值得信赖和可信的。

考虑到Edelman完成的一项研究发现，超过80％的消费者需要能够信任该品牌之前，这是非常有价值的。更重要的是，这些首次购房者更倾向于成为返回客户，甚至是企业花时间发展其品牌标识时的品牌拥护者。

Not only will it rub off on your customers, but also on your company and employees. Your brand identity helps to give your business a goal and mission. It also helps to使您的数字营销策略更容易作为精心制作的品牌身份，您需要包含的所有元素中的一种蓝图。无论是在YouTube上还是在线广告上的视频，创建会留下深刻印象的广告变得更加容易。

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如何创建品牌身份

1. Research

Like most things in life, research will be a key step in the process. When creating a unique brand identity, you need toresearch your target audience，竞争，但也进行一些内省，并考虑业务的使命，个性，声音和价值观。

Good advertising adjusts how it markets a product or service to different target audiences. To help you with this step, you need to find out more about what your target audience is searching for in your type of business. You might think that it is good for business to reach everyone, but, while tempting, this should never be your goal.

Researching your competition is not only good for business, but also for creating a unique brand identity (with the emphasis on unique). As the goal of branding is to help you set yourself apart, focus on the differences between you and your competitors. This exercise will also help you to avoid branding strategies that did not produce results for your competitors.

Knowing which products and/or services your business offers is not enough. You also need to have a mission statement that spells out the goal, values and vision of your business. Businesses with strong brand identities know precisely who they and their target audience are.

To help you during the research process, you might want to do a SWOT Analysis. In other words, take the time to identify your strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. This process might feel time-consuming and challenging, but without this step everything else will fall apart.

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2. Create your digital design assets

你的数字设计资产是指具体的building blocks that will help to shape how others perceive your brand. These include the following:

标识

徽标是您将用来创建品牌标识的关键数字资产。它将从您的网站到新闻通讯的任何地方。由于它将被如此广泛地使用，因此它将是您品牌中最可识别的部分之一。

Thus, while it should be visually pleasing, it should also be meaningful and tell consumers more about your business. Even if you are trying to create a modern look and feel, it is better to go for a more classic logo. As you should not change your logo often, your logo design should steer away from the latest trends and, instead, strive to be timeless.

包装

您如何展示服务或物理包装产品是品牌推广的另一个重要因素。通过确保即使是看起来像包装与品牌标识的包装相结合的看似微不足道的细节，您将创造一致性，最终可以帮助人们更加熟悉您的业务。

标牌

Brands that have brick-and-mortar storefronts will also have to pay attention to their signage. The signage that you use forms a significant part of the customer experience. From your little sale sign in your window display to the signage for a new pop-up shop, all your signage should be compelling, yet consistent with your other design assets.

调色板

根据黛安·莫伊尔（Diane E. Moir）完成的研究，品牌颜色可以提高认可超过80％。此外，同一项研究还发现，消费者在仅90秒内就产品做出了潜意识的判断，而该判断的90％仅基于颜色。

By taking the time to curate a color palette, you can create unique designs which will at the same time stay true to your brand identity.

Typography

Typography refers to the fonts that you will be using and it can reveal loads about your business. For example, classic typography (like serif fonts) communicates that your business is more traditional, while sans serif fonts (such as Helvetica), on the other hand, help to create a more modern look and feel.

From your logo right through to all the print as well as digital documents that you create, you should use your typography consistently. In other words, you should try to use the same type of style across your different platforms and, ideally, limit it to no more than three readable font families.

Templates

正如之前已经多次提到的那样，一致性绝对是关键。这可能是决定您的品牌身份是成功还是失败的因素。

So, to help you create a unified look, consider creating a few templates. For example, by为电子邮件创建模板，您可以确保您的电子邮件易于阅读，但内容丰富。它还将帮助您的业务始终成为专业人士。

品牌样式指南

While templates can help you to create a harmonious look and feel, they are no replacement for a brand style guide. In short, this is a document that lists rules and guidelines for using all your design assets. It is the easiest way to make sure that all your design work that you create in the future aligns with your brand identity to create the correct perception.

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3. Integrate your brand

Armed with insight into your business (and its competitors) and a set of strong digital assets, you are ready to let others know about your brand. One way to achieve this is by creating and sharing high-quality content. Strong brands, like Coca-Cola and Apple, manage to create emotional connections with their audiences. So, ensure to tell a story that appeals to consumers on an emotional level. Here language can play a crucial role.

When creating your website, you can add more details than you would include on your social media platforms. You can, for example, add a detailed biography and portfolio. Though, whatever content you share online or in print should help to define your brand using an authentic tone that fits in with your brand identity. According to research completed by Stackla, 86% of consumers say that authenticity is an important factor when deciding which brands they like and want to support. So, if your brand is more informal, tell these stories in a conversational manner.

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4. Track key performance metrics

为了帮助您维持有效的品牌标识，这是您实际花时间通过跟踪关键性能指标来监视工作的关键。例如，您可以使用调查和Google Analytics（分析）来更好地了解观众如何观看和与品牌互动。

品牌监控提供了一些好处。它可以帮助您改善客户服务和保留率以及实际产品。尽管以前的许多步骤不必经常重复，但跟踪关键性能指标是成功品牌不断发展的事情。

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最好避免不好的实践

Copying competitors

While the first step is to research your competition, businesses should guard against simply copying others who also offer your services or products. The goal of creating a brand identity is to ensure that your business stands out. Thus, by simply copying elements like colour combos and packaging, you are inadvertently doing the opposite.

不一致地应用您的元素

如果有一件事要正确,ensure that you apply the different elements consistently. It is especially important to ensure that your online content and printed material use the same typography, color palette and theme.

That being said, in certain instances, flexibility will be equally important. By tweaking your campaigns, you can ensure that your target audience remains engaged. The secret, though, is to apply the flexibility consistently. In other words, if you change the wording on your printed price list, be sure to apply the same changes to your website or social media platforms.

Failing to use a design system

When it comes to brand identity, the focus should not just be on the different elements. Instead, how you use these elements together is just as important. There should be an easy-to-understand hierarchy that will help your audience to find their way around your content. This is especially important when creating your website.

Using imagery that lacks diversity

虽然在构成您品牌标识的不同元素中应该具有一致的外观和感觉，但它不应以多样性为代价。因此，仔细检查您使用的照片或图像包括来自不同年龄段，种族和性别的人。

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Wrapping This Up…

Long after your business has clinched that sale, your product or service still generates an impression on consumers. Though, the good news is that you do have a lot of control over that impression by taking the time to create a strong and unique brand identity.

If you apply all the different tangible elements consistently, it will be easier for your target audience to connect with your business. From选择正确的visuals为了创建高质量的内容，应尽一切努力保持风格和品牌声音一致。