Why is branding important?

Everyone tells you that you need a logo, so you call your cousin’s friend who’s a part time designer, and you get them to make you a logo. Tick. Yes some thought has gone into it and yes, it’s a great looking logo, but that’s all it is – a logo.

But what about your brand?

Your brand is so much more than just a logo. Your brand is how you talk, how you look on a business card and on your social media stories – even which social media platforms you use.

Luma’s graphic designer, Laura Stoker talked about her training.

“My university taught the importance of defining core brand attributes. We were asked to consider a brand as a person. What are they like? Witty, charming and friendly? Austere, careful and trustworthy.

It’s important to define the perimeters of these traits by defining what your brand is not. For example, witty but not poking fun. Charming but not cheesy. Friendly but not intrusive. This enables me to create something consistent, something which enables a potential client to get to know your brand in just eight seconds.”

Eight seconds to clarity

Eight seconds is all the time you have to grab someone’s attention and for them to decide whether your brand resonates with them. This could be when they meet you in person, via your website or on your social media channels.

As an example, here are three potential logos for a company called Clarity. One is a law firm, one is an optician and the third is a make-up brand. Early consideration of branding and brand values mean that the logos are more than logos, instead they convey very different brand values through their choice of colour, typeface and composition.

Business owners need to make those eight seconds count by creating a brand that resonates with the values potential clients want – which first means that you really need to understand your customer. These are conversations Luma has with clients. Getting your brand right will stop the dreaded rebrand-after-rebrand that some companies find themselves doing.

Watch this space

Laura is currently working on a rebrand for Luma Marketing: watch this space! We’ve talked through our brand values and reacted to Laura’s initial ideas and we can’t wait to share our new brand with you in the coming month.