Creating a brand kit

Creating a brand kit with your digital design team is a necessity for any business looking to make a name for itself. You want to create lasting impressions and be recognized without saying a word, and with a brand kit you will have everything in one place to get the job done.

When you have consistency and cohesion as outlined in your brand kit and guide, there can be no mistaking your firm. In this blog, we take a closer look at the fundamentals needed to create a personalized brand kit and what you need to execute it with success.

What is a brand kit?

A brand kit is essentially a curated compilation of a company’s assets and design choices that create a cohesive visual aesthetic that represent a business’s personality, look, and overall feel.

If you have ever flipped through a magazine or seen billboards advertising specific products and recognized the brand and logos immediately, this is what it means to have a brand, a household name. And whether it be a handbag with a logo or a t-shirt with the same badge, the brand is easily identifiable.

A branding kit design is usually implemented and filtered through the company and its products, across its platform, and becomes the symbol representing a particular business.

Companies will execute brand consistency through visual elements of the brand and essentially include a foundational collection of elements, such as;

• Primary and secondary fonts

• Color choices and combinations - both primary and secondary

• Logo diversity including definitive imagery

• Clear-cut typography

All these together bring a brand’s image to life and can quickly turn a simple component into a globally recognized entity.

What is a social media brand kit?

A social media brand kit is everything needed and used to promote a company and brand on social media platforms. The resources and materials used help to increase brand awareness across multiple social media applications and platforms and are the foundation for maintaining consistency within a brand’s image.

Marketing managers work together with the company’s digital design team to create a united image of the brand and its logos while implementing effective messages across media platforms. Essentially, a substantial social media kit will include the following aspects but is not limited to;

• Brand colors

• Logos

• Hashtags for building brand awareness

• Graphics for instant visual identity

• Images and profile photos

• Typography and fonts

• Templates (target and platform-specific)

As a whole a social media brand kit is an integral component of a company’s visual communications marketing.

What are the elements of a good brand kit?

A good brand kit doesn’t need to be overcomplicated but rather offers an element of quality rather than quantity. There are 3 important fundamentals a good (if not great) brand kit must contain, and when you have these in place you can’t go wrong, and they are;

• The color palette

• The logo (or logos)

• The typography

It seems simple enough, and for the most part, it is. What you need to understand early on is that these visual elements are what will make your brand a household, a conversational name rather than one that needs to be searched to learn more about.

These components are what your customers will see first, come into contact with first, and you need to be sure your brand leaves a lasting impression. You want them to be memorable. Let’s delve deeper into what they entail.

1. The color palette

Colors, when chosen well, make up 80% of brand recognition, and this boils down to association. Whether it be a simple red packaging with a yellow initial, or a red oval with white cursive lettering flowing along the product we know, in an instant, which brand it is even if there was no text.

A great color elicits emotions, you want your customers to feel happy, positive, and feel good vibes when they see your products or brand logo. This is effectively and efficiently achieved with great color choices.

• Side note - Always remember to include or make note of the color ‘hex code’ which specifies the exact hue or shade of the color you want or have been using. This prevents mishaps and frustrations that can lead to promotional products looking inconsistent.

2. The logo (or logos)

You may not have realized it but shapes are equally as important as color choices, and even more so when it is related to your company logo. Studies show that square or rectangular-shaped logos are often perceived negatively with hard connotations attached to them. Whereas round or oval shapes are more fluid, soft, and have a more compassionate demeanor to them therefore more inviting.

Add to that a powerful color combination and you could change the world.

Always think about your target audience and what message you want to convey without the need to say anything. There are endless options so let your creativity run wild.

3. The typography

A big factor in branding is using an easy-to-recognize font, as well as the text. While the text may be quirky, clever, or simplistically to the point, it can quickly become moot if the font makes it impossible to read.

Think about and play around with various combinations, see how they work as a unit, and also look at them from close up and at a distance. Spacing is crucial and when overlooked has led to many red-faced mishaps.

4. Brand kit checklist

Checklists are great ways to make sure everything is seen to, sorted, or ticked off as complete, and when it comes to brand kits it is no different.

Think about if you were to hand over the checklist to someone new, would they be able to execute the tasks how you like them, in the manner in which you prefer, and create a recognizable brand image by only following your instructions? Food for thought.

Ideally, the overall personality of the brand should come across clearly without explanation. From there the voice and imagery representing your company filters down throughout the logo, typography, and colors, and comes together at the end in a cohesively executed design creation.

All employees should have access to the brand kit checklist to use if need be, which should be kept up-to-date at all times to ensure brand consistency.

How do you create a brand kit?

Creating a brand kit is simple when you know how (isn’t everything), and with a handful of steps you can be well on your way to designing and creating a bespoke brand kit that will take the world by storm. Here are our 5 quick steps to building your brand kit and your company name.

1. Brand story

2. Brand Voice

3. Logo iterations

4. Typography

5. Brand color palette

1. Start your guide with a well-thought-out brand story

Your work ethos, mission statement, and ultimately the company values should all be in your opening paragraph. This sets the tone for what’s to follow and creates an emotion and understanding of what the brand believes in and what the company stands for.

2.Discussing your brand voice

Your brand voice is the company’s preferred tone when communicating. It should come through clearly both verbally and visually and is an influential part of an editorial kit guide. How the text behaves with regards to images, ads, or photos can quickly be conveyed through a do’s and don’ts section.

3. Logo iterations

Exposure and advertising come in all shapes and sizes and you need to account for this and be prepared. Designers need to see that your logo is adaptable and by showcasing various iterations you can focus on how to make edits if need be to suit certain advertising platforms. Everything from on TV, in magazines, or on billboards, all spaces are up for design grabs.

4. Typography

While imagery and colors are important, the company’s words and spacing are also part of a brand’s identity and just as important. Be sure designers and those using the brand kit are well-versed in how to employ written content throughout graphical contexts.

5. Brand color palette

Typically a brand has one or two colors, ‘maybe’ three as an accent, but be sure they represent what you want for your company. If you are considering using blue as your main color, what shade of blue will you use? You want cohesiveness and keeping things simple make it easier to achieve.

Brand kit examples

A simple glance is all it takes to recognize a household brand name, and this comes down to great marketing and a well-designed brand kit. Some of the most iconic companies and brands in the world have a mere symbol or signature color, but that’s all it takes.

Let’s look at some of them and see what they’re doing that’s keeping them at the top of their game.

Netflix

You may not have thought it but there is power in owning the rights to, you guessed it, a letter of the alphabet. And Netflix has shown us all how to do it with style. Globally recognized, this 2 tone logo is often seen standing alone and doing so confidently. The focus is more on their service of great films and series rather than an overthought logo.

Starbucks

The iconic Siren image portrays a woman of strength and quality, much like the brand itself. Easily recognizable with a green tone symbolizing freshness and an inviting atmosphere. The typography throughout the brand is a combination of 3 variants.

Spotify

Whether it be black and green, white and green, or all three combined, the Spotify logo with its signature audio sound waves is something we have seen, most likely used, or at the very least come across in our life. Soft lettering for easy listening.

Slack

When you look closer you see the 4 symbolic colors of the Slack word and logo are the inter-workings of a cog mechanism**. A**nd with a tongue-in-cheek brand name suggesting using their platform means they will pick up the ‘slack’ and do all the heavy lifting, while you enjoy all the features and tools.

• Trip Advisor - The brand and company are all about leisure, what people think while away from home, and sharing it with the community. The iconic binocular eye logo is a great conversation starter and with a soft green hue, you’re subtly taken off to an island getaway as you search for your next vacation holiday.

The final call on brand kits

It is no secret that without a well-designed and curated brand kit, it will be almost impossible to become a household name. A brand kit is your business’s way of standing out from the crowd, moving away from the pack as it were, and for your fonts and colors to be associated with your brand name and company.

When you want to create a memorable identity, be sure you have the basics done right and the rest will fall into place. There is nothing more powerful than a recognizable logo and brand.

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