What is brand development?

When starting a business, you might think of a logo as your brand. But a brand is so much more.

A brand is the whole experience of what people see, hear and feel when they interact with your business. Visually, this includes all of your marketing material, advertising, website, social media, business stationery, uniforms, signage and more. Your logo is only the beginning.

Along with a logo design, there is a colour palette (made up of your logo colours, and sometimes a couple of complimentary colours), font selection and images/illustrations. These keep your brand looking consistent – so wherever your brand is being presented, it matches. And this is where brand development begins.

Having your logo finalised and your colours/fonts/style set, then that needs to be rolled out across everything you are going to use to promote your business. Sometimes, businesses put together items themselves with basic templates, and do their brand development later when they realise their image isn’t as professional as they had hoped.

Brand development isn’t there to make everything “look nice”, although it can be the first reason that comes to mind. The purpose is to give your customers a consistent experience, no matter how they reach you. Whether they see your signage first, then brochure, then website. Or if they see your social media presence, then your website, then your business card – the experience should feel the same. Your customer (potential or otherwise) should feel like they are dealing with the same business at all points.

Brand development is about building credibility and professionalism. It’s incredible that it can be done with a little bit of thoughtful design.