What Are the Differences Between Brand Strategy, Brand Identity, and Collateral?
If you recently made the decision to get a professional brand design for your business, or maybe just a brand upgrade, first of all, let me say, yay! So excited for you! Secondly, you might feel some confusion around what you'll actually be receiving at the end of the project.
Most brand designers will list the deliverables of a brand design projects well before a proposal is ever sent to you, whether that be on their social media or website packages page. And that's all well and good, but what if you don't know what these deliverables are? What is the difference between brand strategy and brand identity? And what the heck is collateral? In this blog post, I'll be clearing up these three key components in brand design so you can feel confident going into your brand upgrade.
Brand Strategy
Brand Strategy focuses on the foundation of the brand: the ideal clients, core values, positioning statement, competitor profiles and creative direction. Its purpose is to create a solid foundation for the visual identity to stand on, so that there is rationale and strategy behind design choices. It's the game plan needed before the actual designing starts. Simply stated, think of the brand strategy as the guidelines given BEFORE the visual guidelines.
Brand Identity
Now that we have a brand strategy, we can use it to inform the brand identity which is made up of logos and variations, colors palettes and typography systems. The brand identity is the "visual guidelines" of your brand. And just like the name indicates, it gives your business an easily recognizable identity that reflects who you are and what you do. The brand identity is what most people automatically and correctly assume they will receive during a rebrand.
Brand Collateral
Once the brand identity is complete this can be applied in real life across all customer touch points. Think of collateral as your brand- but tangible. Some common collateral items might be printed materials like business cards, packaging design, flyers, or brochures. Some common digital collateral items might be social media templates, information graphics, website design, app design, or email marketing campaigns. All of these pieces of collateral can be included in your band design package as "extra" goods, based on your designer's packages. Collateral gives your brand design more value and allows you to easily put your best branded-foot forward to your ideal clients.
Each of these components creates a cohesive and effective brand design. Now that you know what these deliverables are, it's time to book that brand designer with confidence!
Brand Process Savvy
Now that you have the brand identity elements figured out, let’s get you set up with all of the other elements of designing for clients.
My new course, Brand Process Savvy, will teach you just that!
The course is packed with resources to set you up for success in your branding process so you can spend less time going back and forth with clients on design revisions and spend more time designing brands you and your clients LOVE.
