BRANDING
Brand positioning before the logo: a practical starting point
Clarify who you serve and why your offer matters before making visual decisions.
Describe the customer situation
“Everyone” is rarely a useful design audience. Describe the person making the buying decision, the problem they face and the alternatives they consider. Include what creates doubt and what they need to understand before choosing.
This does not mean refusing every other customer. It means giving the brand a clear starting point so the website, proposal and advertising can speak with purpose.
Make the promise specific enough to evaluate
A useful promise explains the value of the work without pretending to control every outcome. “Helping service businesses present their offer clearly online” provides more direction than a broad claim to transform every business.
List what supports that promise: your process, relevant experience, delivery approach or documented capability. Do not fill gaps with invented results or client names.
Define a few practical brand principles
Choose principles that affect decisions. If clarity is important, use plain service descriptions and readable layouts. If reliability matters, make next steps and responsibilities explicit. A principle should change what your team creates.
Avoid a long list of adjectives that could describe any company. Three well-defined principles are more useful than ten words with no implications for everyday work.
Translate the strategy into a visual brief
Give the designer the audience, promise, examples of actual use and the required assets. Explain where the identity must work: a website header, proposal, invoice, social profile or physical signage. These contexts influence the design.
Review concepts against the brief. Personal preference still matters, but it should not be the only reason a mark or typeface is chosen. Test small sizes and ordinary office documents as well as polished presentations.
Create rules people can apply
Document approved colours, logo files, spacing and basic writing guidance. Keep the system simple enough that staff can use it without requesting a new design decision for every document.
Review the brand as the business develops. A stronger identity usually comes from repeated, consistent decisions—not from changing the logo whenever a new campaign begins.
PUT IT INTO PRACTICE
Your action checklist
- Define the primary buying situation.
- Write a specific, supportable promise.
- Translate principles into design and writing rules.
- Test the identity in real business materials.
CONNECT THE IDEA TO YOUR BUSINESS
Branding & Strategy
Give your business a clear, confident identity.
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