Building a New Brand Identity

A new brand identity is where creative hits the pavement. A rebrand is a creative animal as well, but once you’ve tamed the creative parts, the roll out is strictly marketing 101. The cards should match the stationary should match the social media channels should match the website – which is typically the most visible part of any rebrand (unless you’re Coke or Nike), and the one by which the new ideal is most likely judged.

But building a brand identity from scratch is where creatives put on our big boy/girl pants and make magic out of thin air. It requires sitting down with a client and deriving a lot of often nebulous ideals for who and what that identity represents, whether it’s a line of skincare, organic teas, a luxury residential community, or a construction firm.

We recently created a brand identity for a start-up construction firm founded by someone with a long career in the industry. We needed to convey the visual ideals of strength, surety, trustworthiness, a solid foundation, longevity, and endurance. Below are the initial design concepts presented to the client, Verdex Construction.

We also offered a series of taglines, from which was chosen “Building Something Better.” Creating a brand identity is a process of refinement and elimination, mostly. And you can’t be too sensitive – sometimes it’s back to the drawing board (okay, computer), and sometimes clients will pick the one you never though they’d go for and it’s your absolute least favorite.

From these designs, the following was chosen, with modifications, and a different tonal scheme:

The end result of discussions ranging from coffee-room focus groups (unavoidable) to serious partner debate (critical), is this final logo, which was then applied to a corporate communications package and served as a basis for the website at verdex.com:

 By Kelly Mayfair Owens