Designing Brand Identity

Alina Wheeler is a branding consultant who engages enterprises in a dynamic process to build their brands and embrace best practices. Wheeler inspires the whole branding team to seize every opportunity to design compelling customer experiences at every touchpoint. Her best-selling book, Designing Brand Identity, published in 11 languages, was the first book to deconstruct the branding process into a universal, five-phase methodology. She is a past Board member of AIGA and a member of the advisory council for The Dictionary of Brand. She speaks frequently to executives, practitioners, and students around the world. She is also the co-author of Brand Atlas: Branding Intelligence Made Visible.Rob Meyerson is principal and founder of Heirloom, an independent brand strategy and identity firm. His specialties include naming, brand strategy, brand architecture, and messaging, and past clients include Adobe, John Deere, Disney, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. Prior to Heirloom, Rob's previous roles included head of brand architecture and naming at HP, director of verbal identity at Interbrand in San Francisco, and director of strategy at FutureBrand, Southeast Asia. Rob is the author of Brand Naming: The Complete Guide to Creating a Name for Your Company, Product, or Service and has published articles about brand strategy and naming in Harvard Business Review, Business Insider, The Guardian, TechCrunch, and Entrepreneur.

• BasicsPart 1 presents the fundamental concepts needed to kick-start the branding process and creates a shared vocabulary for the entire team.Brand Basics2 Brand4 Branding6 Brand identity8 Brand strategy10 Why invest12 Stakeholders14 Organizational culture16 Brand experience18 Brand architecture20 Visual identity22 Messaging and voice24 Brand governanceBrand ideals26 Overview28 Vision30 Meaning32 Authenticity34 Coherence36 Flexibility38 Commitment40 Value42 Differentiation44 LongevityBrand Elements46 Names48 Brandmarks50 Wordmarks52 Letterform marks54 Pictorial marks56 Abstract marks58 Emblems60 Dynamic marks62 Taglines64 CharactersBrand dynamics66 Overview68 Social justice70 Sustainability72 Global and local74 Artificial intelligence76 Big data analytics78 Social media80 Digital interfaces82 Mobile apps84 Evidence-based marketing86 Private labeling88 Brand licensing90 Certification92 Crisis communications94 Personal brandingBefore and after96 Overview98 Brandmark redesign102 Packaging redesign104 RenamingProcess Part 2 presents a universal process regardless of the project’s scope and nature. This section answers the question “Why does it take so long?”Process basics108 Overview110 Managing the process112 Brand initiatives114 Measuring success116 Collaboration118 Decision making120 Intellectual property122 Design managementPhase 1 Conducting research124 Overview126 Defining the problem128 Market research130 Usability testing132 Marketing audit134 Competitive audit136 Verbal audit138 Findings reportPhase 2 Clarifying strategy140 Overview142 Narrowing the focus144 Positioning146 Brand brief148 NamingPhase 3 Designing identity150 Overview152 Identity system design154 Look and feel156 Color158 Typography160 Iconography162 Sound164 Other senses166 Trial applications168 PresentationPhase 4 Creating touchpoints170 Overview172 Content strategy174 Website176 Collateral178 Stationery180 Product design182 Packaging184 Advertising186 Branded environments188 Signage and wayfinding190 Vehicles192 Uniforms194 EphemeraPhase 5 Managing assets196 Overview198 Changing brand assets200 Launching202 Building brand champions204 Online brand centers206 Guidelines208 Guidelines content210 Brand booksBest PracticesPart 3 showcases best practices. Local and global, public and private, these projects inspire and exemplify original, flexible, lasting solutions.Case studies214 AC Milan216 Adventr218 Airbnb China220 Algramo222 Batiste224 Better Place Forests226 Bcg X228 Campbell230 Chobani232 City of Vienna234 Deloitte236 DonorsChoose238 DuPont240 Eames Institute242 Eat Curious244 82nd Street Partnership246 Filthy248 Folx250 Fremtind252 Gentari254 Gsk256 Helen of Troy258 High Street Market & Deli260 Hootsuite262 Hopscotch264 Human Rights First266 Italicus268 Jodrell Bank270 KatKin272 Kia274 Lavish Pizza276 Lego278 Longfu280 Lucid Motors282 Lumanity284 The Mellon Foundation286 Oli!288 oLiv290 OneTen292 Pan-Afrikan Design Institute294 Papier296 Perth Airport298 Petbarn300 Piedmont Art Walk302 Saga304 Salehiya306 Santa Barbara Botanic Garden308 Sense310 Spotify312 Sun Day Carwash314 US Open316 Viva