Brand Attributes

How to Identify Key Brand Attributes

However you come to determine your brand qualities (for more info about this click here), you will want to narrow down your list and focus on about three to five descriptive words. Choose qualities that best represent your unique capabilities and attitudes. Think about how you would envision translating these qualities into a more tangible ” look and feel. ” Try to choose brand qualities that will lend themselves to creating a more focused, positive, and memorable impression that distinguishes you. Words like – witty, vintage, bold, intense, organized, daring, confident, imaginative, reflective, quirky, experimental, retro, edgy, outgoing, enthusiastic, focused, classic, raw, poetic, creative, playful, and wacky, are some choices you could use to describe your style.

Brand Statements

A brand statement (sometimes known as a brand position) is a single statement that communicates quickly and succinctly the core values of an individual or company as they relate to its strategic positioning within a particular industry.

Personal brand statement: A single sentence that strategically promotes who you are, what you stand for, and what you’re best at. It is a difficult process to develop such a statement as it challenges you to focus on your strongest positive attributes and then have the confidence to state them clearly and concisely. Be forward-thinking—take a stand, focus your message, and set yourself apart. A targeted message is guaranteed to make you more visible and memorable. Don’t worry about including all your talents and skills in this statement. You shouldn’t include everything you can think of—this will only water down your message. Besides, there is a baseline level of skills and experience that should be true of most people in your industry. Such expectations should be demonstrated through the actual work in your portfolio. Your brand and subsequent portfolio design should, however, go above and beyond a generic description and focus on what makes you special. It’s better to be targeted and have something more unique to say than to be too generalized and like everyone else. Your brand statement will be used as a guide, a touchstone, in the expression of your portfolio concept and design. A personal brand statement can also provide the basis for the development of a visual identity if you decide to create one.

Sample statement:

I am a [state professional title (photographer, graphic designer, illustrator, etc.)] with strong (amazing, leading, etc.) skills in [list core skills] who is [list brand attributes (qualities)].

Exercise: Brand Book

Need help? Think about your brand like you’re telling a story about it—one that captures the essence of who you are as a creative professional. In advertising, most brands have a “brand book” that tells their story.

A brand book is the story and personification of a brand—its ethos. It answers the questions: What does a brand sound like? Feel like? Look like? What’s its purpose? Its mission? How is it different from its competitors? What’s its unique personality and characteristics? How does it think and perceive the world? How does the world perceive it? Through visual elements and copy a brand book tells its Story—written in the first-person narrative form as if the brand (or company it is representing) is speaking. – Christine Pillsbury, Creative Director, Beam Interactive and Relationship Marketing

Business card, cd, and booklet designed by and for Mirtho Prepont

Impressive brand identity design for this business card, cd, and booklet portfolio set by designer Mirtho Prepont.
http://myworkonthe.net/

PBDH Identity & Collateral

This award-winning brand identity by Phinney Bischoff Design House extends to a wide variety of both print materials and products.

PBDH is an independent, multidisciplinary brand design firm based in Seattle, WA.

*click image for larger view

.

Brand Identity for MacDonald Photography

This award-winning, professional looking brand identity for MacDonald Photography was created by Rule29 of Geneva, IL. It’s a superb example of an entire visual identity package, established through a strong logo, bold color palette, memorable copy and unique construction. As with this example, when all pieces of your promotional and professional materials are visually connected, you’ll be sure to stand out from the crowd and remain memorable.

Art Direction: Justin Ahrens, Principal and Creative Director
Designers: Justin Ahrens and Kara Merrick

According to Justin Ahrens’ bio -
“As founder and principal of Rule29, Justin Ahrens infuses his strategic creative firm’s credo of “making creative matter” into every project. With clients ranging from non-profit organizations to Fortune 500 corporations, Justin strives to continuously expand the boundaries of R29′s design, collaborative approach and creativity to deliver unequaled results. His passion for his profession is evidenced by Justin’s involvement in design community organizations. Having served several years on the HOW Conference Advisory Board and more recently on the Create Magazine Advisory Board, Justin is also a member of the STA and AIGA having held AIGA board positions in Arizona and Chicago.

Other work being done is Justin’s and Rule29′s involvement with Life in Abundance and their work in the slums of Northeast Africa. To make creative matter in the world both in the US and in Africa is a core benefit to being a creative from the R29 perspective. Justin’s award-winning work resulted in being chosen by Graphic Design USA as one of the top designers to watch in 2004. His work can be seen in leading industry publications and books including Communication Arts, HOW, PRINT, Graphis, Create, Rockport Publishers and STEP. Justin’s passion for design is only overshadowed by his passion for being home with his wife Sarah and their four amazing kids who think Dad’s job is listening to music, drawing pictures and playing on the computer.”

*Click on images for a larger view.