Basics of Branding: Lecture 3
Deciding on a brand name
Your name plays an important role in immediately setting the tone of your brand.
While the name can be generic and meaningless, it’s an opportunity for you to evoke an an emotion and set initial perceptions.
Keep your name simple: While you can evoke an emotion with a phrase, it’s important to keep things simple. Ideally, it should be limited to two or three syllables, making it easy to remember, pronounce, and spell. Think about how easily it rolls off the tongue and how it sounds when spoken aloud.
Brainstorming: Start with a few simple words that you want to associate with your brand. Use techniques like mind mapping, word association games, and online name generators to find related and similar words. When brainstorming, aim for quantity over quality initially—you want hundreds of choices to think about. A Thesaurus is very helpful in this process, as it can identify words related to other words and expand your options.
Consider foreign language words: An interesting option to add names to your name list is to use translation tools to translate words into foreign languages. This can result in more unique and interesting options, but it’s crucial to research potential negative connotations or difficult pronunciations in your target markets to avoid unintended brand messages.
Make sure your chosen name is available: Before committing to a name, thoroughly check its availability. Ideally, you want the “.com” domain, but also consider relevant top-level domains (TLDs) and social media handles. Most importantly, conduct a comprehensive trademark search. You don’t want to end up in a legal battle if another company already owns registered trademarks for similar use cases. Consulting with legal counsel specializing in intellectual property is highly recommended at this stage.
Brand logo design
Similar to coming up with a brand name, you need to put effort in to come up with a logo design that fits your brand, evokes the right emotions, is unique and is memorable.
Brainstorming: Similar to coming up with a brand name, start with words that can be used to visually represent the emotions you want to evoke. Create mood boards with images, colors, and typography that align with your brand’s desired personality and message.
Sketching: Make lots of sketches based on the visual concepts that the words and mood boards are leading towards. These don’t need to be super detailed illustrations; rough, low-fidelity sketches are perfect for rapidly exploring different ideas and directions for your logo concept.
Versatility and Colors: While a colorful logo can be appealing, consider its versatility. The most flexible logos often work well in a single color and can be easily scaled up or down without losing clarity. Think about how your logo will appear across various mediums—digital screens, print materials, merchandise, and even small icons. The chosen colors should align with your brand’s overall color scheme and emotional message.
Testing your brand name and logo
Once you have an idea of what your brand name and logo could be, it’s crucial to test them. Ask people what they think the brand sells, what emotions it evokes, and what industry they associate it with.
Ideally, these are people who are unfamiliar with your company and what you do. You can conduct these tests through:
- Informal Feedback: Ask friends, family, or colleagues for their honest opinions.
- Online Surveys/Polls: Use platforms to gather feedback from a broader, unbiased audience.
- A/B Testing: For digital assets, test different versions of names or logos to see which performs better with your target audience.
The results can be very interesting and provide actionable insights:
- Is it evoking the right emotion?
- Are they able to identify what industry the company is in?
- Does your brand concept accidentally hint towards something you haven’t thought about yet, or does it have unintended negative connotations?
- Does the name sound too similar to a competitor, or is the logo perceived as too aggressive for your target audience?