Brand Building 101
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đ 8 Minute Read
Perspective Shift
Designing a Visual identity for a brand before uncovering the unique Emotional and Functional identities will create a shell of an experience. Spend the majority of your effort on the Emotional and Functional, then the Visual will become all the more powerful.
To the vast majority of businesses, branding = logo.
And theyâre not wrong! A logo is a crucial piece of crafting a memorable visual identity for a business. If done correctly, a great logo can stand the test of time and carry a brandâs âvisual voiceâ for decades.
But, thereâs a problem with this simplification: Crafting a meaningful brand that connects with a specific audience is hardly about visuals at all.
Now, Brave People is a design agency at its core. We love a well-crafted visual system as much as the next designer. But what we know, and what designers often take years to figure out, is that creating a really effective brand is about so much more than the logo, typography, colors, or website.
To simplify things (or maybe complicate, if you donât like math), hereâs an equation that we believe sums up what a brand really is.
(E + F) V = B
A brand (B) can be summed up in this equation: The specific Emotional (E) and Functional identity (F), reflected and made more effective by Visual identity (V).
The Emotional identity sets the stage for the deeper connection that you seek to make with an audience.
The Functional identity helps the world understand what you can do for them through means of services and products.
The Visual identity amplifies everything, serving as a signal for recognition, connection, and association.
Letâs dig into each of these parts of the whole.
Emotional Identity
Have you ever bought a product or service where you felt inexplicably drawn to the company making it? Not just in admiration of the product itself, but that you practically identify yourself by the company?
Perhaps itâs a clothing brand like Everlane; A fragrance maker like Creed; A tech company like Apple; Or a subscription like Trade Coffee Co.
Sure, what they sell might be top-notch and clearly gets the job done â but what they do differently is creating an experience that makes you want to belong.
These kinds of brands understand that consumers WILL feel something when they purchase⊠whether thatâs relief, dread, regret, anger, or delight. Itâs up to them to facilitate an experience that motivates just the right emotional response, in order for us to find connection.
What does this mean for you?
Letâs say youâre a designer whoâs creating a new brand for a client. Start with the kind of emotional response you want their customers to feel when interacting with the business. Not you, not the business owner⊠the end user.
What is the internal, unspoken response that you want people to have when interacting with the brand? Donât be vague about it either â make a list of possible feelings, and map this out with the owner of the business!
Without this crucial piece of uncovering a brand, youâre left with mere utility â which is the opposite, but needed balance, the Functional identity.
Functional Identity
A brandâs Functional Identity is the tactical positioning of what it actually does in the marketplace, and the definitive process that executes it.
A rule of thumb: If a company has a stellar Functional identity and is delivering flawlessly on it, youâll rarely hear about it⊠unless itâs a bad experience.
When you see hundreds of Yelp reviews for a restaurant or hotel, theyâre almost exclusively talking about their experience with a brandâs poor Functional identity.
The seasoning on the salmon dish; the roughness of the bedsheets; the speed of service; the parking situation⊠these are the details that set a brand apart by means of function, and itâs blindingly obvious when itâs not to spec.
Thatâs not to say a brandâs Functional identity is exclusively tied to how well they operate â itâs just often the most apparent indicator that things were thought through intensely enough before launching.
Now, as it relates to your creative services and creating a meaningful brand for a client: If the Emotional identity is the âwhoâ and âwhyâ, the Functional identity is the âwhatâ and the âhowâ.
You might be obsessed with the ingredients in your favorite skin care; your favorite note-taking app might be the fastest youâve ever used; your shoes might be the most comfortable and stylish thing youâve ever owned.
These are functions of a brandâs Functional identity.
The Functional identity highlights the unique utility of a brand, and effortlessly contrasts it with consumerâs problems, goals, or fears. If you have a killer Functional identity thatâs paired with a clear Emotional identity, your brand is ready for visuals.
ï»żVisual Identity
Now, onto the most talked about part of crafting a brand, but arguably least important â shaping the Visual identity.
Hereâs the funny thing about creating visuals⊠when Emotional and Functional identities are rock solid, developing a striking visual system is almost inconsequential to the success of a brand.
In essence, branding is a series of methodical decisions about the shapes, colors, and format that most accurately reflect the goals of a business.
In other words, the Visual identity is merely a reflection of whatâs already been uncovered about the Emotional and Functional identities.
Everyone wants to jump right into designing the next iconic logo or visual system for a globally recognized brand â but rarely do designers consider what happens when the deeper work hasnât been completed first.
Now, consider our previous equation for what a brand is, except removing one of the crucial pieces:
Emotional x Visual = A brand with beautiful roots and a captivating pull to the brand, but no real follow-through with a captivating, premium service offering, subscription, or product.
Functional x Visual = A brand with top-tier offerings that look noticeably more premium than competition, but fail to capture consumers buy-in to the brand, other than on the basis of price and quality.
Needless to say, a brandâs Visual identity is still absolutely crucial to its long-term success. A top-notch visual system creates an undeniable connection between consumers and a brandâs vision, igniting a deep emotional response thatâs signaled every time they see the logo.
So again: Visuals are important, but itâs the last step in the journey of creating a meaningful brand experience.
Parting Thought
Understanding the connection between a brandâs Emotional, Functional, and Visual identities will pave the way for impact.
Every brand, no matter the size, function, or intent, is eligible for this kind of exploration, and will benefit greatly from a designer who aims to meaningfully help, rather than simply design visuals.
Next Step
Brave U: Accelerate
A virtual mentorship and business accelerator program led by Gabe Lopez, Founder of Brave People, Brave Haus, and Brave U. Members receive monthly investments of time and teaching across sales, operations, and creative process to accelerate their ventureâs growth.
