How to Stay On Brand
Totally new to branding? We recommend checking out our resources on anatomy of a brand and why brand guidelines are so important first.
No matter what you’re communicating, brand consistency is key to reaching your audience effectively. So, whether you’re deploying a new brand for the first time, or hoping to unify your marketing materials, here’s our quick guide to staying on brand.
Before You Start
If you’re collaborating with a team or vendor, do so with intent. When sharing brand assets, do so with specific project goals in mind. While creatives will need access to your full brand kit, project-by-project vendors and office collaborators may be more effective when their attention is focused on the parts of a kit that directly impact their work.
How to Prepare Branded Materials
These first steps will help you begin with a strong foundation, whether you’re branding a new piece or working with an existing one.
Check (and double-check) assets and styles.
Before deployment, take a critical look at the following elements.
Logo Lockup
A logo lockup refers to how the elements of your brand assets are arranged. In Atomic Empire’s brand kit, for example, we included horizontal and vertical layouts for more flexibility in deployment. When you see the lockup in layout, ask: Does the selected logo lockup fit the scale and orientation of the piece? Or, would another version of the logo with a different layout make better use of the space/maintain more legibility? If you find yourself frequently wishing you had a different logo lockup, let’s talk about how to make your kit more robust.
Color
Confirm the document color settings are the right space for the delivery medium. Color codes used within the document for type, shapes, and other assets will need to match the file color space. (The general rule: RGB is for screens and CMYK for print. We’ll have more on color space in another resource, but the TL;DR: Conflicting color codes can cause the colors to look mismatched in the final piece.)
Use a color contrast checker to confirm your font color and background color combinations create legibility rather than impede it. If your combo passes the check, you’re good to go. If it fails, use more contrasting colors.
It’s important to remember that sticking to your brand color palette is vital to maintaining your brand. Instead of adding off-brand colors, add variety through message, assets, or layout styles. (That said, if you find your palette too limiting, tag us in to review palette functionality.)
Font Styles & Sizes
Use a logical heading hierarchy to guide your type styles in layout. Be sure that heading and paragraph font styles aren’t too small or too tightly spaced to be legible.
Make sure photos, graphics, and illustrations are the right stylistic fit for your brand and message.
If your guide doesn’t include premade assets or stylistic parameters for these types of assets, look at the piece as a whole. Ask:
Do the graphic styles and tones supplement the content and colors seamlessly?
If you’re using multiple assets, or multiple types of assets, do they match each other (and your brand) overall?
Add any new, repeatable assets to your brand kit for future use.
Take a hard look at spacing.
Your audience is more likely to interact with and glean key points from your materials when content is concise and layout is balanced. Breathing room creates opportunity for focus—so, don’t cram!
Additionally, your logo shouldn’t be placed too close to other elements. In HALO 22 brand guides, you’ll find a recommended logo “clear space,” i.e. the minimum amount of space your logo needs on all sides.
Read through content as if it’s your first time.
Keep your audience’s needs in mind when you evaluate voice and message. (We’ll have another resource on that in the near future.)
Sit with it for a beat. You’re more likely to spot mistakes if you look at it again later with fresh eyes. In a hurry? Tag a teammate in to proofread it.
Ship It
Getting your brand out in the world is often one of the most challenging steps. Even if you’re concerned your materials might not be perfect, it’s an opportunity to see what works and what doesn’t.
ABP: Always Be Proofing
Proofing is a crucial step in shipping your materials.
When sending materials to print, we work directly with our vendors to proof our client-approved files. In this step, we confirm all the graphics, colors, and text will print as intended, before the full order goes to press.
For screen products, we ask for client proof review and approval before we push something live. Luckily, there’s a little less pressure with screen, and any changes or corrections are typically issued swiftly.
After Ship: How to Maintain Your Brand Going Forward
It’s just as important to check in after your materials are in the hands of your audience.
Schedule regular brand check-ins.
Check-ins can be DIY or with a team, quarterly or twice a year—whatever you can do will be beneficial. So, gather up materials to look at them as a suite. Do they look unified, even between print and screen publications? Are there elements you wouldn’t use again? Make note of changes, adjust your brand kit accordingly, and share the updates with your team.
Look into performance results.
For online materials, what patterns or key data do you see in analytics? If it’s printed, how did someone react to it in real time? If you didn’t see that interaction, were QR codes scanned? Did your website get more hits after the prints were delivered? Did you suddenly gain more followers on social media? If you’re not sure about performance, tag us in to talk about how we can make interactions with your materials more trackable.
Revisions
Consistency is key, but brands aren’t set in stone. Purposeful iteration is part of maintaining an effective brand. Changes can be the right move if they clarify the message for your audience, add new information, or make better use of brand styles.
When you revise, document the reasons why and share them with collaborators.
Flag new brand needs as early as possible.
Maybe your color palette needs refinement for print vs screen. Maybe your type choices are feeling dated and need a refresh. Whatever the case, the earlier you flag brand needs, the sooner you can get back to being on-brand.
Being conscious of brand deployment before and after publication will help you stay on-brand across materials—and, as a result, you’ll reach your target audience more effectively.
If you feel like you need more help getting it exactly right, reach out and let us know how we can support your brand needs.
