A mark. A visual stimulation that tickles the senses, seizing your attention. Is branding just an identity that sets you apart from the rest of the hay in the stack or is there more to it? You’ve likely heard of this before. Branding is not just creating a logo nor does it consist of just picking the right color palettes or typography. Branding is a creative process that showcases the promises a company makes to its customers, co-creating a relationship and ensuring that the brand is forever placed in their minds.

To begin this creative process, you first need a strong brand foundation that all your future decisions regarding branding can refer back to.

Here are six things to consider when developing your brand foundation.

1. Reason to Believe

Put simply, why? What is it about your product, service, brand, that makes it unique or different that people will believe in?

2. Values

At the core of it, what will your brand always stand by? Sustainability? Innovation?

3. The Audience

Who is your dream client? Don't just say everyone!

4. The Aspirational Set

What brands and companies do you look up to? What do they value? What is their mission and promise to their customers?

5. The Competitive Set

Its always important to do your research - who would your competitors be in your field?

6. Personality & Tone

If you were to describe your brand as a person, what kind of a person would they be? Frank? Straight to the point? Easy going? Too cool for school?

To help flesh out these ideas further, at BrandWorks we like to use a simple one-page framework, that helps lay out all our ideas on the one page, and is a great resource to come back to as you go further into your branding journey and need a reminder of your brand foundations.