Simplicity in Branding.

Branding is a tricky task. You have got stand out but remain classic and timeless. Provoke emotion and stay true to your organisation.

Less is more. More or less…

We quite liked the stripped back versions of these well know brands shown in this Creative Bloq article, which got me thinking about what the main considerations are, when creating a brand.

I asked Robin, Plus Two’s Creative Lead, what he thought the three most important aspects of brand creation were and here’s what he said:

1. Research.
   You have to start with a really good understanding/insight into the company itself. Even if it’s a startup. This will involve doing research and workshops with the key stakeholders in the company and really getting under the skin of what they want from the logo and the company branding. It will effect everything you do from here on in. The insights might highlight specific colours that the company should use or a historical reference that you need to be aware of. It will also hopefully flush out the ‘must avoid xxxxxx’ that you’ll need before you go down any design route.
2. What is it?
   Is it a logotype or does it need an icon too? Sometimes a clever use of typography is enough. So you need to try both serif fonts and sans-serif fonts as well as script, italics, bold, and custom fonts. With so many applications of a logo these days its important to all consider where its going to be seen, and how big it will be. This can lead to being more than one version of the logo for different applications included in the guidelines.
3. Simplicity.
   Keep it simple. Nike and Apple are great examples of simple, clean designs that are instantly recognisable the world over. You may find that you initially design a complicated logo that you can pare down into a simpler form but still contains all the essential elements that you originally put in. Don’t be afraid to ask your colleagues what they think, or print out and stick on your walls, live with it.

Here is Robin in branding mode!

Are you looking for a (brand) new brand or a re-brand? You can see a couple couple of examples of our branding work for Timewise Recruitment here and for NHS West Herts here.