What is a branding kit?
A branding kit is a collection of visual assets and instructions on how to use those assets so you can best represent your brand.
These are the basic visual assets you should have in your branding kit:
Logo
Typeface and Fonts
Color Palette
Additional Graphics
Logo
Your logo is the mark that will help your customers recognize your brand on tangible items like your business cards, letterhead, and packaging. It will also help your customers identify your brand on digital platforms like your website, social media, and emails.
Because your logo will appear in many different places so it's important that you have variations of your logo ready to use. For example, you should have a variation of your logo that fits in a vertical space and a horizontal space. If you have a tag line, you should have a logo variation that incorporates that sentence or phrase. Lastly, each variation should have a copy with a transparent background. Here is my logo and its variations:
Don't forget, you should have multiple high-resolution file types ready. For more information on different types of files read my blog post "The ABCs of PDF, JPEG, PNG, AI, PSD, and INDD Files."
Typeface and Fonts
A typeface is a collection of letters and symbols that share the same design. A font is a style of a typeface. For example, I created my own typeface. It's called "Maquina 371." If I use Maquina 371 -Italics-Bold-16pt, that is a font. These are the fonts I use for my blog:
Your branding kit should include your typeface and instructions on which fonts to use and their purposes. There are websites where you can purchase ready-made fonts like www.creativemarket.com or I can help you create your own.
Color Palette
Choosing the right color palette for your brand can be overwhelming. Take a deep breath, you don't need to choose a million colors. Start with one. Think of the most iconic brands, like Coke-a-Cola or Starbuck. They only use one color to represent their brand.
In the end, the color or colors you choose should evoke your brand's identity. I am an illustrator, and I create a lot of work for children. I chose colors that are youthful, fresh, and playful. When looking for color inspiration I use Adobe Color, Design Seeds.
Unfortunately, in the design world, it's not enough to say, light blue, mustard, pink, and dark pink. You should keep a list of your color codes for the two main color profiles: CMKY and RGB. This way, you get the exact same color on different types of media. For more information on color profiles, take a look at my Instagram Reel "What is a Color Profile?"
Additional Graphics
This is my favorite part. I love creating graphics that illustrate different aspects of the brand. These are little images that help support the logo, can represent different services, or can just help you decorate your designs in a cohesive way.
My additional graphics are sprinkled across my website and social media. I also pulled all of these graphics together in a pattern I can print on digital backgrounds or physical packaging.
Your brand identity and the services you provide will change over time. It is perfectly normal to change and develop your branding kit as time passes.
Resources
Wess, Sydney "4 Key Features of a Branding Kit." Visual Objects. June 21, 2021
Schueller, Serai "What to Include in Your Brand Identity Kit." Widen. May 24, 2021
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