I find most of my clients don’t know what to do with all their amazing goodies like submarks, brand photography, patterns, typography, icons and the like.
Today I’ll be addressing the importance of those smaller pieces of your brand and how to really make them shine in some unlikely places! I’ll be using examples from brands I love as well as brands you recognize.

First, a quick overview

There are going to be lots of terms thrown around here and I want to keep us straight. To start off, let’s be clear: a brand is not a logo. A logo is simply one piece of a brand.
A brand is a businesses’ vision, voice, goals and overall experience for a customer. Things like a logo, pattern, business card, and website are just pieces to this larger image. They all add to the customer’s overall opinion of a brand.

What I find with so many clients, is that they just don’t know what to do with the “extras” of their brand’s identity system.

A brand’s identity system is just as it sounds; artistic pieces that fit into a brand’s visual identity.

A favorite example of how a brand identity functions across multiple print and digital collateral, is the rebrand of Southwest Airlines by Lippincott. There were hours and hours of thought, brainstorming and focus groups to determine the best direction to take their rebrand. Their end result was spectacular, their catchy new message truly says it all, “Without a heart, it’s just a machine”.

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Submarks

A submark can a piece of the main logo that has been pulled out to stand alone. They are commonly seen as favicons, on social media posts, and as watermarks. Submarks are also a way to be more playful with branded elements that tie into the overall theme and logo without having to incorporate a specific logo lockup. There is so much potential for these little guys! My personal favorite graphic artist and the unofficial king of submarks is J Fletcher from Charleston, SC.

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Patterns

Patterns are great for texture, visual interest and added depth to anything that tends to feel flat like a website or business card. Patterns, when designed well, can help feel any design feel fuller. I personally love added patterns to ordinary items to make them feel branded and super luxe. A brand that does a great job of this is none other than Stitchfix.

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Stitchfix does an amazing job of making their entire experience custom to their brand as well as easily recognizable. Think about the ordinary items you have in your shop that could be customized. Tissue paper, gift cards/holders, boxes, tape, ‘thank you’ or ‘welcome’ type cards, newsletters, headers on social media…the possibilities are endless!

And for a little more inspiration, here is some beautiful pattern work in action from various artists.

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Icons

Icons are custom pieces of art that help your brand define words and concepts, they can symbolize packages, products or services as well as take the place of photos in certain cases. A few of my favorite examples of icons are:

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Whether they are multi-layered with all of your brand’s colors or simple and one-toned, icons are an extremely effective tool in any brand’s identity system.

Wrapping Up

As a finisher, I would love to show y’all a few examples of the unique placement of these elements to inspire you! If you have been inspired and are looking to level up your brand but just don’t know what elements to place where send me an email or book a FREE 30-minute consultation call! We can chat about your project, your business and your goal to see how White Point Creative can serve you!

We are now offering Creative Strategy sessions where you and I collaborate on how to make your business even bigger and better than it is right now! We chat through marketing strategies, refreshing your brand identity, social media details and so much more!

Sound like your cup of tea? Me too! I thrive in the details, which is why White Point Creative is excited to offer Creative Strategy as our newest service! Book now!

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