Before we start explaining what brand is lets play a short game, If you see apple logo on a product, what comes to your mind?; wait a sec, let me guess, strong hardware product, minimalistic design, luxury, easy software, high quality, products for people who value it the right way, pleasure, I hope I guessed some of what came to your mind. Shortly I would like to quote here from the brand-gab for MARTY NEUMEIER
A BRAND IS A PERSON’S GUT FEELING ABOUT A PRODUCT, SERVICE, OR ORGANIZATION.
Brand is a personal feelings, thought and perspective, so if we would like to imagine the big picture of the brand let’s say Apple again, it will be the sum of these perspectives, feelings and thoughts in the mind of the community who ever heard about this company. In other words brand is not what you say it is it’s what these people say it is or think it is.
Now if we have a start up and we would to start building our brand, it is like a tree as well like the idea of growing business itself, have you ever thought why they use the word “grow”?!, we May be we start by creating visual identity for this startup and in the begging this identity is a brand in you mind because you imagine the brand in the future, you keep thinking of how people will see your products, services, or your company and you start making sure that the perspective of you community or customers matched the brand you have in your mind and regarding this you start acting and working on your company. You decide how does your visual identity looks like and you decide how does your product or service looks like, how the package will be like, you measure the quality of it and the quality even of the process, how much satisficed your customer will be by having your product, and never less having feedback from the market after each enhancement step you take in the way, you follow what the market desires about your product or service and company, and let me say now you are a little bit away from the kick point, this time you spent and this journey is part of the brand you are creating.
Your brand changes by time just like any living creative in the universe, this way we use “grow” world and it has a life circle with consideration that you control this circle, and you also measure and adjust the nature of this tree along the way.
