Brand design shapes how people feel about you before they even read a word about you. It’s the system that makes you recognisable and memorable. In today’s crazy market, great brand identity is often the difference between being chosen and being scrolled past.
People don’t fall in love with products. They fall in love with brands, and design is often the shortcut to that emotional connection. It’s what makes someone choose you instead of the countless other options doing the exact same thing.
So, whether you’re rebranding, launching, or just trying to make your visuals feel a little less DIY, this guide will walk you through everything you need to know to build a brand identity that stands out and scales with you.
If your brand were a person, brand identity would be its outfit, voice, and vibe all in one. It's how you look, sound, and feel to the outside world. So what makes up brand identity? If you’re still wondering what brand design actually is in simple terms, think of it as the craft that pulls all of these elements into one system.
👉 Logos
👉 Colour palette
👉 Typography
👉 Imagery & Graphics
👉 Brand Voice & Tone
👉 Tagline / Messaging
👉 Brand Story
👉 Values & Personality
👉 Packaging Design
👉 Website & Digital Experience
👉 Social Media Presence
👉 Environmental Branding
👉 Motion & Sound Design
Your brand identity is your blueprint for how you show up consistently and confidently across every touchpoint. You don’t need to tick every box but you do need to put the work in.
Bringing in a brand design agency early can save you a ton of time (and money).
A good brand design agency will help you:
✔️ Translate your mission and values into visuals that connect with your audience.
✔️ Build a cohesive system that grows with your business.
✔️ Spot opportunities your competitors miss and make you look 10x more put-together while doing it.
Over half (55%) of brand impressions come from what people see, and it only takes seven seconds for them to decide if they’re into you or not. Working with the right design agency means you’ll nail that first impression and every one after it.
You’ve poured your heart, soul, and far too many late-night coffees into your brand already. You live it. You breathe it. You’ve sacrificed weekends for it. So it only makes sense to make sure the world actually sees it the way you intend.
Strong brand identity shapes how people feel, remember, and trust you. It differentiates you, builds recognition and impacts sales more than you might notice.
It’s worth noting that research shows 73% of millennials will pay more for brands that reflect their values – sustainability, ethics, community, or whatever their “why” might be. This emotional connection doesn’t happen by accident; it starts with how you express yourself visually and verbally.
Design without direction won’t get you very far. Before you even think about colours, logos, or typefaces, figure out who you are and where you’re going. What do you stand for? Who are you talking to? What makes you different?
The truth is, great design starts with a great strategy. When your visuals are built on a solid foundation, every creative choice has purpose. So slow down before you start designing. Ask questions. Get uncomfortable. Do the thinking.
Now this section is only going to be brief, we get stuck in a little later in this blog but this will give you an idea of what’s involved in building a cohesive brand design.
Here’s where to start:
Dig into your mission, values, audience, and goals. What do you stand for? What’s your why?
Just enough to spot where you can be different.
→ What are they doing well?
→ Where are they all the same?
→ How can you stand out?
This includes your positioning, personality, messaging pillars, and value proposition. Brand strategy is what we specialise in, so if you need a hand, you know where we are đź‘‹.
Only now, is it time to start building the pretty stuff.
Think of this as your design rulebook. Include do’s, don’ts, spacing rules, tone of voice, and social media use. That way, everyone in your team stays aligned.
Think of these as the non-negotiables in your brand mix:
Your logo is the instant “hey this is who we are” moment between your brand and the world. It should be simple and flexible enough to look just as good on a tiny Instagram icon as it does on a billboard or festival tent.
The best logos work everywhere because they’re adaptable. As designers we know that simplicity here can go a long way. The main goal is to be recognised and remembered and more times than not - simple is better. And no, your logo probably doesn’t need to be bigger than it already is.
Think about it: walk down the cheese aisle in any supermarket and you’ll notice something – it’s a sea of yellow and red. Safe, expected and boring … 🥱. Now imagine if your packaging design showed up in cool blues or matte black, you’d stand out instantly. That’s the power of colour differentiation. But it does have to make sense!
Whether your brand lives on a shelf, a website, or a billboard in the middle of Manchester, colour is often the single thing that makes people stop scrolling, turning, or walking. You’re choosing how people feel when they meet your brand.
Here’s a quick cheat sheet:
đź’™ Blue = trust, reliability, calm
❤️ Red = energy, excitement, appetite
đź’š Green = health, nature, balance
đź’› Yellow = optimism, warmth, youth
🧡 Orange = creativity, fun, confidence
đź–¤ Black/White/Neutrals = sophistication, simplicity, timelessness
But remember, colour psychology isn’t universal. What one colour means to you might mean something entirely different elsewhere. Culture, context, and industry all play a role when you’re designing packaging for different markets. That’s why testing matters.
When choosing your palette, think beyond what looks good. Ask yourself: Does this represent who we are? Will it make sense in our market? Will people remember us for it?
Don’t overlook the role typography plays on your packaging. Typography is your brand’s voice in visual form. The curves, weight, and spacing all say something. A minimal typeface feels modern and confident; a traditional one suggests heritage and trust, especially when you pair that with vintage-inspired packaging design.
The magic isn’t in how many fonts you use, it’s in how consistently you use them. Too many, and your brand looks confused. Stick to a clear system: one for headlines, one for body text, maybe an accent if it fits.
Again, your typography needs to work everywhere – on screens, packaging, or social posts.
When choosing your typefaces, think less about what looks good right now and more about what feels right for your brand. The right typography gives your words personality and can make your packaging stand out on the shelf.
Photography, icons and illustrations can help to reinforce your brand story and show what you stand for, often faster than words ever could.
Think of imagery as your brand’s emotional shortcut. The right photo or graphic makes people feel something instantly.
It’s about owning your visual story. Starbucks shows coffee farmers to highlight ethics. Rude Health shows mouths on its packaging to emphasise taste – a great example of brand design trends shaping food and drink. Every image does something on purpose.
The golden rule: be intentional and be consistent. Define your style and stick to it. Your visuals don’t have to be perfect, they just have to be you.
Okay, so this part might not be visual, but it’s absolutely essential. Your tagline and tone of voice are what turn your brand into something people remember and want to listen to.
Your voice tells the world who you are; your tagline distills that personality into one line.
Some greats:
Your tone should feel natural to your brand and stay consistent everywhere – website, socials, packaging, even your out-of-office replies. Make sure it all adds up because that’s how you’ll build real connection.
Every brand has a story but not every brand tells it well and that’s a missed opportunity.
You might have started your now-multimillion-pound brand in a garage, hand-labelling jars of chilli oil or sewing your first product on the living room floor. That’s impressive. Talk about it. Own it. Romanticise it, even. Because no one knows your story better than you — so make it one worth hearing.
Storytelling is the emotional thread that connects what you do to why it matters. Why you exist. Why you care. Why anyone else should care. Just look at Patagonia’s impact 👇:
Patagonia’s “We’re in business to save our home planet” is their entire story in one sentence and that’s exactly what they do. They back it up and it’s a promise to their people. From repairing gear to donating profits to environmental causes, they prove their story every single day and show what sustainable brand design that’s truly seen and felt can look like. That’s what authenticity looks like.
There’s nothing worse than a brand preaching values it doesn’t practice. Audiences are smart and they can spot performative purposes a mile away. “Sustainability” and “community” doesn’t mean anything if there's no action behind it; they have to be built into how you operate.
Your story gives meaning to your visuals and credibility to your mission. Tell it honestly. Tell it with emotion. And most importantly, back it up with action.
Your values are your brand’s moral compass. They will guide both what you say and do. Your personality is how those values show up in the real world.
For example:
Values: Sustainability, sanitation access, humour for good
Personality: Cheeky, mission-driven, transparent
How it shows up:
Image source: whogivesacrap.org
Values: Community, ambition, authenticity
Personality: Energetic, supportive, ambitious
How it shows up:
Image source: gymshark.com
Image source: gymshark.com
What they do: Personal care with reusable, refillable packaging
Values: Plastic reduction, ethical sourcing, transparency
Personality: Calm, minimalist, solutions-oriented
How it shows up:
Your values attract like-minded people (both customers and employees) and your personality keeps them around. Remember, you are not here to please the masses. So be clear about what you stand for, and make sure it shines through in everything you design, write, and create.
Image source: byhumankind.com
Packaging design is often the front line of your brand experience. Sometimes it’s the only physical interaction people have with your brand so you have to make it count.
Great packaging tells a story. Whether it’s on a shelf or arriving through the post, it should feel like an experience, every time. People should feel giddy the minute they’ve placed an order with you, and that unboxing experience should live up to the hype, as soon as it arrives. We’ve all been there - patiently waiting for a parcel delivery. Give yourself a fair chance of exceeding expectations by investing in packaging design and budgeting for it properly (👋).
The unboxing moment is your chance to delight people so it’s worth prototyping your packaging design and ironing out the details before you roll it out at scale. Think about how Apple does it – opening one of their products feels like a ceremony. The clean pull tabs, the snug fit, the sound of the box lifting… It’s all been designed to feel sensory and premium.
And people love it. Just look at the tidal wave of “Unbox with me” TikTok's or iPhone 17 reviews flooding your feed – that’s free publicity, powered by smart packaging and thoughtful design.
And let’s not forget sustainability in packaging design. Less waste, more impact – and there are simple design and consumer habit shifts that help with reducing packaging waste.
Thoughtful, minimal packaging isn’t just better for the planet; it’s proof your brand genuinely cares, especially when you’re intentional about choosing sustainable packaging materials.
It’s a myth to think you can’t design something special and exciting with sustainability in mind. It isn’t a limitation, trust us – especially with so many innovations in biodegradable, eco-friendly packaging now available.
If you get this right, your packaging becomes a physical extension of your identity. Some people want to hold onto, not throw away.
Your website is your brand’s home base. It should look the part and feel like you.
Great design means nothing without great usability. If your site looks beautiful but no one can find what they need, it’s not doing its job. Keep it fast, intuitive, and mobile-friendly. Think about it, these days people are probably scrolling through your website while watching Netflix in the background so make the experience easy as.
User experience is everything. Clear layouts. Logical navigation. Concise copy. If someone can’t tell what you do or why it matters in ten seconds, they’re gone.
Your website is your brand online. So keep it human and keep it clear. Take Noramble for example, we’ve recently had our own brand refresh. Our old website didn’t reflect us anymore so did we sit around and just accept our fate? Obviously not. We partnered with a web design agency, MadeByShape, and can now look at our new website thinking “yeah this is us”. We’re super proud of it. So if you don’t feel the same about your website, that’s a sign you need to do something about it.
Not every brand needs to live on social media and that’s totally fine. That said, when it’s done with purpose, it can transform how people see you. It’s where people see you in action.
Before you start posting, decide your why. Are you here to educate, entertain, or build community? Each goal shapes your tone, content, and style.
Ryanair spends their time on socials roasting their customers online, and ironically, people love it. They don’t pretend to be anything. They capitalise on the fact they’re “cheap and cheerful”.
If you’re going to be on social, do it intentionally. Know your audience. Know your tone. And show some personality. It’s called social media for a reason.
This is how your brand shows up in the physical world. Offices, retail spaces, events, packaging inserts, and delivery vans. It’s all part of the experience.
Nike’s stores feel like temples to sport. Apple’s stores turn shopping into an experience. LUSH shops hit your senses before you even walk in. The physical environment reinforces your digital one. It’s your brand, but actually tangible.
Image source: wwd.com
Motion design can be anything from how your logo animates or how elements transition on your site. These elements can add serious depth and memorability. Done right, it makes your brand feel alive.
In a world of video, animation, and sonic branding, movement and sound are becoming just as important as visuals. The Netflix “ta-dum”, the Apple startup sound, or the Slack notification sound are all built for a reason. They’re identity in audio form.
A new brand identity is useless if it’s not used properly. Here’s how to make sure it doesn’t collect dust:
Your identity needs to thrive on screens both big and small. That means:
đźš« Being inconsistent
đźš« Ignoring your audience
đźš« Copying competitors
đźš« Using every colour in the rainbow
đźš« Making your logo microscopic or monster-sized
If we’re being honest… no. We wouldn’t recommend it. You usually end up paying twice. Once for the DIY job, and again to fix it later. A strong brand identity needs strategy and design working together from the start, – it’s more than just a logo and a nice font. Invest once, do it right, and save yourself the headache.
On average, our projects take between 6-8 weeks. However, every project is different, so don't take that as gospel.
Yep, we love working with start-ups from day one. They have passion, grit and ultimately fuel change and innovation.
Honestly, it all depends on the scope of your project and the value we're bringing. Just reach out for a chat, there's no pressure around here.
Brand identity matters, but that doesn’t always mean starting from scratch – sometimes you just need a modern brand makeover that refreshes what you’ve already built.
Take your time. Do the thinking. Don’t skip the strategy. And if you need a guide, a gut-check, or someone to tell you if your colour palette screams "fast food chain" instead of "premium skincare brand" – Noramble’s got you.
We’re Noramble – a creative design studio that lives and breathes packaging and brand design. We make brands look good and make sense.
Want us to take a peek at your current brand and tell you what’s working (and what’s not)?
Talk to us.
