Designing Brand Identity

Design/Business

Whether you’re the project manager for your company’s rebrand, or you need to educate your staff or your students about brand fundamentals, Designing Brand Identity is the quintessential resource. From research to brand strategy to design execution, launch and governance, Designing Brand identity is a compendium of tools for branding success and best practices for inspiration.

3 sections: brand fundamentals, process basics, and case studies.
Over 100 branding subjects, checklists, tools, and diagrams.
50 case studies that describe goals, process, strategy, solution, and results.
Over 700 illustrations of brand touchpoints.
More than 400 quotes from branding experts, CEOs, and design gurus.

Designing Brand Identity is a comprehensive, pragmatic, and easy-to-understand resource for all brand builders—global and local. It’s an essential reference for implementing an entire brand system.
Carlos Martinez Onaindia
Global Brand Studio Leader
Deloitte

Alina Wheeler explains better than anyone else what identity design is and how it functions. There’s a reason this is the 5th edition of this classic.
Paula Scher
Partner
Pentagram

Designing Brand Identity is the book that first taught me how to build brands. For the past decade, it’s been my blueprint for using design to impact people, culture, and business.
Alex Center
Design Director
The Coca-Cola Company

Alina Wheeler’s book has helped so many people face the daunting challenge of defining their brand.
Andrew Ceccon
Executive Director, Marketing
FS Investments

If branding was a religion, Alina Wheeler would be its goddess, and Designing Brand Identity its bible.
Olka Kazmierczak
Founder
Pop Up Grupa

The 5th edition of Designing Brand Identity is the Holy Grail. This book is the professional gift you have always wanted.
Jennifer Francis
Director of Marketing, Communications, and Visitor Experience
Louvre Abu Dhabi

The book lab ii

Foreword x

Part 1 presents the fundamental concepts needed to jumpstart the branding process and creates a shared vocabulary for the entire team

Basics

Brand basics

Brand 2

Brand identity 4

Branding 6

Brand governance 8

Brand strategy 10

Why invest 12

Stakeholders 14

Culture 16

Customer experience 18

Cross cultures 20

Brand architecture 22

Symbols 24

Names 26

Taglines 28

Staying on message 30

Big idea 32

Brand ideals

Overview 34

Vision 36

Meaning 38

Authenticity 40

Coherence 42

Flexibility 44

Commitment 46

Value 48

Differentiation 50

Longevity 52

Brand elements

Brandmarks 54

Wordmarks 56

Letterform marks 58

Pictorial marks 60

Abstract marks 62

Emblems 64

Dynamic marks 66

Characters 68

Brand dynamics

Trends 70

Making a difference 72

Big data analytics 74

Social media 76

Smartphones 78

Apps 80

Private labeling 82

Brand licensing 84

Certification 86

Crisis communications 88

Personal branding 90

China 92

Before and after

Brandmark redesign 94

Packaging redesign 100

Part 2 presents a universal process regardless of the project’s scope and nature. This section answers the question “Why does it take so long?”

Process

Process basics

A process for success 104

Managing the process 106

Brand initiatives 108

Measuring success 110

Collaboration 112

Decision making 114

Intellectual property 116

Design management 118

Phase 1 Conducting research

Overview 120

Insight 122

Market research 124

Usability testing 126

Marketing audit 128

Competitive audit 130

Language audit 132

Audit readout 134

Phase 2 Clarifying strategy

Overview 136

Narrowing the focus 138

Positioning 140

Brand brief 142

Naming 144

Renaming 146

Phase 3 Designing identity

Overview 148

Identity system design 150

Look and feel 152

Color 154

More color 156

Typography 158

Sound 160

Trial applications 162

Presentation 164

Phase 4 Creating touchpoints

Overview 166

Content strategy 168

Website 170

Collateral 172

Stationery 174

Signage 176

Product design 178

Packaging 180

Advertising 182

Placemaking 184

Vehicles 186

Uniforms 188

Ephemera 190

Phase 5 Managing assets

Overview 192

Changing brand assets 194

Launching 196

Building brand champions 198

Brand books 200

Guidelines 202

Guidelines content 204

Online brand centers 206

Part 3 showcases best practices. Local and global, public and private, these projects inspire and exemplify original, flexible, lasting solutions

Best Practices

Case studies

ACHC 210

ACLU 212

Action Against Hunger 214

Adanu 216

Amazon.com 218

Ansible 220

Beeline 222

Boston Consulting Group 224

Boy Scouts of America 226

Budweiser 228

Cerner 230

City of Melbourne 232

Coca-Cola 234

Cocktails Against Cancer 236

Coors Light 238

Cooper Hewitt 240

Credit Suisse 242

Deloitte 244

Fern by Haworth 246

Fred Hutch 248

Global Handwashing Day 250

IBM 100 Icons of Progress 252

IBM Watson 254

Jawwy from STC 256

Laughing Cow 258

LinkedIn China 260

Mack Trucks 262

Mastercard 264

Mozilla 266

Mural Arts Philadelphia 268

NIZUC 270

NO MORE 272

Ohio & Erie Canalway 274

Peru 276

Philadelphia Museum of Art 278

Pitney Bowes 280

PNC 282

Quartz 284

(RED) 286

RideKC Streetcar 288

Santos Brasil 290

Shinola Detroit 292

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum 294

SocialSecurity.gov 296

Southwest Airlines 298

Spectrum Health System 300

Starbucks 302

Sydney Opera House 304

Unstuck 306

Vueling 308

Bibliography 310

Index: Brands 312

Index: People 316

Index: Firms 318

How to use this book 319

The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.

The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.