CREATING A LUXURY FASHION BRAND IDENTITY
Not Studio know that designing a successful brand isn't easy, although it can be one of the most rewarding briefs that we get from a client. Creating a successful fashion brand identity is about more than just designing a logo and some merchandise. It's about really telling a compelling story, one that stirs up some emotion, with a unique tone of voice, it's all part of the world building process. Done well it can make for a distinctive brand that will build an avid fanbase.
The process takes a up lot of agency research, strategy, creativity and hard work, before your brand starts to emerge. Creating a brand is an amazing process and it's one we love. Compiling the final brand guidelines, helping with the execution of the final assets, and watching as it brings that brand's personality to life.
what is LUXURY FASHION Brand Identity
the face of your company
Brand identity is basically the face of your company, it's a combination of visual guidelines and brand strategy. It's how your customers and clients recognise and remember you. It's what sets you apart from your competition and helps your team have a unified vision and direction. It's also the first step in building customer loyalty and trust. We think investing in a strong brand identity is one of the best things you can do for your business.
HOW TO CREATE YOUR FASHION BRAND'S DISTINCTIVE IDENTITY
GET INTO THE MIND OF YOUR CUSTOMER
Creating a strong brand identity is essential for any fashion business. Without it, the brand will not stay in the minds of its customers, leading to a lack of engagement, little to no brand loyalty and possibly even reduced sales. Customers buy into products to display that they identify with the brand and the lifestyle that the brand represents. So figuring out who those customers are, how they think and what other brands are in their lives is the basis of starting the creation of your own identity journey.
HOW DO YOU CREATE THAT STRONG BRAND IDENTITY
Creating a strong fashion brand image is about defining what your brand stands for and how it's different from others. It starts with understanding your brand's unique story and values, and then showing these through your logo, colours, and design. You need to keep everything consistent across your website, social media, retail spaces, print assets and any other place your brand appears. Using great visuals and clear messages helps connect with your audience. It's also important to keep checking and updating your brand to stay fresh and relevant. This mix of good design and clear strategy is key to making your brand stand out.
Hiring a branding agency can really help discovering the core elements in what makes a strong brand identity. So this is where Not Studio come in, we know how to show what makes a brand special and communicate it well. We can bring new ideas and know what customers like. We help create everything from a great logo to a complete look and feel for your brand. We also make sure your brand's message is the same everywhere, from websites to ads. This helps people recognise and remember your brand. Working with us means getting our teams skills and experience across the board to make your brand stand out and attract more customers.
BE CONSISTENT ACROSS ALL CHANNELS
Create a strong set of brand guidelines along with all the associated marketing material. Your company logo is one of the most important elements of your branding – it should be unique, memorable and instantly recognisable to your target audience. Make sure that your visual identity is consistent across all of your digital marketing campaigns, from your website to your social media channels.
Developing your brand strategy
The Plan
A brand strategy is a concise plan that includes a fashion label's purpose, mission, vision, values, brand voice, tone, personality, and value proposition. A comprehensive brand strategy can help turn ideas into fully developed brand attributes, giving you a blueprint for who your audience is and how you communicate with your them. Brand strategy defines the purpose behind how a brand behaves and looks, as well as it’s overall position in the commercial landscape.
understand how your brand is perceived by others
Brand perception can be a powerful tool
It is important to understand how your brand is perceived by others. What are the associations that people make with your brand? Do these align with the image you want to project? If not, you may need to adjust your marketing strategy.
Brand perception can be a powerful tool in influencing consumer behaviour, so it's crucial to get it right.
Your brand identity is key to conveying how you want your brand to be perceived. It's important to remember that visuals play a big role in this, so make sure your branding is on point. Whether you want to come across as a luxury retailer or an affordable option, your brand identity will communicate that to potential customers.
Do a BRANDING audit
Assess what messaging you want your brand to convey, and how your identity can be tweaked to do that by analysing:
Your brand logo
Your brand messaging
Your brand personality
Your brand positioning
Your brand values
After conducting an audit or assessment, reach out to fashion consultants, friends, family, employees, partners or stakeholders to get their take on how your brand is perceived. See if their outside perception of your brand aligns with all the things you’ve identified in your audit.
TYPOGRAPHY, that’s fonts to you
Keep it simple
For typography, it is best to keep it simple and avoid following quick trends. Your typography should reflect your logo, colour scheme, and values. For example, choosing a gothic font if your brand value is optimism and enjoyment is probably not ideal.
Try to limit the number of font families to 2 or 3. This usually includes both primary and secondary brand typefaces for specific purposes, such as body copy or UI typeface.
WHAT DO you NEED TO PREPARE FOR A re-branding?
create a brief for your branding project
Fashion branding and visual identity is all about connecting the brand with the right audience. What overall direction do you want your finished branding to express?
To start the creative side of the brief, write a few paragraphs about how you see the overall branding and the assets required by your company. Simple mood-boards can help convey the scope and vision required for the project and will help focus everyone involved. Finally, be clear about your rough budgets and timelines of the project and deliverables.
Our creative agency will then use this brief to create an estimate that can be agreed upon for the re-branding along with identifying costs and timelines.
branding budgets and timeline
The amount of work a branding agency would have to do for your company, as well as the size of your company, are the two most important factors that will affect the price.
10-12 weeks duration
Deliverables can include:
Brand Strategy
Brand Direction
Multiple Mood Boards
Multiple Logo Design Concepts
Custom Iconography
Colour Palette
Typography
Brand Collateral
All presented in a brand book pdf
What is a typical
Fashion Brand identity timeline?
A fashion branding agency, like any branding or creative agency, usually follows a structured process to ensure they meet the needs of their client and produce effective outcomes. While the specifics can vary based on the project and client needs, here's a general breakdown of the five phases that Not Studio might go through from the initial client meeting to the deliverables.
Phase 1
Meet the client & Start an audit
In the Discovery and Research Phase, the agency meets with the client to grasp the brand's essence and goals, investigates fashion trends and consumer behaviours, and reviews current brand materials for improvement opportunities.
Phase 2
Strategy Development
Based on research, we define how the brand should be perceived in the market relative to competitors. Develop detailed profiles of the ideal customers to target. Compile the research and strategy into a document that will guide the creative process.
Phase 3
Design and Conceptualisation
We create visual mood boards to establish a look and feel for the brand. Develop logos, colour palettes, typography, and other visual identity elements. Generate campaign ideas or overarching brand concepts.
Phase 4
Implementation and Execution
We document how the brand elements should be used consistently across different mediums. This can include creating advertisements, designing look-books, developing a website, or producing other marketing materials. We also regularly collaborate with the client to make necessary changes and ensure alignment.
Phase 5
Delivery and Evaluation
Finally we hand over all assets (e.g., digital files, printed materials) to the client. Assist the client launch their new brand if needed. Future Recommendations: Provide guidance on potential next steps, upcoming trends, and long-term strategies for the brand.
Throughout these phases, constant communication with the client is crucial to ensure the branding aligns with their vision and needs. This process can be adapted or expanded depending on the specific requirements of the fashion brand and the scope of the project.
BRAND IDENTITY AGENCY faq’s
When considering hiring a luxury branding agency for brand identity and visual guidelines, you might have several questions in mind. Below are some common inquiries with their corresponding answers to help guide you in your decision-making process:
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Brand identity isn't just logos, fonts and designs, it's about creating a whole world around the brand, including a narrative back story, one that resonates with a new customer. It's about forming a deep emotional bond with your audience. By establishing a unique voice, a luxury brand can stand out in a crowded marketplace, and hopefully turn those customers into devoted fans who feel a deep connection with what the brand stands for. It's this depth of this connection that truly defines a brand.
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Brand identity development, is a meticulous process that begins with in-depth research into the brand’s vision, target audience, history and market position. This is followed by a heavy dose of strategy to align the brand’s core values with it’s visual representation.
The creative phase involves designing branding elements that really speak about what the brand is all about, once we have all these figured out it's time for the careful execution of these elements into the final brand guidelines and assets. This really is the point at which a brand is born.
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Obviously understanding your target customer, and their needs is key in the development of your brand identity. The identity should be a reflection of the lifestyle, values, needs and wants of the target audience. When you are fully aligned, you will find that your brand resonates with your intended customers, strengthening engagement, loyalty, and a sense of belonging.
It can take time to find and get to know your target audience, but making sure that you identify who you want to attract and how, will really help in the creation of a strong brand identity.
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Not Studio are experts in fashion and know how to make brands stand out. We are good at creating a brand voice and fashion branding for both new and established companies, helping them connect with new customers or grow existing marketshare. We bring a fresh approach to a brand image project, our team believe that every brand has its own special story, it's always there, we just need to find it and use it in every part of the brand.
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Brand strategy development is a comprehensive process that starts with defining the brand’s purpose, mission, vision, and values. It also involves crafting the brand’s voice, tone, and personality to ensure that all communication is coherent and true to the brand’s spirt. The strategy includes a value proposition that differentiates the brand in the market.
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Typography (that's fonts) is a key element in fashion brand identity, as it's one of the main elements that convey the brand’s personality. The choice of typeface should align with the brand’s overall values.
Consistency in typography across all web, retail and branding materials, helps reinforce brand recognition. Usually the use of too many fonts can lead to confusion and dilute the brand's message, however the reverse can sometime add, intentionally to the anarchic style of a brand.
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With a rebranding project, it's crucial to start with a detailed brief that states the objectives, and target audience. It would be good to analyse what has worked and what is missing before you go through rebranding.
Budgets and timelines should be realistic and well-defined. Brands need to understand the direction they want to take and the assets required to achieve this new or expanded brand direction.
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Not Studio offers bespoke solutions tailored to the unique needs of each client. We specialise in blending commercially strong brand identity, with contemporary graphics, and a strong fashion attitude.
This approach is adaptable to a wide range of projects, from streetwear startups to established global luxury brands. We focus on creating compelling visual identities that make brands stand out.
What kind of Fashion brand identity do you need?
Located in London, Not Studio is a multi-disciplinary creative agency, adept at providing bespoke solutions for the fashion industry.
Catering to clients from innovative start-ups to global luxury brands, we seamlessly blend functionality with aesthetics, ensuring your digital presence resonates with your audience. Discover more about our services here.
Think of Not Studio as your brand identity partner.