How I Approach a Brand Identity from Scratch

Before I Open a Design Tool

I have a rule: I don't open Illustrator until I've spent at least three days on research. Not because I'm slow, but because every hour I spend understanding the brand before designing saves me four hours of revisions later.

Most designers start too early. They hear the brief, get excited, and start sketching. The work looks fresh and creative but it answers the wrong question. The right question isn't "what looks cool?" — it's "what is true about this brand?"

The Discovery Phase

I start with a structured conversation with the client, but I don't ask design questions. I ask business questions.

Who is the customer and what do they believe before they find this brand? What does the brand do that no competitor does? If this brand were a person at a dinner party, what would people say about them after they left?

That last question consistently produces the most useful answers. It forces clients to describe personality in concrete human terms rather than corporate abstractions.

I also ask about the competition — not to copy or avoid, but to understand the visual language of the category. Every industry has conventions. Some should be met, some should be broken. You can't make that call without knowing what they are.

Building the Strategy

Before I sketch anything, I write a brand strategy document — usually two pages. It covers:

• Brand positioning (what category, what differentiation)
• Audience (who they are, what they value)
• Brand personality (three to five specific adjectives, each with evidence)
• Visual territory (broad direction, not specifics)
• Things to avoid

That last item matters more than people think. Knowing what the brand is not is as useful as knowing what it is. "Not corporate," "not playful," "not minimal" — these are guardrails that keep the design honest.

The Moodboard Stage

I build a moodboard, but I'm strict about what goes into it. Every image, typeface sample, or color reference must earn its place by illustrating a specific attribute of the brand strategy. If I can't explain why something is in the moodboard, it's out.

This sounds obvious but most moodboards fail this test. They're collections of things the designer likes, not things that are true to the brand.

Sketching

Only now do I start drawing. By this point I have enough strategic constraint that the sketching is fast. The direction is clear. I'm not exploring aimlessly — I'm solving a defined problem.

I sketch by hand first, always. The computer comes later, for refinement. Sketching by hand is faster for ideation and keeps me from getting attached to a direction prematurely.

Presenting Concepts

I present two or three directions, not more. Each direction is a complete thought — not just a mark, but a sense of how the identity system would behave. Typography direction, color direction, the mark itself.

I explain the strategy behind each direction before showing the visual. Context first, execution second. That order prevents purely aesthetic reactions and keeps the conversation strategic.

This process takes longer than jumping straight to design. It also produces better work with fewer revisions and happier clients. The math always works out.