For any organization, the brand is key.
Branding is simply the means by which others are able to identify your organization/company. From logos to internal/external communication to the products/services you provide, how you represent your organization is all wrapped in branding. Here are some tips (not in any particular order) to help with creating a cohesive look for your company.
Did you know? Ladero is comprised of the first two letters of the owner's first, middle, and last names.
Define Your Branding Colors
Selecting your company's branding colors or palette is one of the most important steps in establishing the brand. Colors evoke emotions, and you want your brand colors to bring forth the desired response in your current and potential customers. From incorporation across your print materials to digital and social media, your branding colors should show up.
Don't forget the seemingly small ways to promote your brand. Every instance counts.
Did you know? Ladero Design Works is one of three Ladero companies. Each company's logo uses colors from the shown branding palette (above). Click on the names to view our logos for Ladero Press and Pen to Press by Ladero.
Get a Great Logo
Your logo should represent what you want others to know about your company. This could be tied to the founders' names or to a product/service offered by the company. In the end, you want a logo that represents what you want others to know and eventually associate with your company.
Just like these sneakers with its swoosh known around the world, your company has the potential to have a brand that's just as well known.
Protect the Brand
Ladero Design Works has a tagline "Promoting Brands Through Designs That Work" (TM). We add the TM on the end to signify a trademark--that this is a manner by which we have marked our company for trade (i.e., business) and the products we provide (i.e., designs). We also provide services, such as consulting, which would fall under a service mark. Now, this should not be confused with a Registered Trademark which is filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office and identified by the classic R in a circle. Registering a trademark or service mark is a process that requires assistance, in most cases, as a number of applications are rejected for a variety of reasons, including inability to demonstrate ownership of the mark.
Branding is your organization's identity and should be handled properly. Occasionally, an organization will find that it needs to rebrand itself (perhaps, distancing itself from extremely bad publicity, a bad company split, etc.), and in such cases, work has to be done to effectively distinguish the new organization from the old.
In establishing and operating your business, do not forget your brand.
Brand matters.