Branding enables companies to stand out from their competitors and occupy a unique place in the minds of consumers. It includes all aspects that contribute to the perception of a brand, including product quality, customer service, pricing, advertising and social engagement.

Please note that this article is not a complete overview of all possible branding methods and techniques. Rather, it reflects our personal experiences and insights with the methods we found most useful for our project.

The methods we used are: defining a vision and mission for the project, applying a semantic differential, defining brand values, designing a logo and avatars and conducting internal surveys.

How we got started

Every project starts with a question, a goal to be achieved and a plan on how to achieve this goal. In the case of our internal project, the first step was to define our vision and mission. These two elements serve as signposts - they set the direction and lay the foundation for all further decisions.

The vision is the long-term, ideal state we want to achieve, while the mission shows specifically how we want to achieve this goal - in other words, the path we take to realize our vision. Defining the vision and mission is essential as it not only provides direction but also forms the framework for developing a coherent and effective branding strategy. They help to focus on the essentials and ensure that all activities and decisions are in line with the overall objectives of the project.

After defining our vision and mission, it was time to dive deeper into the perception of our brand. To do this, we used the word cloud and semantic differential method to capture the current state of brand perception.

Word cloud and surveys

The aim of the word cloud was to find out how employees spontaneously perceive our company, Chroma Experience. We wanted to find out which adjectives they would associate with our company, i.e. what first comes to mind when they think of Chroma Experience.

Once we had captured this ad hoc perception, we went one step further. We asked our colleagues what they thought the optimal design of our internal project should look like. What characteristics should it have? Which aspects were particularly important to them?

The results of this survey, which we have visualized in the following word cloud, provided us with valuable insights into the expectations and perceptions of all employees. They served as an important basis for the further direction of our project.

The semantic differential

The semantic differential is an instrument for measuring attitudes and perceptions. It is a scale used to capture the meaning of concepts by representing them through pairs of opposites, such as "good-bad" or "strong-weak". In branding, the semantic differential is used to measure how consumers perceive and interpret a brand. The emotional, functional and associative attributes of a brand are taken into account in order to gain insights into the brand positioning and identity.

As part of our internal project, we used this method to better understand employees' views of our company. We asked them what values they associate with Chroma Experience and how they perceive the brand. We then evaluated these findings and used them to create a list of values that should represent our company and the project.

Our goal was to create a cohesive and authentic brand identity for the project that would match the existing company values and fit seamlessly into our workflow. We wanted to ensure that the values of the project and those of the company did not diverge in order to convey a coherent brand message and encourage employee engagement and identification.

By applying the semantic differential and involving employees in the branding process, we were able to create a brand identity that matched both the requirements of the project and the values and culture of our company. This approach has proven to be very effective for us and we recommend other companies to consider similar methods in their own internal branding strategies.

Brand Values

Brand values are essential for establishing a strong and distinctive brand identity. They represent the core beliefs and principles that define a brand and guide all interactions with customers and stakeholders. Strong brand values can foster an emotional connection to a brand and thus ensure long-term customer loyalty, even in a highly competitive market environment with rival offerings.

In our project, we determined the brand values based on the results and evaluations of the semantic differential. These values served as a guideline and orientation for further design decisions, such as the logo and the visual language of the project. By ensuring that our design decisions aligned with our brand values, we were able to achieve a coherent and authentic brand representation that reflected the identity and culture of our brand.

By consciously applying the brand values in every aspect of our project, we were able to create a strong brand identity.

Logo

The logo, often the centerpiece of branding, is the visual sign that represents a brand. It is the face of the company and plays a central role in creating a memorable brand identity.

For our project, we used the insights we had gathered so far to brainstorm various potential names. To optimize the process, we defined exclusion criteria such as "too generic" to speed up the decision-making process. Finally, we agreed on three names and divided them among us to work separately on the associated logos.

In this process, we used the findings from the employee surveys and the semantic differential to guide the design of the logos. Each design was created with the intention of reflecting the essence of our project and brand values.

After completing this phase, we presented the final logo proposals to the entire group, also explaining the thoughts and ideas behind each design. This gave the group a deeper understanding of the meaning and intent behind each logo. Finally, the group democratically voted on their favorite, which determined the official logo of our project.

Avatar

Avatars are simplified representations of our brand that can be used in different contexts and sizes. They represent a more abstract or reduced form of our logo and are specifically designed to be clearly recognizable even in smaller formats.

For our project, we created different avatar sizes and arrangements of the figurative mark to be able to use them for a variety of use cases.

Conclusion

Our project and the associated branding approach were primarily geared towards internal applications. Since we only wanted to use the project internally and had no intention of marketing or selling it, we did not analyze the external target group.

However, if your project is aimed at external marketing, it is essential to consider additional methods and approaches. This could include market analysis, competitive analysis, customer surveys and other methods of researching and understanding the external audience.

Despite this specific focus on internal use, our approach has been extremely effective and has provided us with key insights and a strong foundation for our internal branding. It has allowed us to develop a coherent and consistent brand identity that not only resonates with our employees and existing corporate image, but also perpetuates and reinforces it.

Our approach emphasizes the importance and value of branding, regardless of whether it is an internal or external project. Every aspect of branding, from defining the vision and mission to designing the logo and avatars, plays a crucial role in creating a strong and memorable brand. By taking each of these steps with care and consideration for the specific needs and values of our project, we were able to create branding that is truly representative of our project.