Learning the Lingo
I, for one, cannot believe Q1 is already coming to a close as we move into April. Anyone else feeling like March absolutely flew by?
Now that we covered what a brand is and why it’s important to start with brand strategy, I wanted to take a little time to touch on some of the industry jargon you may or may not already be familiar with.
When working with a designer for the first time, especially for a larger project like custom branding, it may feel intimidating to collaborate or give feedback when it seems like your designer might be speaking another language!
While most designers will understand what you mean if you use “line spacing” instead of “leading” and won’t try to correct you, having a handle of some of the basic terms may help you feel more confident in understanding some of the specific details your designer brings up. It will also provide a good foundation to better understand the process and help you give more specific feedback.
Here’s a short list of some frequently used terms that you’ll likely encounter throughout your branding journey!
Archetype(s): A set of 12 commonly recognized personality traits & character types that a brand can embody. Also referred to as Brand Archetypes.
Attributes: The values and traits that represent the essence of the brand.
Audience: The particular group at which your branding efforts, advertising, etc. is aimed; this group is more specific than your target market. Also referred to as target audience.
Brand: Customers’ perception of a company or organization. The feeling they get when they think of a particular company or organization.
Branding: The process of guiding customers towards thinking & feeling a certain way away about a company or organization; the steps you take to build your brand.
Brand Ambassador: Those who promote a brand to their network, family, friends, etc. This can be company employees, but also loyal customers.
Brand Guidelines: A multi-page document that details all of a company’s available brand elements along with instructions on when and how to properly use them all.
Brand Strategy: A detailed plan that is created to help a company/organization achieve specific business goals by building a successful brand. Brand strategies typically include the brand mission, attributes, values, visual identity, and brand voice.
Brand Voice: The messaging you send to your target audience and the consistent tone with which you convey the messaging.
Color Space: The different types of color formats that can be used, depending on application. The most common color spaces are CMYK (print) and RGB & HEX (both digital).
Pantone: A company that developed a proprietary, standardized color system for printing which is called the Pantone Matching System (PMS).
Core Values: The held principles or beliefs that influence and guide a company’s or organization’s actions.
Logo Suite: A set of various logo files that all retain an overarching, similar design style, but are created with the intention for different uses and applications based on factors such as medium (print or digital) and final size.
Brandmark: An illustrated or pictorial logo file that does not include typography. Also referred to as a symbol or brand symbol.
Wordmark: A typography-based logo file that includes a stylized type treatment of a company’s/organization’s name. Also referred to as a logotype.
Mission Statement: A statement that outlines the values and goals of a company or organization. Mission statements are often used as internal documents as a way to align all departments and employees under a unified goal.
Target Market: The specific group of customers a company is looking to sell to.
Typeface: A set of characters that have a similar appearance or design; an entire type family (Arial).
Font: A specific set of characters from within a type family (Arial Bold or Arial Italic)
Kerning: The space between two individual characters
Tracking: The space between characters within a section of text. Also referred to as letter spacing.
Leading: The space between lines of text. Also referred to as line spacing.
Value Proposition: A statement that differentiates your offering and describes how it helps your customers. A simple formula to write a Value Proposition is: We help [target customer] do [X] by [your unique offering].
Visual Identity: The visual elements that a company or organization uses within its branding. This can include elements such as logo files, brand colors, typefaces, and photography styles.
Whitespace: The space in an application or layout that is not occupied by text, graphics, or other elements. Also referred to as negative space.
Have any other design & branding phrases that you’re wondering about?
Connect with us to ask any other questions you may have!