Branding Kit
What is a Brand Kit & Why Does My Company Need One?
At Mountain Mojo Group we provide a brand kit with every logo project we do. Whether it’s a logo refresh or a new logo, you’ll receive a brand kit to go along with it! What is a brand kit you ask?
A brand kit is a collection of your company’s different brand elements. These include primary and secondary colors, primary and secondary fonts, and multiple logo variations that build your company’s visual identity.
Along with receiving multiple file types and logo iterations at the completion of your logo project, a branding kit is included for you to share with your team. A brand kit is helpful because it provides a quick look at the different ways your new logo can be used as well as visual guidelines of branding elements. From social media imagery to business cards and website headers, the brand kit helps ensure brand consistency.
What is a Brand Kit?
When we create a brand kit, we include your logo in a variety of different ways. A brand kit example of primary and secondary logos is demonstrated in this recent Verde Valley Grown logo. The primary logo is horizontal with the icon on the left and the name on the right. Oftentimes though, a long horizontal logo like this won’t work for a specific application like a profile photo or square business sign. Because of this, we always include a vertical logo as well. The icon is on top with the business name on the bottom.
- Primary Logo
- Full color
- Black
- White
- Secondary Logo
- Full color
- Black
- White
- Icon (if included)
- Full color
- Black
- White
- Monogram (if included)
- Full color
- Black
- White
A brand kit is different from brand guidelines because of how the above is presented. Brand guidelines are a set of instructions on how to properly use your logo variations. A brand style guide that explains how much negative space should be included on all sides of the logo for example. Also, what logo variation should go on top of specific types of backgrounds, what colors should be grouped together, etc. A brand kit is simpler, laying out the logos included but without the instructions on how to use them.
If your company works with a significant number of freelancers or multiple people within the company to create content, brand guidelines will ensure that everything they create, everything that represents your company, is on-brand. Brand guidelines help with quality control, consistency, and communication.
What to Include in Your Brand Identity Kit
How to create a brand kit for yourself:
- Create an 8.5 x 11” document in your favorite software. We like to use Adobe InDesign or Illustrator for this.
- Drag and drop your current logo variations, putting white logos on top of a colored background that matches your brand.
- In your brand identity kit, create a section for typography. What fonts are used in your logo? Write out the alphabet in uppercase and lowercase along with numbers and punctuation in both the primary and secondary fonts that your logo contains.
- Include multiple shapes, square or circle, that are filled with the colors your logo contains. Next to each shape, write the specific color’s Hex value, RGB values, and CMYK. You’ll want to use RBG for digital content and CMYK for printing.
- Including mockups in your brand kit to help with visual branding. Having a designer on your team that can create some mockups really helps the whole team understand how the logo will look in a variety of different applications. Whether that’s on a business card, a new website, letterhead, tote bags or mugs. Mockups are a great addition to any brand kit.
- Exporting both a print brand kit and digital version ensures your team can access it from anywhere, anytime.
Why is a Brand Kit Important?
As mentioned above, having a brand kit promises that anyone creating content for your business will stay on-brand. Meaning the colors, fonts and logos will all look the same. When you deliver a cohesive brand experience, people will recognize your valuable content immediately. This consistency of high-quality content creates trust with your audience. They will see something you create and immediately know it’s aligned with your company. They trust that what you deliver is consistent, thoughtful, and reliable.
Example: Leader’s Cut: The Ken Kilday Experience
Whether a Zoom background, social media ad, or monthly newsletter, Leader’s Cut adheres to a strict visual language. The consistent use of brand colors, icon placement, and typography create a recognizable, instant connection. As a brand focused on helping CEOs and entrepreneurs grow successful businesses, presenting creative content with a cohesive style helps their audience trust Ken’s guidance and experience.
How to implement the Brand Kit
So, you’ve made yourself a brand kit but now what? Getting the team on board with understanding why a brand kit is important and the value it has in the long-term success of your company is vital. Visual brand identity is crucial to the success of any business. Keeping a printed and digital copy within easy access for team members is important but reminding them WHY branding is important is the real heart of the matter.
Conclusion
A strong brand identity is crucial. Your logo will not only be the first impression to a client but should be a lasting impression to your client. A full brand kit with logo variations, corresponding color palette and typography options ensures that anyone within your company, with a design eye or not, can translate your logo and brand identity in a clean, consistent manner.
At Mountain Mojo Group, once we’ve designed the initial logo for your organization, we lock in your visual identity with a detailed brand kit that makes it easy for any of your staff or partner organizations to create a wide array of branded materials while keeping a consistent identity throughout multiple platforms.
If you’re feeling unsure what to do with all of those different file types, we recommend adding a Brand Guidelines kit to your project. Getting specific instructions on when to use JPG logo files versus PNGs or PDFs can get your whole team on the same page for content creation and help answer any of those lingering questions you may have about how to use your new logo.
Whether you’re a solopreneur or the head of a large team, having a brand kit is essential to the success of your business. Reach out today if we can help!