Brand Identity Essentials

Brand Identity Essentials

A book by Kevin Budelmann and Yang Kim, co-founders of Peopledesign.  

100 Principles for Building Brands

Brand tools are the most familiar to creative teams. However, everyone has an opinion about them. They often involve aesthetic judgments about brand expression. Rather than viewing them as entirely subjective opinions, designers see them as creative tools. Leaders can make better decisions when they understand the palette of brand tools. Brand builders can encourage teams to dig deeper and guide choices based on strategy.

Just below the waterline are decisions that inform creative expression but require a broader reflection of a brand personality. Often, these traits are identified indirectly. For example, it can be easier to describe the character of what you’ve done after the fact. Brand builders strive to make these essential decisions to inform the creative process proactively. Staying ahead is not easy because the path is not always straight. However, a better understanding of brand themes and approaches will enable creativity and make editing easier.

The foundational elements of brand building can be the most elusive, but they are perhaps the most important. These essential strategies change the least and enable other work. Brand builders seek answers to these hard questions first. Going deeper and getting to the core philosophy takes longer, but pays off over the long term because understanding the motives behind customer decision making creates a firm foundation. The most cohesive brands last.

“Brand Identity Essentials, Revised and Expanded” by Kevin Budelmann and Yang Kim, published by Rockport Publishers, an imprint of The Quarto Group. Copyright © 2010, 2019 Quarto Publishing Group USA Inc. All rights reserved.

Thank you to all our contributors.

About the Authors

Kevin Budelmann is a speaker, writer, educator, and president of Peopledesign.

He is interested in design theory and practice in the context of business, technology, and society. After his BA from Carnegie Mellon, he earned a Master of Design Methods from the IIT Institute of Design.

Kevin has served in leadership roles for the IxDA, AIGA, and APDF. Kevin is also an adjunct professor at Michigan State University. and Northwestern University. 

Yang Kim is the creative director of Peopledesign.

She draws on her experiences from Seoul to Washington, D.C., Carnegie Mellon, and Herman Miller. Her peers have recognized Kim’s work for its clarity, distinctiveness, humanity, and charm. Her no-nonsense style, wit, and devotion to her work have earned her longstanding client relationships.

Yang is an AAF Silver Medal Award recipient, an AIGA Fellow, and was voted as one of the “50 Most Influential Designers Working Today” in a Graphic Design: USA reader survey.

Free Downloads