How to Create a Strong Artist Brand Identity?

Throughout my college years, on the journey to earn my degree in graphic design, I’ve come across some interesting branding courses and projects. One of the most impactful ones was branding my own identity. In this article I will be breaking down all the aspects you need to create your visual identity. Consider this a checklist of what elements you need to have a complete identity.

To begin with, your artist brand identity is how you present your brand to the world using visuals, content writing, and experience. Your identity is the execution of the brand strategy; it is how you portray who you are and what you stand for. It is a projection of your own self in a visual form!

In case you haven’t read my blog on brand strategy, I will briefly jog down the main points below, before diving in on brand identity:

1. Finding your purpose as an artist
2. Knowing who your target audience is
3. Staying consistent with who you are and what you stand for
4. Building a solid relationship with your customers

With that being stated, supposing you already know who your ideal customers are, let’s dive into the second phase, which is creating your artist brand identity.

An important note: your visual identity must be applied consistently across all print and digital media, making your art brand recognizable.

This includes your:

• Logo
• Colors
• Typography
• Patterns/textures
• Website design
• Content and messaging
• Advertising campaigns
• Print and/or packaging
• Certificate of Authenticity
• Envelopes and Letters
• Business Cards

A simple approach to creating your identity, would be to first jog down all your character traits on a paper. For example, moody, spontaneous, loves nature, etc. Then, think about how you would translate these characteristics into something more tangible and visual. For example, you can visually translate moodiness into let’s say contrasting colors, to express the highs and lows, or two extremities. A spontaneous person, flows with the current, thus, this trait can be described by using rounded elements; maybe, the font you would use for your identity could be a round font. So, my point is just to help you put things in perspective and make you see things in a different light. Your identity is yours, have fun with it, and try your best to make it resemble who you are and your work. This is the essence of your brand; enjoy it and let your creativity flow!