What is a brand Kit?
What is a brand kit? We get this question a lot and lucky us, we LOVE talking about brand kits so much that we never mind answering. According to Microsoft.com a brand kit is “a set of assets or toolbox that contains all the aspects of your brand's visual identity—logos, templates, colour palette, font, and other graphics.” It is essentially a visual roadmap for your brand, which is used to guide all of your branding needs. We love brand kits for a number of reasons, one of which is that they create a consistent path for your brand to follow.
Think of your brand kit like a collection of all your brand’s visual elements. These elements help maintain visual consistency, which, in turn, helps to strengthen your brand’s image and also helps your audience connect with your business! Practically speaking, a brand kit keeps all of your visual components together in one place so that if anyone new comes into your team, there is never any doubt in terms of what visual elements to use. Bonus: brand kits are a super creative and visual way to represent your brand!
elements of a brand kit
Truth be told, different marketing companies and agencies will include different elements in their brand kit. For us, here at TLC, we work very closely with our clients to develop for them the most curated brand kits. Although some kits may need more elements, the basics always remain the same. These include:
Logos
Fonts
Colour palette
Graphics
Mood board
Photography ideas
These elements are always at the forefront of any brand and therefore are always included in a brand kit. Keep reading to find out why each of these aspects are included.
Logos
Think of your logo like the bat signal (just go with it). It is a beacon of your brand that communicates to your audience and clients that you have arrived! Your logo functions as the face of your brand and will most likely appear across all of your marketing materials. It visually communicates and embodies your brand’s values and gives hints into your brand aesthetic.
At TLC we usually recommend our clients have several versions of a logo and we always include all of them in a brand kit. This is because your logo needs can vary depending on what marketing channel you are using (i.e., in terms of size, orientation, and colour). Keep in mind that even if you have multiple variations of your logo, they should all be consistent and recognizable as belonging to your unique brand.
Fonts
We’ve all heard the old adage, “the pen is mightier than the sword.” Well in the case of your brand messaging, this is 100% true! Even more so, it is the fonts that makes the pen (or in this case the keyboard) extra mighty. Having consistent and recognizable fonts ensures consistent communication between your brand and your clients. Additionally, your brand kit fonts guarantee that you and your team always know which one to use in your marketing materials - building consistency and trust along the way!
Colour PalEtTe
Your brand is unique, your company is unique, and your business is unique. Do you know why? Because YOU ARE UNIQUE! Therefore everything about your brand kit needs to reflect that and that includes your brand colours. Your brand colours are important for consistency and recognition because they dictate other aspects of your marketing strategy. For example, if you have an e-newsletter, the colours should match the ones on your website, socials, etc. Your palette should include a minimum of 3-4 colours and they should always reflect your brand’s personality!
Graphics
Many brands use very specific shapes, lines, and other visual elements to identify their brand identity. If this is the case, these elements should be included in your brand kit. Unique visual accents, much like the rest of your brand, work together to create consistency within your brand.
Mood board
A mood board is a lovely way to bring a lot of the visual elements of your brand together in an inspiring way. Mood boards are visual presentations of a theme or idea that speak to a specific topic. In the case of a brand, mood boards bring together visual elements along with the vibe and/or philosophy of your brand. We always include a mood board in our clients’ brand kit because they convey a general idea or feeling about your brand and it’s a nice reminder of what your brand stands for and how it is unique. BONUS: they are super fun to make!
PHOTOGRAPHY ideas
If you know us, you know how much we LOVE photography! We chat about photography a lot! This is why we always include some photography ideas in our clients’ brand kits. There is no obligation to use our ideas but we always make sure that they match the brand and the visual philosophy of our clients’ business.
A brand kit is a great way to ensure that your business’ visual communication stays consistent and true to your brand identity. Think of it like a visual roadmap that you and your team can follow in order to stay on brand! Take a look below at our own version of our TLC brand kit and get in touch if you have any questions. We are always happy to chat!
