Identity & branding are a team of one of the most important aspects of any business, large or small, retail or B2B. An effective brand/identity strategy gives you a major edge in increasingly competitive markets. But what exactly does the term mean? How does it affect a small business like yours?

Simply put, your identity & branding are your promise to your customer. It tells them what they can expect from your products and services, and it differentiates your offering from your competitors’. Your brand is derived from who you are, who you want to be and who people perceive you to be.

Are you the innovative maverick in your industry? Or the experienced, reliable one? Is your product the high-cost, high-quality option, or the low-cost, high-value option? You can’t be both, and you can’t be all things to all people. Who you are should be based to some extent on who your target customers want and need you to be.

The foundation of your brand is your logo. Your website, packaging and promotional materials–all of which should integrate your logo–communicate your brand.

Every business no matter how small or large needs an appropriate identity and brand. The common misconception surrounding the idea of identity and branding is that most businesses think that only a logo represents their business identity and brand. A logo is not your identity, nor is it your brand. Logo design, identity design and branding all have different roles that together, form a perceived business or company image.

There has been major discussion around and about this topic; so let’s clarify the differences between “brand”, “identity” and “logo” and what they form together (corporate image), and how they are related to form one.

What is identity? – The visual aspects that form part of the overall brand.

What is a brand? – The perceived emotional feeling you get from a corporate identity.

What is a logo? – A logo identifies a business in its simplest form via the use of a mark or icon.

What is company image? – identity + branding + logo = Company Image.

The Creative Ninja offers affordable and flexible payment terms for all clients. A REQUIRED deposit of 50% of the project price is required as a down payment before the project will begin. A payment schedule for the remaining balance will be negotiated and agreed upon at milestones through the project lifecycle (usually 1-3 additional payments depending on the project). This payment schedule will be clearly displayed on the final agreement and its acceptance is indicated when the deposit is received by The Creative Ninja.

Final projects will not be released to the client until the balance of the account has been released. Client will receive and own all copyright materials, original design files and materials to be delivered after final payment of account/project is made. Support is available for 30 days following the launch of any website project. The Creative Ninja reserves the right to use materials created for clients for marketing and portfolio reasons only.

The Creative Ninja offers affordable and flexible payment terms for all clients. A REQUIRED deposit of 50% of the project price is required as a down payment before the project will begin. A payment schedule for the remaining balance will be negotiated and agreed upon at milestones through the project lifecycle (usually 1-3 additional payments depending on the project). This payment schedule will be clearly displayed on the final agreement and its acceptance is indicated when the deposit is received by The Creative Ninja.

Final projects will not be released to the client until the balance of the account has been released. Client will receive and own all copyright materials, original design files and materials to be delivered after final payment of account/project is made. Support is available for 30 days following the launch of any website project. The Creative Ninja reserves the right to use materials created for clients for marketing and portfolio reasons only.