One of the most common conversations I have with founders goes something like this. "We need to do something about our brand." "Okay. What's the something?" "A new logo, maybe. A new website. We need it to look more professional."
What they're describing is brand identity work. What they probably need first is brand strategy. The two are often confused, but they aren't the same thing, and doing them in the wrong order is one of the most expensive mistakes a growing business can make.
Brand strategy: the decisions
Brand strategy is the set of decisions a business makes about what it stands for, who it's for, how it differs, and what it believes. It exists before anything visible. It's the thinking that everything visible expresses.
Strategy decisions include:
- Who the business is for, specifically
- What it stands for that competitors don't
- The positioning that gives it a defensible space in the market
- The narrative that explains why it exists and why it matters
- The principles it won't compromise on
Strategy doesn't have a logo. It doesn't have colours. It doesn't have a website. It's the document or set of documents that explains the thinking behind everything that's about to be designed.
Brand identity: the expression
Brand identity is how the strategy gets expressed visually and verbally. It includes the logo and visual system, the colour palette, the typography, the tone of voice, the photography style, and the application guidelines.
Identity is the bit most people think of when they say "branding". It's the bit you can see. And because it's the visible bit, it's usually the bit founders want to fix when something feels wrong.
Why order matters
Identity is an expression of strategy. If the strategy isn't clear, the identity has nothing solid to express. It might look beautiful. It might be well crafted. But it won't reinforce a clear message, because there isn't one underneath.
Most founders who jump straight to identity work end up doing it twice. The first time, they design something that looks good. The second time, after they've finally done the strategy work and realised the identity doesn't match it, they design something that actually reflects the business.
The cost the second time isn't just the design fee. It's the cost of replacing every touchpoint that used the first identity.
Business cards. Email signatures. The website. Pitch decks. Social profiles. Trade stand graphics. Print materials. Everything gets done again.
The order that saves money and pain is:
- Strategy first. Decisions made, documented, agreed on at leadership level.
- Identity second. Visual and verbal expression built specifically to reinforce the strategy.
- Application third. Touchpoints rolled out using the identity, knowing they're consistent with the strategy beneath.
Skip the first step and the third step becomes much more expensive.
When identity work is appropriate without strategy
There are situations where pure identity work makes sense: a strategy already exists, is current, and the team agrees on it, and the identity just needs to catch up; the business is small and early enough that the strategy is effectively held by the founder and doesn't need formal documentation yet; or a new identity is needed for a specific reason, such as entering a new market, addressing a legal conflict, or moving up market, with the underlying strategy addressed separately.
In all three cases, identity work without strategy work is fine. In most of the other cases I see, it's a holding action that delays a more expensive conversation.
The practical test
If you're considering identity work, ask one question: could a competent designer build a new identity for our business that we'd be confident in, without us first having to explain who we are, who we're for, and what we stand for?
If yes, the strategy is clear enough. Identity work will make sense. If no, the designer is about to design around a guess. And the result, however polished, will be a guess.
The strategy work doesn't need to be enormous. For some businesses it's a few weeks of focused work. For others it's a longer engagement. But it has to exist before the identity decisions can land on anything other than instinct.
Done in the right order, brand strategy and brand identity reinforce each other and compound. Done in the wrong order, you pay for both, twice.
The Brand Foundation Workbook is the simplest way to do the strategy work yourself before commissioning any identity. Six chapters, designed for a small leadership team to work through together.