Understanding why people buy and the triggers that make them choose one item over another is key to designing appropriately and successfully for today’s brand-savvy consumer.

A logo, brand mark or brand icon is a deceptively simple device. It employs a combination of shapes, colours, symbols and sometimes letters or words in a simple design that symbolizes the values, quality and promise offered by the manufacturers of a product or service.

Consumer culture theory argues that people buy one brand over another because they feel it reflects their own personal identity, or one that they wish to create.

A brand is also far more than the name, logo, symbol or trademark that highlights its origin; it is imbued with a set of unique values that defines its character and works as an unwritten contract, promising to deliver satisfaction by providing consistent quality each time it is bought, used or experienced.

To succeed in branding you must understand the needs and wants of your customers. There are many different ways to create a successful branding strategy, but most design agencies start with research.

Create a culture that attacks the brand’s weaknesses and fixes them before the competition can attack.

You need to be either better, different or cheaper. Challenge yourself to stay relevant, simple and compelling.

‘… for long-term value, brands need emotional as well as technological appeal. Indeed, [forward-looking companies] will have to invest in their brand as their major sustainable competitive advantage.’

Rather than simply avoiding failure, what a brand ultimately aspires to is to achieve a strong emotional connection with its customers – to become, and remain, what is often referred to as a ‘beloved brand’.