A brand is more than a logo
Nielsen Norman Group describes a brand as a person's perception of value, built from all their experiences with a company. Visuals are one part. Tone of voice is another. How the company behaves is the third.
A brand identity is the system that keeps all of that consistent: logo, colour, type, imagery, voice and the rules for using them.
Where AI helps
AI is a strong partner in the exploration phase, when you need range quickly.
- Naming: generating long lists of names to react to and refine.
- Mood boards: pulling together images and words for different directions.
- Logo directions: sketching many rough concepts to find the promising ones.
- Copy: drafting taglines and tone-of-voice examples to test.
- Mockups: showing a brand on packaging, signs and screens before it's final.
Where AI needs you
AI tends towards the average, and the average brand is forgettable. It can also produce names and marks too close to ones that already exist. You'll learn to steer it with sharp briefs, check results, and redraw the final work by hand.
There are open questions about who owns AI-generated work, and the rules differ by country. You'll learn the basics, how to disclose AI use honestly, and why tools like Content Credentials exist.
Tone of voice
A brand also has a voice. Nielsen Norman Group maps tone on four dimensions: formal or casual, serious or funny, respectful or irreverent, and matter-of-fact or enthusiastic. Picking a spot on each, and writing examples, makes the voice something a whole team can use.
