The Brand Identity Checklist
What will our checklist reveal about your brand identity standards and systems? Simply answer yes or no to the following:
• As St. James Associates says, some brands are “all symbols but no soul.” First and foremost, does your brand have a soul?
• Is your brand’s name proprietary? Does it differentiate the brand instead of just describing its products and services?
• Is your brand’s name suggestive of a key differentiating benefit, but not too narrow so as to decrease the brand’s ability to claim new benefits in the future?
• Do consumers like your brand’s name? Is it memorable?
• Do you avoid generic sub-brand names?
• Do you have comprehensive brand identity standards and systems that address all uses of your brand’s identity elements?
• Are those standards and systems actively in use?
• Are they available in manuals, on CDs, and through your Intranet?
• Are all business units and sub-brands subject to those standards, with none outside the jurisdiction of the standards?
• At a minimum, does the system include standards for the visual identifier, color, typography, backgrounds, contrast, staging area, relative size, positioning, key applications, and unacceptable uses?









