Branding
MethodKit for Branding

Build a sharper
brand.

64 cards covering everything a brand touches, from positioning and personality to logos, language, and the research underneath. Put them on the table and the whole brand comes into view.

Explore the library Free to read
64 cards for branding
One deck · one brand · every angle
64cards
3themes
320questions to explore
1shared map
01.

What this kit is

Branding is the work of deciding who you are and making it recognizable. It is far more than a logo, and most of it happens in choices, not in design software. Four starting points.

A brand is a promise, not a logo
Idea 01The mark is the smallest part. A brand is the whole impression you leave: how you look, sound, behave, and what people expect from you next time. The logo just helps them remember it.
Most of branding is decisions
Idea 02Long before anything gets designed, a brand is a stack of choices: who it is for, what it stands for, what it refuses to be. Get those right and the visuals almost follow on their own.
Consistency is what builds it
Idea 03A brand is built by repetition: the same voice, the same values, the same feel across every touchpoint, until people recognize you with the logo covered up.
A shared map keeps a team aligned
Idea 04Branding goes wrong when people mean different things by the same words. Laying every part on the table gives everyone one picture to point at, and argue over.
02.

Start here

Before any logo or color, a brand needs a few decisions to stand on. Settle these four and almost everything else gets easier.

01 Name who it is for

Decide the audience you are actually trying to reach. A brand built for everyone tends to land with no one, so pick the people whose attention you want most.

02 Write the promise

Say in one plain sentence what the brand promises people and what it stands for. This is the spine the visuals and the voice will hang on.

03 Find the position

Place the brand against the alternatives: what makes it the obvious choice for those people, and what it deliberately is not.

04 Give it a personality

Choose how the brand should feel when people meet it, as if it were a person. That feeling guides the name, the tone of voice, and the look.

03.

The order you build a brand in

The same 64 cards, in the rough order a brand actually gets made: decide who you are, give it a face and a voice, put it out into the world, learn from the people who meet it, and keep it consistent over time. A path through the deck, not a replacement for the themes.

01Strategy & positioning

Decide who the brand is and why it exists, before anything gets designed.

02Identity

Give the brand a name, a face, a voice, and a character people can recognize.

03Expression & touchpoints

Put the brand into the world: the places, products, and moments where people meet it.

04Research & insight

Know the ground the brand stands on: the audience, the market, and how the brand is seen.

05Rollout & consistency

Keep the brand coherent and alive over time: guidelines, measurement, loyalty, and protection.

04.

The library

Search freely or filter by theme. Each card is one part of a brand with its own page: how strong brands tend to handle it, questions to discuss, and things to notice.

Filter by theme

Showing all 64 cards

Card 1: Aesthetics 1Aesthetics Style, theme & visual feel of the brand Branding Tools Card 2: Analytics & reports 2Analytics & reports Measure how the brand performs Process & Planning Card 3: Associations 3Associations Feelings, facts & experiences associated Branding Tools Card 4: Awareness 4Awareness Who recognize & know the brand Research Card 5: Benchmarking 5Benchmarking The brand how it performs compared to others Process & Planning Card 6: Benefits 6Benefits The value the brand provides Research Card 7: Boilerplate 7Boilerplate Text that presents the brand, over & over again Branding Tools Card 8: Business model 8Business model How the brand creates value or makes money Process & Planning Card 9: Channels 9Channels Platforms you exist on or channels you use Process & Planning Card 10: Colors 10Colors What color palette you are using Branding Tools Card 11: Communication 11Communication Reaching the audience in different channels Process & Planning Card 12: Community 12Community People truly caring & engaging with the brand Research Card 13: Competitors 13Competitors Other brands & what they are up to Research Card 14: Consistency 14Consistency Create harmony & a unison feel of the brand Branding Tools Card 15: Conversion 15Conversion How the brand gets people to become users Process & Planning Card 16: Copy 16Copy The way the brand comes through in words Branding Tools Card 17: Customer experience 17Customer experience How it is to be your customer throughout Research Card 18: Customer service 18Customer service Giving support, help & provide repairs Research Card 19: Users 19Users Who they are, why & how they use your brand Research Card 20: Discovery 20Discovery How people find out about you Process & Planning Card 21: Domains & handles 21Domains & handles Web domains & @brand accounts Process & Planning Card 22: Dynamic logo 22Dynamic logo The brand in 3D or as an animation Branding Tools Card 23: Employees 23Employees Culture, people & employer brand Process & Planning Card 24: Expansion 24Expansion The brand extending to new horizons Research Card 25: Expectations 25Expectations What users expect from the brand Research Card 26: First impression 26First impression First thoughts & feelings about the brand Branding Tools Card 27: Graphic elements 27Graphic elements Patterns, icons, shapes & textures Branding Tools Card 28: Guidelines 28Guidelines Guidance, eg. a brand manual & tone of voice Branding Tools Card 29: Idea 29Idea The main thing the brand is built upon Branding Tools Card 30: Identity 30Identity The way the brand sees itself Branding Tools Card 31: Image & reputation 31Image & reputation What people think & feel about the brand Branding Tools Card 32: Intellectual Property 32Intellectual Property Trademarks, design rights & patents Process & Planning Card 33: Interaction 33Interaction How you interact with users & prospects Research Card 34: Language 34Language What languages are used & how it's translated Process & Planning Card 35: Logotype 35Logotype Name, symbol & typography united Branding Tools Card 36: Loyalty 36Loyalty How long people stick with the brand & why Research Card 37: Market 37Market Types of markets the brand exists on Research Card 38: Mission 38Mission What the brand aims to do Branding Tools Card 39: Music & Sounds 39Music & Sounds Jingles, in-store music & auditory identifiers Branding Tools Card 40: Name 40Name Name, type & pronunciation of the brand Branding Tools Card 41: Personality 41Personality The brand characterized as a person Branding Tools Card 42: Physical locations 42Physical locations The brand as buildings, stores & offices Process & Planning Card 43: Portfolio 43Portfolio The big picture of your brand & sub-brands Process & Planning Card 44: Positioning 44Positioning Competitive advantage, niche(s) & value offered Research Card 45: Preference 45Preference Why the brand is preferred over others Research Card 46: Products 46Products How products look, work & are perceived Process & Planning Card 47: Promise 47Promise What the brand promises users Branding Tools Card 48: Services 48Services How services are delivered, perceived & function Process & Planning Card 49: Slogan & Tagline 49Slogan & Tagline An easily recognizable & memorable phrase Branding Tools Card 50: Social media 50Social media Handles, communication & consistency Process & Planning Card 51: Spokespeople 51Spokespeople Official representatives, like founders & executives Process & Planning Card 52: Story 52Story The background & story behind the brand Branding Tools Card 53: Sustainability 53Sustainability Doing it right (corporate social responsibility) Research Card 54: Tangibles 54Tangibles Things like buildings, uniforms & vehicles Process & Planning Card 55: Target group 55Target group The audience you try to reach Research Card 56: Touchpoints 56Touchpoints Where & how users meet the brand Process & Planning Card 57: Transparency 57Transparency How transparent the brand is about operations Process & Planning Card 58: Trends 58Trends Tendencies & trends that affect the brand Research Card 59: Typeface 59Typeface Fonts used in brand & communication Branding Tools Card 60: Values 60Values Core believes that guide your brand Process & Planning Card 61: Visibility 61Visibility Seeing it at a distance or in bad light condition Branding Tools Card 62: Vision 62Vision The impact the brand aspires to make on the world Branding Tools Card 63: Website 63Website The brand's home on the world wide web Process & Planning Card 64: Insights 64Insights Finding valuable needs & opportunities Research
05.

About

A library for building brands, built on a card deck that already lays the whole subject out on the table.

Why

A brand is not one thing, it is dozens: a name, a promise, a tone of voice, a color, a reputation, a set of expectations. MethodKit for Branding is a deck that lays those parts out together, from the visual tools to the strategy and the research underneath. Here each card gets its own page that asks the same questions: what is this part of a brand, how do strong brands tend to handle it, and what should you decide?

It is for anyone shaping a brand: founders, marketers, designers, and the teams who have to keep it consistent. The texts are starting points and groundwork, not a style guide to copy.

How to use it

Pull the cards that matter for where you are, set the rest aside, and use the questions to get everyone aligned before you brief a designer or sign off a direction. Lay them on a table, sort them into piles, or build a grid.

Want the cards in your hand? The deck is available from MethodKit.