Brand design process Strategy first. Then everything else.
Brand1, a brand and creative studio, runs every brand design and rebrand in six stages, with three client sign-offs. AI gives us range. People make the calls.
- Discover
- Define
- Design
- Codify
- Create
- Measure
The branding process at a glance
Our branding process moves from research to a signed strategy, a signed identity and a signed system, then into the work itself, measured every quarter.
- Stages
- Six: Discover, Define, Design, Codify, Create, Measure.
- Client sign-off
- Three: the strategy, the identity and the system.
- Rebrand process
- An Identity Programme, Discover through Codify, takes 8 to 14 weeks; a strategy sprint takes 5 days.
- Human-in-the-loop AI production
- AI explores and scales. A named person draws every mark and signs every piece.
Six brand development stages. One way of working.
Each stage ends with something you can hold. Three of them end with your signature.
Stage 1: Discover
We listen first, and look hard at where the brand stands today.
Interviews with your leadership, your teams and your customers. A walk through every place the brand shows up. AI helps us read more than any team could; people decide what it means.
Stage 2: Define
We write down what the brand stands for, in words people can repeat.
Purpose, positioning, personality and the idea that ties them together. We explore many routes quickly, then argue for one.
You sign off the strategy.
Stage 3: Design
We make the identity: how the brand looks, sounds, moves and speaks.
Mark, type, colour, image, motion, sound and voice, designed as one system and tested on real things. Every mark is drawn and finished by a named designer.
You sign off the identity.
Stage 4: Codify
We turn the identity into a system your teams and tools can follow.
Brand Source holds every rule, asset and example in one place, so anyone making something for the brand starts from the same truth. A guidelines site sits on top of it.
You sign off the system.
Stage 5: Create
We make the work: launches, films, campaigns, packaging, places.
Everything is made from the system. AI gives us range and speed; designers, writers and directors give it finish. Each piece is checked by a person before it reaches you.
Stage 6: Measure
We see what is working, and feed it back into the brand.
Every quarter we look at how the brand is landing and how consistently it is used. What we learn goes back into Brand Source, so the next piece of work starts smarter.
Halden Group and the launch film shown here are specimen projects made to show the method.
Your signature
Three moments of client sign-off.
Nothing moves on until you have said yes. It keeps big decisions with the people who own the brand.
- At the end of Define
You sign off the strategy.
Your leadership agrees what the brand stands for before a single mark is drawn. Design then has something firm to stand on.
- At the end of Design
You sign off the identity.
You approve the identity as one whole system, not a logo on its own, having seen it working on the things you actually make.
- At the end of Codify
You sign off the system.
Brand Source is checked, versioned and handed over. From here on, every piece of work is made from it.
People author. AI multiplies.
People do
- The insight
- The idea
- Every mark
- The final choice
- The finish
- The sign-off
AI does
- Reading the research
- Exploring many routes
- Versions and sizes
- Languages and formats
- Consistency checks
- Speed
After launch
Then the brand keeps learning.
Every quarter, what worked goes back into the brand system. When your business changes, we step back in at the stage that changed, not at the beginning.
The branding process, answered
What are the stages of a branding project?
At Brand1 a branding project runs in six stages: Discover, Define, Design, Codify, Create and Measure. Research leads to a signed brand platform, then an identity system, then Brand Source, the rules every team and tool follows. After that we make the work and review it every quarter, feeding what we learn back into the brand.
How long does a rebrand take?
A full Identity Programme at Brand1, covering strategy, naming if needed, verbal and visual identity and the first applications, takes 8 to 14 weeks in all, from Discover through Codify, including codifying the system in Brand Source. A strategy-only Brand Foundations Sprint compresses Discover and Define into 5 days. Timings depend on the number of brands and decision-makers involved.
Where do clients sign off in a branding project?
Clients sign off three times. Leadership signs the strategy at the end of Define, before any mark is drawn. They sign the identity at the end of Design, as one whole system seen working on real applications. They sign the system at the end of Codify, when Brand Source is checked, versioned and handed over. Nothing moves on without that signature.
How does Brand1 use AI in the branding process?
AI gives the studio range and speed: reading research, exploring many routes, producing versions, sizes, languages and formats, and checking consistency. People make the calls. Insight, the idea, every mark, the final choice and the finish stay with named designers, writers and directors, and each piece is checked and signed by a person before it reaches the client.
Can we start with a smaller project?
Yes. Most clients start with the Brand Foundations Sprint, five days with the leadership team that compresses Discover and Define and ends with a signed brand platform. Others start with the free Brand Health Scan. Cost is scope-dependent; every offer, with its scope and duration, is listed on the price sheet, sent on request.
Start with five days.
The Brand Foundations Sprint compresses Discover and Define into five days with your leadership team, and ends with your strategy signed.