Brand positioning: how to define it before designing the logo
Brand positioning is the place your brand wants to occupy in the minds of those who know it. It answers, simply, three questions: who you exist for, what you offer and why that is different from what already exists in the market. It is the foundation of brand strategy and comes before any design decision. In this article, we show how to define positioning in four steps.
What brand positioning is
Positioning a brand means choosing, on purpose, how it wants to be perceived. Without that choice, the market decides for you, and it usually decides "one more option in the category". With it, every decision (pricing, language, imagery, sales channel) points in the same direction.
Why define it before the logo
Without positioning, design becomes a matter of taste: everyone has a different opinion and nobody has a criterion to decide. With it, there is a ruler. The logo, colors and language can be judged by one objective question: does this communicate what we want to be? That is how brand design stops being subjective.
The elements of good positioning
- Audience: who you want to serve, as specifically as possible.
- Need: the problem or desire your brand solves.
- Difference: what you do in a way competitors do not, or do not do well.
- Proof: what backs up the promise, such as process, materials, experience and method.
- Personality: the traits that describe how the brand behaves and speaks.
How to define positioning in four steps
- Listen. Talk to the business owner and to current customers, and observe what competitors communicate. Write down the words people use, not the ones you would like them to use.
- Map the alternatives. List what the customer compares you with today: direct competitors, other solutions or doing nothing.
- Write the sentence. Use the formula: "For [audience], [brand] is [category] that [main benefit], unlike [alternative], because [proof]."
- Test it. Would an outsider understand what you do and why it matters? If the sentence fits any company in the industry, it is still generic.
A fictional example
For illustration only (the brand below does not exist): "For owners of small custom-order bakeries, Doce Ateliê is the custom cake studio that gives a party a wedding feel, unlike shop-window bakeries, because every cake starts with a conversation about the customer's story."
Notice how the sentence already guides the design: a made-to-order studio calls for a more handcrafted, intimate identity than a shop-window bakery, even if both sell cake.
From positioning to visual identity
When positioning is clear, visual decisions gain direction. In the AquaBloom case, the challenge was to occupy the premium wellness market without looking like just another flavored water, and that guided the identity and packaging choices. In Simples Aventuras, the challenge was to balance playful and sophisticated. In both, brand strategy came before design.
Brand strategy with Fiorare
In the Florescer method, positioning is defined in the Stem stage, after the diagnosis and before design. The branding packages include this stage: La fiore with an in-depth diagnosis and brand platform, and L'Essenza with strategic research and an in-depth brief. To start the conversation, fill in the brief. If you want the broader picture, read branding for small businesses and what a visual identity includes.