Now we'll look at these four building blocks in a bit more detail, starting with

existence in this video. Existence focuses on why your business exists. There's
brand value to be found in the reason why a business was created. Not only when in
where it was created, but what problem do business was trying to solve and who the
people are who created it. Consumers today want to connect to the story behind the
business, and you can accomplish that by telling your origin story. An origin story
is simply an account of how a business got started. And a great origin story must
include a few key elements, the people involved and a problem to solve.
Intelligentsia Coffee's origin story reads like this. The story begins in 1995,
Doug Zell and Emily Munch just wanted fresh roasted coffee, it was really that
simple. After moving from San Francisco to Chicago, they found that great tasting
coffee in their new city was surprisingly elusive. But instead of complaining or
even worse, settling for bad coffee, they hunker down and wrote the original
business plan or what would become intelligentsia coffee. Let's look at some of the
elements of this origin story. First, the founders Doug and Emily are named, so
immediately we have a connection to real people. Second Doug and Emily encountered
a problem, they couldn't find a good coffee in Chicago. Third, they went about
solving the problem. Instead of settling, they created Intelligentsia to solve the
problem they had. You may say that that's great and it's cool to hear about their
story, but how does it help create a brand? Because storytelling has the ability to
create connections in a way simple facts can't. If a business can get storytelling
right, they have a huge advantage over their competition. Because we as humans are
wired for stories, we love hearing stories, we love telling stories. We use stories
for entertainment or for teaching, and we become emotionally attached to stories.
In fact, studies show that more areas of our brain light up when we're hearing a
story than we're just hearing information. And that when we hear stories, our
brains release certain chemicals responsible for empathy and connection. By telling
a story, you not only have signs on your side to create a connection with your
customer, but your customer may see themselves in your story. There's a powerful,
I've been there to, elements that the origin story can present. That connection can
be solidified by having real people associated with the business instead of a
mysterious 'we', or worse yet, an impersonal the company. By telling a story, a
customer comes along with you for the journey. Now let's create an origin story for
our business Calla & Ivy, a flower business that specializes in handcrafted
bookcase, founded by Emre. Imagine, she's hired you to define her brand and create
content for her website and social media presence. Starting with the first piece of
our framework, existence, let's put together an origin story. We want to focus on
three things. Who launched the business and when? What problem was trying to be
solved? And how did the business solve it? After talking with Imra and finding out
a bit about her history and why she created the business, we come up with this.
Imra always loved flowers, and as a child would pick them on hikes with her parents
and braid them into crowns. But after graduating art school with a degree in
design, she was disappointed to see the same bland kind of bouquets being made
without any kind of artistic passion or unique design to them. So in 2010, Imra
began her own flower shop called Calla & Ivy. In order to offer the unique
handcrafted design forward bouquets she knew could bring joy and inspiration to
people around her. After a short time, Imra's shop became so popular that she
expanded her presence online where customers can order her bouquets digitally and
also subscribe for regular flower deliveries. And while her store still exists,
Imra uses it to experiment with new ideas. The majority of her sales come from her
website. And what is Calla & Ivy? The name is a pairing of her favorite flower,
the Calla Lily and the Ivy, she loved to braid as a kid. Now that you know the
importance of an origin story. You'll start noticing them more and more on websites
in advertising and on social media. Think about which ones resonate with you most
and ask yourself why?

Purpose goes beyond the origin story to explore why a business does what it does.
Every business is built on a foundation of values and meaning. Today, customers are
seeking to engage with the brands they use, so it's important to articulate what
you stand for. In 2009, author Simon Sinek delivered a Ted Talk addressing this
concept, stressing that we don't buy what a business does, but why they do it. He
used the example of computer companies who tend to start by explaining what they
do. "We make computers," and then they state their how, "We make computers that are
simple and attractive." Most companies don't articulate a why or purpose, and
expect to make sales just based on the what and how. Sinek then explained that
Apple does it in reverse. Apple begins with their purpose, to think differently.
Then they move to their how, "We think differently by making beautifully designed
products." Finally, they end with a what, "We happen to make computers." If a
consumer has already connected to their purpose of thinking differently, they'll
buy the computers and any other product Apple may produce. By clearly stating your
business' purpose, values, and what you stand for, you're not only further
connecting with your audience, but you're further defining your audience, people
who align with your vision. Another example is Panera Bread, whose Our Beliefs
section on their website states that, "We believe in raising, serving, and eating
food that is good and good for you." Because of this, Panera can make decisions
about elements of their business from their recipes to their suppliers based on
their purpose. Customers who want to eat clean, responsibly sourced food will be
drawn to Panera. How does a business actually articulate a purpose? There are a few
different ways. Many businesses use the prompt of, "We believe that," so if you're
trying to create a purpose for your brand, jot down some ways to complete that
sentence. Brainstorm keywords around the ideas or topics you care about, like clean
eating, wellness, or even good design. Another way to articulate a purpose for your
business is to state what your brand isn't and what you don't stand for, which can
help you articulate what you do stand for. Let's get back to Imra over at her
flower business. We want to help her clarify her purpose, so we came up with the
template to do just that. First, we start out with some of the basics about Calla &
Ivy. It's a flower business that provides flower subscriptions and flower bouquets.
Then we go on to ask what the business is fond of or enjoys. This may seem like an
odd question, but it gets not only to what a brand as a personality enjoys, but
explains a bit more of the vision for the brand's culture, and may give inspiration
for social media posts or design for the website. Here, Calla & Ivy is fond of
summer, open fields, and urban biking. So you could envision an Instagram post of a
bike ride around the city with a Calla & Ivy bouquet featured prominently in the
bicycle's basket. Finally, we asked Imra what Calla & Ivy cares about. Beauty,
sustainability, friendliness, approachability, and creativity. We can now make
branding decisions about Calla & Ivy through this lens. Images chosen for the brand
will focus on beauty and aesthetics. Flowers and packaging will be chosen based on
sustainability options. The voice of the business will be friendly and
approachable, and there will be an underlying sense of creativity and design
innovation in both the products offered and in their online presence. Customers who
are drawn to creative design, who may enjoy bike rides around the city, or who only
shop at sustainable businesses will be drawn to Calla & Ivy. Now that you know how
brands state their purpose and can use that purpose to connect with their
customers, you'll see it everywhere, a Values or Beliefs section on a website, an
email newsletter that links to an article on social issue, or a higher purpose
field to advertising.

A strong brand gives you a real advantage when you're building a social media
presence. Facebooks EPIC brand framework can help you build or strengthen your
brand. Remember that it consists of four building blocks, existence, purpose,
identity, and connection. By the end of this video, you'll have a better
understanding of what we mean by a brand's identity. And you'll know what to focus
on as you build your brand. Identity refers to the visual look and feel of the
brand. This includes the logo, the color palettes the business chooses. The
aesthetic of the images to business uses, and even the typography they choose.
Play video starting at ::48 and follow transcript0:48
When we discussed in the previous lesson about a brand being an experience or an
intangible feeling, it's usually the visual identity someone is picking up on.
Let's start with logos because they tend to be the most recognizable and powerful
aspect of a brand. For example, how many of these logos do you recognize? If you
recognize the number of them, You'll know how logos play a big part of brand
recognition. How many other logos do you wear on a T-shirt or a hat? Or maybe have
displayed on a bumper sticker that shows the power of brands to become an identity
and a culture for the consumers.
Play video starting at :1:28 and follow transcript1:28
A logo captures the sense of the brands in one image. We won't go over every step
of how a logo was created, but logo creation combines all the things we've looked
at. Origin story, problem solving, purpose, values, and keywords associated with
the brand. And uses those deeper elements to inform the design. A logo must also
communicate other aspects of the brands like innovation, tradition or whimsy.
Finally, what will a logo or a brand be without its signature color. You could
probably readily recognize Starbucks signature green color palette. You'd probably
readily recognize Facebook's blue as well, and Coke has its signature red label.
But what if Coke had a yellow label? It wouldn't be Coke then, would it? Or you
wouldn't associate Coca Cola with yellow packaging? What if Coke had blue label?
Then, you'd confuse it for Pepsi. Curating a color palette for your brand isn't
only about having it be readily recognisable to your customer and differentiating
from other products. There's a lot of psychology behind color and color choices,
and a color palette can set the tone for your brand as well. Red is excitement,
blue is trust, orange is fun, brown is natural, and black is prestige. There
doesn't necessarily need to be deep signs behind the color choices for your brand.
Pick a palette that feels right for your business. And use it to influence site
design, advertising, packaging and more. Imagery is another aspect of creating a
brands visual identity. And this can include the types of photos, visuals or
illustrations a brand users on its website or in social media feeds. This will not
only evoke a feeling, but create a kind of ecosystem for that brand. For example,
Airbnb, the business that connects renters with guests, showcases beautiful
photography of locations on its social media feed. Instead of advertising cheap
rental rates there featuring the beauty and uniqueness of locations around the
world, which will then inspire you to book a trip through them. Finally, typography
or the selection of typefaces and fonts that are business chooses helps communicate
its visual brand. Like a logo typeface is trying to capture the feeling and
association of the brand in lettering. And while business can certainly just pick a
phone from the drop down, a business wanting to be deliberate about its brand will
be its story, values and purpose while choosing their typeface. In many ways, a
brands typeface will be as recognizable as it's logo. Look at the New York Times
and The New Yorker. Both are long, running, well respected New York based
publications. The New York Times uses classic straightforward type facing in its
text. And its logo still features it's or original blackletter typeface which fits
the New York Times as brand as a solid, trusted purveyor of objective news. To New
Yorkers typeface, however is curved. Each letter taking up a different size, and is
individual artistic and whimsical, much like the content of The New Yorker. Let's
get back to Calla and Ivy and help Emma create a visual identity for her business.
The good news is that we've already done a lot of work to help us establish a
visual identity. In that we wrote her origin story and we articulated to values of
her business. First, let's make a logo which captures the bouquets that Imra makes.
The lettering in her business name is curved and creative, communicating a kind of
friendliness and approachability. Some of the key words that were mentioned under
the brand's purpose. Since this is a flower shop, it would make sense to choose a
color palette related to flowers or nature. We've chosen soft greens and teals
which communicate calm, serenity, and trustworthiness, but also suggests the brands
value of sustainability. Finally, we put together some images that will use as
guidance for our social media feeds and website design. Some of the images are of
Imra's flower creations, highlighting her products and design. One is Imra herself
creating a bouquet showing the artisanal nature of the brand. And the final image
is a bouquet being given which communicates the inherent connection created by
giving a gift of flowers. Now we can use this visual identity to influence our
design, branding, marketing and even everyday business choices going forward. As we
went through this lesson brands we didn't mention probably came to mind as you
thought about the logos, color palettes, imagery. And maybe even typography of
businesses you interact with our daily basis. Continue to take note of visual
branding to inform your future branding choices.
Play video starting at :6:42 and follow transcript6:42
A brand's identity matters, it's how people recognize and remember brands. So, make
sure to give it some thought. Document your brands identity and then be consistent
and stick with your choices. We've now explored three components of our epic
framework,