The Brand Design Process Explained: What it’s really like working with a CX-led brand designer

So, you’re thinking about hiring a brand designer.

First of all: exciting.
Second of all: exciting, but also maybe a little nerve-wracking?

Because unless you work in the creative branding world, you probably don’t know what to expect, how the brand design process works, or what you’ll actually end up with at the end of it, and how customer experience (CX) ties it all together.

And when you’re investing hard-earned cash money into branding, naturally, you want answers.

So, in the interest of not gatekeeping, we’re exposing all of our dirty clever little CX-y branding secrets.

So… how does this whole brand design process actually work? 

Some people think branding is just a logo. Others think it’s just a website. And the rest are still Googling what “brand identity” actually means.

Firstly, brand design is NOT just a logo.

A strategic brand design process is about creating a visual identity, brand strategy, and customer experience that work cohesively.

Yes, that includes:

• Brand review + strategy
• logos (don’t stress, she’s part of the package)
• typography/fonts
• colour palettes
• layouts
• moodboards
• supporting brand assets
• and brand guidelines

But it also includes the way your business feels to interact across every touchpoint.

At CRC Brands, we take a CX-led approach to branding because customer experience is often the thing businesses overlook while pouring money into marketing, ads, and visuals.

Brands like Nike turned their apps, stores and loyalty programs into one continuous experience. Mecca made every step of buying beauty feel guided and generous (big Beauty Loop devotees over here). Spotify turned recommendation algorithms into a ritual people wait for and share — the experience itself is what people remember.

And that’s the difference between branding that looks nice and branding people actually remember.

If you want to dive deeper into the CX-y side of things, have a read of our article on differentiating through customer experience.

Step 1: The Brand Questionnaire Process

Before Illustrator even gets opened, there’s coffee to be consumed and strategy work to do. The coffee is, obviously, critical.

Because good brand identity design isn’t built around:

• what another brand is doing
• random trends
• or a logo design you saw on TikTok

It’s built around positioning, customer psychology, brand strategy, and understanding what your target audience actually needs and wants from you.

Which is why the onboarding process and creative brief matter so much.

At CRC, we dig into things like:

• how customers should feel after interacting with your business
• what hesitations they have before buying
• what makes your brand different
• and where your current customer journey may already be losing people

This is the blueprint phase. Or in less professional terms: the part where we lovingly interrogate you and your business.

Step 2: Understanding Your Target Audience Before Designing a Brand

One of the biggest branding mistakes businesses make? Designing for themselves without considering their audience.

Because sure, you might love minimalist beige branding with tiny unreadable text and AI messaging…

…but if your audience values warmth, humanity, humour and clarity? There’s a disconnect.

A strong brand identity should be informed by not only your vision, but also the people you want to attract.

That means understanding:

• customer behaviour and emotional triggers
• customer behaviour
• emotional triggers
• buying hesitations
• industry expectations
• and how people navigate the customer journey

Without understanding your audience properly, branding quickly becomes a personal taste exercise instead of a strategic business decision. There, we said it and we stand by it.

Step 3: The Brand Research and Strategy Process

Once the onboarding process and questionnaire are complete, the bum-down-head-up research phase begins.

This is where we look at competitors, positioning opportunities, customer perception, and gaps in the market.

Because a strategic brand design process should position your business within your category’s white space, creating a unique opportunity to define and ultimately own a category your competitors can’t claim.

During the recent Hungie Fangs branding project, we identified that the original brand identity buried the actual business name beneath generic “Artisan Bakery” wording, making the logo harder to recognise instantly.

The solution wasn’t “make the logo pop”. The design decisions focused on improving clarity, recognition, and emotional connection through a visual communication system that made the brand easier to remember and much harder to confuse with every other bakery on the block.

Step 4: Creating the Visual Identity Design

This is where strategy starts becoming visual.

Based on the research, positioning, and creative direction, we begin developing the visual identity design for your brand, including logos, typography systems, colour palettes, layouts, and supporting assets.

And every design decision has a purpose.

• Typography communicates personality.
• Colour impacts emotional perception.
• Spacing affects readability.
• Visual hierarchy changes how people process information.

Even the smallest visual elements influence how people perceive your business.

Step 5: The Logo Design Process and Brand Identity Concepts

Now we get into the logo design process itself.

And no, this part isn’t: “Here are six random logos I made, hope you love it, lol, bye.”

A strategic logo design process should connect back to the bigger brand identity and overall experience of the business.

Take Hungie Fangs again.

The final brand identity concept focused on stronger visual hierarchy, a clearer business name, and a playful “fanged pie” mascot that created instant recognition and emotional connection.

That mascot reinforced:

• the brand personality
• the memorability
• and the positioning

Because the best logos don’t just look good. They’re recognisable, flexible, and connected to the bigger brand story.

You can see more examples of this approach in some of our recent branding case studies.

Step 6: Brand Guidelines, Deliverables, and Rollout Assets

Once you’ve reviewed the concepts, provided feedback, and approved the final brand identity, we move into documenting everything so you have a complete style guide to come back to again and again.

Not sure whether to use the stacked or horizontal logo? Brand guidelines.
Can I use this colour here? Brand guidelines.
Oh no, what font goes here again? Brand guidelines.
Onboarding a new team member? Brand guidelines.

This is where your final brand identity deliverables come together, including:

• primary and secondary logos
• typography systems
• colour palettes
• submarks
• social assets
• Messaging foundations
• and your full brand style guide

The goal is a brand identity system that works consistently across your website, emails, social media, onboarding, packaging, and proposals.

How Long Does the Brand Design Process Take?

One of the most common questions we get asked is: “How long does the branding process actually take?”

And the answer is *drum roll*: longer than choosing a Canva template, shorter than renovating a kitchen.

Most branding projects take anywhere from 4–8 weeks depending on:

• the project scope
• revisions
• deliverables
• and how quickly feedback is provided

Typically, the first half of the project is strategy and creative development; the second half is refinement, guidelines, and rollout assets.

What Happens After the Brand Design Process Ends?

Honestly? This is where the fun starts.

Because once you have:

• a strong brand identity
• clear positioning
• strategic visuals
• stronger messaging
• and a cohesive brand experience

…marketing becomes so much easier.

Your business starts feeling aligned, your content becomes more cohesive, customers trust you faster, and most importantly, you actually feel proud to put your brand out into the world.

And all of that? Very CX-y, if you ask us.

Ready to Build a CX-y Brand?

And strategic, cohesive, and genuinely easy to buy from?

Thought you might.

At CRC Brands, we combine customer experience, brand strategy, and visual identity design to help businesses create brands people support, speak about and shop from.

Whether you’re ready for a full CX-led Brand Build, or you need a Brand Reset to uncover where your customer journey is letting you down, we’ll help you build a brand that feels aligned from the first enquiry through to the final touchpoint.

Not sure what you need? Just want to have a yap? Don’t be shy, hit that contact button and get the convo started.