There are many areas of graphic design that I have ventured into within the last couple years: book cover design, website design, broadcast storyboarding, environmental design and much more. Out of all of the areas, my favorite by far is brand identity design. There is a certain thrill and satisfaction that comes with designing an iconic symbol for a company. That company has put their faith in you to design the face for their entire organization and to differentiate their brand from their competitors.
What makes brand identity design the most challenging is the fact that the icon you’ve designed is usually the first and last thing a person sees during their experience with the brand. There are many things that factor into making a successful, everlasting icon that can (and hopefully will) be used for decades to come. One of my favorite designers, David Airey, summarizes it best: