Brand Ideation

Brand Ideation

Generate and converge on brand directions before committing to identity work. This is upstream of brand-identity (the visual system) and brand-style-guide (the documentation). It is the divergent-then-convergent thinking phase where ideas are cheap and direction matters more than polish.

When to use

• Generating naming options for a new brand or product
• Exploring positioning territories before committing
• Building moodboards and visual direction options
• Drafting narrative or origin-story angles
• Helping the user converge from many half-ideas to one direction
• Stress-testing an existing brand idea before investing in identity work

When NOT to use

• The brand direction is already locked, the user wants logo and identity work (use brand-identity)
• Documenting an existing brand system (use brand-style-guide)
• Defining voice for an existing brand (use brand-voice)
• Initial discovery and audience research (use brand-discovery)

Required inputs

• The category or product type
• The audience (at least roughly)
• The reason this brand exists (the problem it solves or the gap it fills)
• Constraints (existing brand assumptions, parent brand, regulatory limits)
• Number of directions desired (typically 3 to 5)

If the audience is unclear, run brand-discovery first.

The framework: 4 stages

Brand ideation moves through four stages. Each stage diverges (generate options) then converges (pick a direction).