5 Brand Identity Examples Done Right

Understand the process of creating a brand identity, but could use a little inspiration before you craft your own?

Try these on for size. We’ve collected five of our favorite brands – from a one-woman leather maker to the most famous motorcycle outfit in the world – to demonstrate just how powerful words, design, and color can be.

Let’s dive into these strong examples of brand identity.

1. Beavertown

“Sick of staring at the walls? On the edge of despair wondering where it all went wrong? Well, forget about it for a second, it’s not always about you. This is about us…and our latest creation.”

Kicking off our list of the best brand identity examples is Beavertown.Beavertown was a small, independent craft brewery based in North London, U.K. – at least, until it was bought out by Heineken for £40 million (~$54.4 million) in 2018. Four years later, however, it still maintains the reputation (and the price!) of a microbrewery.

A strong brand identity has a lot to do with it. Beavertown’s website and cans channel a quirky, cartoonish design that oozes eccentric charm. Full of vivid color and packed with conversational, colloquial copy, Beavertown’s boozy brand identity points straight at the hearts of brand and beer lovers alike. It’s actually the brand identity design example here that really impressed us.

2. Harley Davidson

“Overtime replaces playtime, and we’re left wondering what our escape plan is.”

Harley Davidson is a brand renowned for its machismo – big, strong bikes for big, strong men, available in three colors: black, black, and more black. This is a great brand identity example because it’s reflected strongly in the tone of voice of the following ad, from which we’ve pulled a couple of key quotes:

• “We’ve ridden storms worse than this and we’ll ride this one out too.”

By using collective pronouns (we), Harley Davidson groups itself with its readers, galvanizing an army of like-minded motorcycle lovers. They’re signed up to the same battle as us – we’re all in it together. They identify with us and understand us. They are us.

• “Give the world and its baggage the middle finger.”

This cultivates a sense of rebelliousness, a devil-may-care attitude toward authority and the problems of everyday life. It makes us want to pack it all in and roar off on two wheels into the sunset.

3. Hungry Jack’s

“Great burgers need great ingredients. At Hungry Jack’s, that’s 100% Aussie beef. All our burgers are made fresh to order, just the way you like them.”

If it looks like Burger King, that’s because it is…kinda. Hungry Jack’s is the name for the franchise’s presence in Australia, having been forced into the name change by a decades-old trademark on the name “Burger King” in Oz.

Despite the muddled moniker, Hungry Jack’s is still a self-assured, core brand identity example. It channels a similar design and typeface as its Burger King franchise – paying homage to its roots – while also embracing a certain quintessential “Australianness.” The copy is full of puns (“satisfry” your cravings), never takes itself too seriously, and reflects Hungry Jack’s enduring reputation as a no-frills, no-nonsense Aussie eatery.

4. Girls Who Lift

“We work together to support and encourage each other to achieve our very best in every class.”

U.K.-based fitness shop and studio Girls Who Lift lives and breathes its ethos. The business’s core themes – confidence, support, inclusivity, hard work, and motivation – are clearly listed on its website’s homepage and help potential customers feel welcome and at ease. And yes, you guessed it, it’s a great brand identity example for that exact reason.

Consistent, confident typefaces build the brand, while the logo – the GWL letters, incorporated into a dumbbell – underlines the business’s philosophy and purpose.

5. HDY Leather

“Disenchanted with mass buying and overconsumption on the high street, HDY was created, offering quality, natural quirk, and style that lasts.”

One-woman leather-making brand HDY Leather is proof that a brand doesn’t need to be big to make a splash.

With striking product images and impactful copy (“beautiful leather for venturous spirits”), founder Jessica Hardy allies herself with sustainability, auteurship, and ethical practices, while targeting a new generation of free-thinking, progressive fashionistas. By keeping it simple, she hit the mark, created a killer example of brand identity, and rounds out our list.

How’s yours?

It’s hard to evaluate your brand identity on your own. After all, it’s yours, so you’re not exactly an unbiased party.

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