There are a few things to creating a brand, none are difficult but they do take a certain amount of organization, energy and consistency.
1) You need a logo or a typographic logo. Text or an image can be used for a logo.
2) Consider colors and how they impact your image. There is some theory behind this. Blues often are representative of stability, reds/yellows stimulate your senses. Be intentional. There is also color theory in general. Be aware that there are some color combinations that are much more overwhelming than others. There are also color combinations that carry regional weight, around here--green and gold for the Packers; if you have a women's center you may not want to pick those colors.
3) Allow room for a tagline or descriptive slogan below your logo. This should not be the same font, or at the very least a different weight than your logo text. At the same time, there should be no more than two fonts in your logo, unless there is a strategic reason, you do not want "font competition".
4) Find someone to help with the professional details. Kerning/leading, other spacing in general, registration marks, an all the other artistic considerations.
5) There are places and times for artistic versions of a logo but the most valuable resource for a brand is the simple straightforward version with and without the tag line. 3D, or with shadows or other artistic elements is great for promotional material and collateral but not for the foundation pieces.
6) When you have a successful brand there should be concrete guidelines on how to use it. The clearer the better. Start with: rules for on light backgrounds (white), rules for on dark backgrounds, rules for web, rules for letterhead, rules for electronic communication.
7) When you are getting sick of seeing your logo it is probably starting to work. Changing a logo from an established business, unless there is a overhaul of epic proportions, should be subtle, leaving the key identifiers somehow in place. Look at long lasting brands and how their logos have evolved.
8) Use it on everything you develop and use it consistently within your rules. Add new rules as you see fit.
9) Consistently showing taglines and slogans is also a part of your strategy. Same ideas should be enforced with consistency, use of fonts, etc.
10) Consideration of how you use "visual language". This includes use of icons, treatments to images and all related items. Pay attention to this and do this consistently. As an example, a black line or a fade to white on header images might be an example, if you do this then on all images at the top of a page you might do the same thing.
11) How you present your copy is also a part of this strategy. If you notice the first pages of chapters in most books, they have a brand strategy applied to them. It addresses how to begin the communication. A capital bold letter, an italicized group of words, a different font and darker heading--all of those are good examples of approaching copy.
12) Neatness counts. No matter how small of an organization you are, you can look professional and successful if you only concentrate on neatness. Alignment, consistent use of size and font, choosing a clean typeface or a classic typeface, attention to scale (not distorting images) will be enough to get you started.
13) Simplify and aim for dynamic. When in doubt, simplify again. Don't overdo it, everything in a brand package should be straight forward. Dynamic is not necessarily complicated.
