Brands, intangible assets of companies, represent on average as much as 75% of their value. So it is not surprising that more and more money is being invested in developing them. A.G. Lafley, CEO of P&G, admits that in terms of investing time, they put brand building in third place (just after consumer research and innovation).
A properly defined brand identity not only translates into trouble-free building of the company's capital, but also makes it easier for the customer to buy and the seller — to sell.
The process of creating a brand (branding) is the result of many components. These include brand discovery, personality and voice&tone, as well as naming. The next (and one of the most tangible in contact with the client) is visual identification. What is that?
Visual identification — what is it?
A visual identity is a consistent graphic style of everything that only represents your brand. You can think of it as the moments in which the customer sees you — as points of contact, permanently symbolizing the core values of the company.
And it's not just a website, an advertisement or a business card — but also every sign, post in Social Media, how to label a company car, or even the colors used to create a contact form.
The most important benefit of developing a visual identity is to unify and define a specific, strong character that will be recognizable and easily distinguish you from the competition.
Find out in which case the visual identity will also be useful for your brand:
- When you are not distinguished by the packaging of the product or the way of serving the service;
- When the competition looks better than you and their sales increase;
- When you do not show your customers a uniform and consistent face;
- When your marketing feels like it's being done by different companies
- When each branch of your company does marketing in its own way, it makes you all frustrated and the activities financially inefficient.
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you better roll up your sleeves and get ready to work.
Visual identity is not just a company logo. What makes up the whole project?
If getting in the hearts of customers and elevating your brand above the competition is crucial for you (and I assume it is?) The company logo alone is not enough. Only the design of 360° visual identification will give the desired effect.
However, there is no single, universal recipe and list of tasks to check off. Such a design can consist of different elements - depending on how many ways you want to present your brand to customers. Virtually any type of communication can be used!
The most commonly implemented are:
- Logo design and juxtaposition with the main vision of the brand (see article - “8 components of an excellent logo”);
- Responsive Logo Design (not only websites should be responsive, this also applies to trademarks);
- Selection of typography (typefaces best suited to the character of your brand);
- The theme of the photo or illustration (will flat, cartoon, 3D illustrations, or maybe spotify-style photos be appropriate?) ;
- The choice of color scheme (see the article - “8 charismatic colors. Which one will be best for your brand?”) ;
- Business cards, letterhead, stamps and envelopes;
- Posters, catalogs, folders, leaflets;
- Packaging;
- Image in social media;
- Company website and/or online store;
- Registered office signs and markings;
- OOH materials (the so-called “Out Of Home”, i.e. outdoor advertising - billboards, posters, banners, boards, car wrapping);
- Animations and advertising jingle;
- Interior Design.
Nowadays, it is impossible not to realize that we live in a world of brands. Therefore, you should use every possible opportunity to raise the position of your company in the consciousness of customers. However, remember that declarations of superiority over the competition are not everything - they still have to be shown!
