The first thing that comes to people’s minds when they learn of a brand is the visual features of the brand. Even though we’ve seen so far that a brand is so much more than just visuals, its visuals are the things that make people remember you easily on a first glimpse.
Why is Your Visual Brand So Significant?
The way you physically show yourself in all your interaction is more than just a template. This is a representation of the business.
Brands that have a clear visual identity resonate stronger. This persona, in fact, would give you the advantage of investing substantially less money on your ads and publicity materials in the long run. The less effective you are with your graphic identity, the more brands will have to remember your material in front of their clients.
The graphic presentation used in your correspondence is more than just a design; it is a representation of your business. You want to make sure that the graphic presentation speaks the same language as what is said in text, audio or video. If the graphic presentation does not complement the dialogue, it can lead to contradictions in your statement.
So this is why you want to ensure that your brand’s visual representation speaks the same language as the brand narrative in stuff like text, graphics, video, or even audio. If your brand’s graphic appearance does not complement your brand’s tale, it can contribute to discrepancies with your overall contact.
The secret to a unique visual brand identity
Much as when you’re marketing your business narrative and exploring your distinctive identity, positioning and commitment. You ought to turn the same narrative into a visual story. Visual content and graphics are still a strategic aspect of every marketing strategy. If used adequately, fresh, unique and insightful content and imagery can be a very powerful means of attracting and holding your consumers’ interest and creating your credibility as a brand.
Developing elements that are physically enticing and cohesive can help you achieve further attention. If you don’t have anyone in your company to help you build your brand visuals, there is a branding company where you can get cheap logos and other brand based services.
The company narrative that you developed earlier, however, will help you define the look and feel of the path that your brand wants to go.
Let’s dig into quick steps that can be taken to help you start a clear visual branding for your company.
Be inspired
First things first, before you can start creating some aspect of your visual brand, let’s get motivated first.
One of the best ways to get a positive feeling about graphics, colors, logos, etc. is to make them visually visible to you. That’s why we’d suggest that you set aside space on the wall of your office to stick with all the various inspiring things you might find. Don’t worry, if you don’t have the room to do this, you can still do this exercise online, to use something like Instagram, of course.
The advantage of keeping that attached to the wall is that every time your mind wanders away from your monitor and you look up, you will look at your inspiring wall and wonder about your brand’s visual identity. It also makes it possible to group together individual objects and re-arrange them, in other words, to play with them!
Create a plan.
What would you need to make for your brand now that you’ve got your inspiring wall (or Pinterest board) up and running and you’re feeling inspired? Any brand would need the following at a minimum:
A basic color palette of 1-3 main colors and 2-3 secondary colors (yes, black and white count as colors) should be used.
A primary logo and word mark are required;
Fonts can vary from Helvetica to Gotham, or they can be produced from scratch. Our recommendation is to use a web-safe font wherever possible. This means that the font still displays as expected when displayed on every screen.
Of course, there are still more elements to add to the list. You can need a presentation prototype or other things based on the industry you work in. If possible, add them to the list, and see if you have enough motivation on your wall to begin designing your interactive content. If not, don’t worry; just take a little more time to collect more thoughts.
Create something new
If you liked the previous two measures, you would certainly love the next one. If your staff needs design skills, don’t worry; there are plenty of high quality sites to outsource this part online. 99designs, designcrowd, and crowdspring are all good sites to search for assistance with outsourcing this phase.
By supplying the designer with all necessary background material about your business, as well as the things you like and dislike. He or she should come up with a reasonable plan to know which way to go. Of course, once you have any of the talent in-house, things are different. A nice way to begin is to use post-it notes to draw graphical patterns around four classes of things that can all act as inspiration for your brand.
Your artists will now get to work on building your visual brand identity using all of these doodles on post-its and the paint schemes you want. Be sure to log every step of your brand’s creation and, of course, ensure continuity for all products by using the same color codes, font sizes, and other design features. Through recording each move, you will guarantee that any visual object you produce in the future (such as brochures, advertisements, or some other piece of advertised material) will be consistent.
Adapt and improve.
If you answered yes to all six questions, it’s time to “get outside the house,” as the Lean Startup Approach would suggest. Present it to your ideal personas and see how it resonates with them; omit the word mark to see if they can grasp what the company is for simply from looking at the logo. Note that the aim of your brand is for your consumers to immediately identify your established set of beliefs, attitudes, and qualities with the icon, design, tagline, and colors.
Although you may feel that your company’s brand visual identity reflects plainly, your buyers may disagree. It’s important to understand how the company is viewed by the people who matter most: your clients.
If, after consulting with your clients, you’ve come to the realization that your visual brand tale isn’t saying the story you want it to, If you doubt the efficacy of your brand’s visual narrative, it’s time to take notes from these discussions and make changes to the visuals as needed. It’s still easier to take the time now, when it’s still early, rather than later when you’ll have to commit a lot of time to a rebranding effort.