Creating a visual identity
Images are a powerful form of communication, especially since they communicate without words. The images speak at a basic, emotional level and are therefore very convincing.
However, with great communication potential comes great responsibility. You need to be extra careful not to send the wrong message.
We are here to support you during this demanding but very purposeful process.
What does creating a visual identity involve?
Visual identity design refers to all visual aspects that a brand can have:
- logo design
- design of printed materials (business cards, brochures, flyers, product packaging,...)
- site design
- graphic design for campaigns and social media presence
Importance of visual identity
When it comes to branding, most often what you see is what you get. This claim is correct viewed from the prism of the potential user.
A poorly designed brand is something a potential customer will not pay special attention to. And everything that the customer can see belongs to the visual identity of the brand.
In a sea of similar brands struggling and trying to gain users' trust, having a strong visual identity has become key to differentiating a business from its competitors.
What must be established before designing a brand's visual identity?
In order to successfully create a visual identity for one brand, it is necessary to establish key messages.
Key messages must exist before embarking on the design process. They will be suggested through design, and will in some way determine the very aesthetics of design, color schemes, as well as the ultimate style that will be the guiding idea through all aspects of design.
Good design tells your story
Key messages are the starting point to telling your brand's story.
However, while the story varies widely from brand to brand, the questions we ask to help you tell your story are the same:
- - Why do you do the work you do?
- - Who are you helping (what is your target group)?
- - What solutions do you offer?
- - What is the purpose of your brand?
- - What good are you to people?
- - What sets you apart from the competition?
The more precise your vision of your brand and the more aware you are of the answers to these questions - we will be able to offer you a more concrete design - with a quality user experience and concrete aesthetics - which is the goal when creating a visual identity.
At this stage, the colors that will run through the design are selected, most often through examples of what you like or dislike.
The goal of creating a visual identity is a quality user experience.
In addition to a quality user experience, it is necessary to create a good user interface.
In case you are not sure which color would best serve your brand, our designers will help you choose. If, however, you already have an idea of what you would like, it is best to say so immediately so that the designer can get an idea of what you want from the word go.
Good design sets one brand apart from another and creates an emotional connection
Just as in a sea of people we can recognize that one person who is in some way close to us, users also react when it comes to brands. And the better the connection of the user with the brand, the more the user will want to trust it - and even recommend it to others.
By strategically planning the visual identity, we give the brand a persona and entity with which the user can connect.
What does the process of creating a visual identity look like?
When you decide to work with our agency, the process is as follows:
- First, we arrange a meeting where we get better acquainted with you, your brand and define the key messages of the brand.
- We define the colors and styles that will represent the design.
- After the meeting, in accordance with the agreement and your instructions, our designers prepare logo proposals and agree on the fonts to be used in the design.
- The final decision is made on all elements to be used.
- A book of graphic standards is being prepared.
- Only after the adopted logo and adopted standards can our designers start working on the preparation of business cards, memorandums and other printed material depending on the needs of your brand.
- If you are in the process of creating or redesigning a website, this process runs in parallel. You can read more about the website design service here.
Why is a graphic standards book important?
Creating a visual identity is one thing, and ensuring that this identity will be consistently applied in the future is quite another.
Therefore, during the entire process of visual identity design, a book of graphic standards is created, where, among other things, the following rules are highlighted:
How the elements that we have previously designed and adopted, logo, fonts, may be used, and how they should not be used; how the graphic elements will be used on different platforms, together with instructions on what must be fulfilled, and which changes are possibly allowed.
The book of graphic standards in English is called the Brand Bible, because it is necessary for the adoption of standards that will ensure that there is no deviation from the visual identity.
For example, if sometime in the future you need to quickly use the logo for your current social media campaign, there is a huge difference in the extent to which the logo will be represented in relation to other visuals in that photo, which font, with what spacing and thickness will be used on the visuals, how this will also be applied to create a new or correct an existing page on the site, etc.
What is the purpose of the visual identity?
Finally, we highlight the objectives that the visual identity must achieve in order to justify your investments:
Emotional impression
Visual identity must create an emotional impression for your target group
Nature of the brand
Provide information about the nature of the brand and the services/products your business offers
Unify aspects of the business
Unify multiple different aspects of the business through consistent visuals
