One of the most important methods of making your business identifiable, is to create a strong visual identity as part of your brand. Without this, it will be much more difficult for your target market to engage with your business and want to return in the future. With a visual identity, your business puts an image to its name and becomes more tangible in people’s minds, rendering it more approachable. Here are some important points to remember when designing your brand’s visual identity.
What is a Visual Identity?
A visual identity is the visible image of a business’ brand. The brand will include the way that a company interacts with its audience, how it writes copy, and the actions it takes to further its particular brand image. It also includes the visual identity as one element that serves to promote the overall brand through curated and designed imagery. The main purpose of a visual identity is to differentiate businesses from one another.
How is a Visual Identity Applied?
There are several ways in which a brand uses its visual identity to communicate with an audience.
- Physical merchandise, such as hats or stationery, brings a brand into three-dimensional, practical space, making it easier to remember and interact with. You can find unique ways of promoting your brand with the help of anthembranding.com.
- Social media is here to stay and it’s mostly a visual medium. Profile pictures, banners, and posts, are just a few examples of the ways a visual identity can be put across.
- Print media may be dwindling thanks to the internet, but it’s still important to make sure your brand translates well, no matter where its visual identity is shown.
- Your business’ website must be professionally represented by the visual identity you’ve designed, otherwise it will appear amateur.
What is the Purpose of a Visual Identity?
With an effective visual identity, a business will leave viewers with a specific, emotional impression, as well as information about the business and its products. It will also bring together the various strands of the business, by connecting them through a common visual theme.
Key Elements
The main aspects of a visual identity include:
- Graphics, which are designed to express the values of a business or convey relevant information about a business’s services or its products.
- The way words look can be just as impactful as what they say. The design choices behind typography are intended to enhance the overall visual cohesion of the brand.
- A business should have brand guidelines to assist people when using assets for promotional materials. Within these guidelines, color is an important factor, since it is so closely related to emotion and experience. Color must be used carefully to convey the mood that best represents the brand.
- The way a business uses photos and videos, also informs its audience of the brand image through visual media.
By taking the time to carefully construct a coherent and attractive visual identity for your brand, your business will attract more attention and, therefore, achieve greater success.
