The anatomy of a memorable brand identity: 7 visual elements you need
When you decided to start your business, was a logo at the top of your to-do list when it came to branding? If your answer is yes, you aren’t alone. Read on for the lowdown on what a successful brand identity actually needs!
Many small business founders approach me in need of a look that works harder for their brand, having started out with just a logo designed on the fly.
The thing is, what’s needed is a well-considered brand identity. That’s far more than simply a logo. A logo alone can’t create the right impression for your business.
A strong brand identity system is a comprehensive collection of visual elements that identify your business at a glance. Used together, they create a distinctive look that sets your brand apart from the competition and projects the right image to your target audience.
That means defining your brand identity comes first. Yes, even before building your website. It’s the foundation of all your branding communications.
On a practical level, your brand identity is a toolkit of visual assets that your designer (and anyone that works for your business) can use to design marketing materials in a consistent, recognisable style for your small business. And will make creating them a doddle!
How your brand looks is often a big factor in how you feel about your brand. And how you feel about your brand has a big impact on confidence and how you show up for your business – which has a big impact on the profit you make.
Ultimately, having a visual identity that you’re proud of will contribute to your company’s success.
How to develop a brilliant brand identity
As tempting as it might be to go down a visual route that appeals to you personally for your brand identity, that’s not necessarily the way to win the hearts of your ideal customers.
Likewise, it’s best to steer clear of the latest design or style trends to avoid your brand being a victim of the latest fad.
The strongest brands are intentional and designed with business needs in mind.
Before kicking off the brand design process, your designer will need to get to know your company inside out. This will make sure that the visual direction is driven by a blend of creativity and strategy. That way, every visual element can contribute towards creating the right aesthetic so your overall brand identity will work hard to influence the perception of your company.
A solid, strategy-driven brand identity should get your business where you want it to be and resonate with the people that matter most, turning potential customers into loyal clients.
A visual brand that can grow with you
No matter what size your business is, your brand toolkit should be versatile to use and comprehensive enough to cover your needs both now and in the future. As your business evolves you will benefit from a visual identity that has been built to last and can grow with you – whether you have plans to be the next household name or not!
One size doesn’t fit all when developing a brand. But there are universal components every brand identity needs to communicate clearly.
To illustrate the 7 visual elements of an unforgettable brand, here is the visual identity I created for Crimson Bee, a start-up digital marketing and business consultancy.
The Crimson Bee identity is bold and confident, reflecting its brand personality and digital niche. Bee symbolism is woven into Crimson Bee’s brand story and the identity creates a visual link to this, featuring a hexagon shape that represents efficiency.
Let’s start with three essentials that will keep your business on brand at every touch point.
1 · Simple logo to stand out from the crowd
The all-important logo is at the centre of your brand identity. But it doesn’t need to tell your whole story. That’s where other visual elements come in; together they create a strong brand aesthetic.
Fussy or complicated logo design just doesn’t work. A simple logo is easier to recognise, more practical to apply and improves legibility. Avoid visual clichés and keep your design relevant to send a clear message!
Lots of people don’t realise that a well-rounded brand identity doesn’t just include one logo – it includes a suite of logo variations. At a minimum you will need:
a primary logo, which will be your go-to option for applying on most branding communications;
a secondary logo version that’s simplified to work at small size, for example as a social media profile or app icon;
an even simpler third logo mark, which will come in handy for use as a tiny website favicon.
Having these logo variations will give your small business greater versatility (and more potential for brand recognition wherever your identity is used)!
A simple primary logo and adaptive brand mark symbolises growth. The hexagon monogram is a framing device that’s reminiscent of coding brackets in the digital world.
2 · A memorable colour palette
Colour is the strongest, most memorable brand identifier. Just think how you associate red with Coca-Cola and purple with Cadbury.
Colour also has a language of its own. Using colour strategically and applying some colour psychology can have a major impact on how your brand is perceived. Every shade has a different feel, so your colour palette choice is an opportunity to strengthen your messaging, convey your brand values and create an emotional connection with your audience.
Pick a range of four to eight relevant colours to cover all your needs. Remember to define a colour for text as well as your logo, backgrounds and accent colours!
It’s no surprise that warm, energetic crimson is at the core of Crimson Bee’s palette. To make it practical, the boldness is balanced with blue, turquoise and a light neutral grey tone.
3 · Typography that adds personality
Much like colours, fonts have personality too. When you communicate you use words, so you need to define typefaces to use for the text on your branding materials. Choosing the right ones really does matter – is a traditional serif, minimal sans serif, elegant script or bold display font best for your brand?
More and more businesses are also selecting their typography with an eye for accessibility and inclusion. There’s absolutely no point in selecting a handwriting typeface style for your typeface if it’s difficult for your target audience to read.
Ideally, your typography system should include two to three typefaces that give a strong hierarchy to your designs, and clearly distinguish between heading, paragraph and quote text. Sometimes different weights of one typeface can be enough. Your typography will speak volumes about your brand, so choose your fonts wisely.
Every brand typeface has a purpose: they convey personality. Two typefaces, used in a selection of weights, form a simple, strong typographic system here.
These first three elements are the essentials; a great starting point to create a basic brand toolkit.
Prioritise your logo, colour palette and typography first if you’re on a limited budget. But by including additional visual elements, your business can benefit from greater brand recognition and the ability to communicate more effectively with your customers and clients (without the need for words!).
For extra versatility, add the following elements in the mix too.
4 · Quality photography
When it comes to branding, quality photography is as essential for small businesses as it is for big brands. After all, a picture paints a thousand words!
Commerce businesses need product and lifestyle photography to showcase products and entice purchasers. If your organisation is service based you’ll also benefit from custom photography – use it to show behind the scenes and build the know-like-trust factor with your audience.
Any branding photography needs to be in a unified style to be recognisable as a core part of your identity. Mismatched photography won’t hit the spot.
When commissioning a photoshoot, strong art direction will ensure the look and feel aligns with your brand. If bespoke photography isn’t within budget, sourcing stock imagery from an image library is a good alternative. In that case, it’s even more important there is a criteria to keep the curated images on-brand – such as a certain style, colour, mood, or filter effect.
Whether your brand photography is commissioned or sourced, decide on a style that supports your brand to make it a real asset.
Crimson Bee’s photography is light, bright and clear. Images from an art directed photo shoot form a cohesive brand image library, supplemented with carefully curated stock images.
5 · Distinctive patterns or graphic elements
Brand imagery goes much further than photography. Consider the style of your graphics – patterned backgrounds, or shapes that double up as graphic devices and gradients all add character and vibrancy.
All types of businesses have the potential to use a brand pattern in fun ways. They’re really useful for packaging, stationery, backgrounds or borders on websites or social graphics... and much more.
Distinctive graphics help your audience quickly identify your brand without having to rely on words.
Brand patterns and graphic devices add another layer to brand imagery. They create a memorable style on this presentation deck.
6 · Iconography to to simplify communication
Icons are widely used as a tool to visually communicate messages quickly in a small amount of space. The real beauty of a great set of custom created icons is they add character to your brand visuals and are super versatile.
They can help with website navigation, signposting or highlight key information. Small commerce businesses can use icons to show features of their products or how to care for them, while service based businesses could find icons useful to explain their services or values. The possibilities are endless!
Although image libraries are convenient and have many basic royalty free icon sets available for download, a great set of bespoke illustrated icons have the benefit of being unique to your brand.
After all, a shiny new brand identity deserves icons that fit your small business to perfection.
Icons are a integral part of the Crimson Bee identity, communicating efficiency with a recognisable straight-edged visual style.
7 · Illustrations for brand storytelling
Sometimes it can be a challenge to get the right photography for your subject or to bring a complex topic to life. That’s a prime opportunity to embrace illustration!
Big brands have cottoned onto this, and as a result illustration has undergone a big revival. Take a look at how Mailchimp and Headspace use illustrations as a core part of their brand identity to give their functional products a human touch.
It’s not the right choice for all businesses, but by incorporating illustration into your brand identity, you can convey energy and emotion in a compelling way.
These sharp, simple illustrations bring Crimson Bee’s brand story to life, focusing on topics build, connect and grow.
Consistency builds trust
There you have it – building a brand identity involves far more than just designing a logo! The skill is to use each visual element to convey different aspects of your brand but make sure they all work cohesively as one family. On their own, the individual elements can be quite simple, but used together, the individual elements bring your brand to life!
Once you’ve got your visual brand assets, they need to be used correctly. That’s where brand style guidelines come in. They are a must-have to keep consistency across every touchpoint.
You wouldn’t want to confuse your customers with a brand that looks completely different on your website than it does on social media. That’s a big no-no. It would make your brand feel unprofessional and result in lost credibility.
All the brand elements come together on the Crimson Bee website to create a bold first impression.
Set the standard with a brand guide
A strong brand guideline document outlines your brand assets and the rules for how to use them. By following them, anyone can design materials for your brand and create the right look. As small business owners we are notoriously short on time, so brand guidelines that make the decisions on our behalf are a huge time saver!
To get your brand noticed, it’s important to apply your visual identity everywhere your business interacts with customers – right down to thank you notes, email signatures and invoices.
And remember, your internal comms should also be on brand so that your employees become brand advocates.
A well-considered, expertly crafted and consistently applied visual identity creates brand recognition, and, eventually, brand loyalty.
A comprehensive brand guide defines how visual elements should be used to create a cohesive look across all platforms.
Need a credible look for your brand?
There are many reasons it could be time for a rebrand. We live in a world where first impressions are everything. The right brand identity will open doors, connect you with your ideal audience and help you create a bigger impact. It’s a smart investment!
Whether you’re considering a refresh or starting from scratch, I’d love to support you. Let’s chat about how I can help you present your brand in its very best light, book a discovery call and we can take it from there!
