Your brand’s visual identity comprises your logo, imagery, typography, colors, and creative design. The main point of your visual identity is to communicate to your customers who your brand is and why they should be loyal to you through these visual elements. Designing your visual identity isn’t a one-time process, you need your identity to be flexible, so it can grow with your brand, and intuitive so that each element complements the other.
Logo
A good logo reflects your brand and makes a powerful impact. The idea is to make it as simple and memorable as possible.
Keep it Simple
Try to keep your design as simple as possible. A simple design is more memorable and lends itself better to building a recognizable brand. In addition, try to avoid effects and any trendy design techniques. These can date your logo quickly, which may require you to undergo an expensive rebrand a few years down the line.
Limit Colors
In line with keeping things simple, you should also try to avoid using too many colors. Of course, it’s exciting to add multiple colors as it can result in beautiful art work. However, your design can quickly get too busy. Something else to keep in mind is to avoid using heavy gradients. Needless to say, there are exceptions to any of the tips shared in this article but sticking to them will guide you in the right direction.
Typography
Typography is just as important as your logo and is used to convey feelings of exclusivity, intelligence, and style. The font(s) you use for your business name and slogan also requires careful consideration. Different typefaces communicate different meanings. For example, Serif fonts are often looked at as sophisticated and formal where Slab Serif is interpreted as bold and trendy. Choose your font or font pairing based on what most accurately reflects your business’s values.
Color
Colors are one of the most powerful elements of your brand strategy. Don’t simply go with your favorite color or copy a pretty color pattern you found in a competitor’s visual identity. Different colors convey different meanings. For example, orange stands for vitality, playfulness and friendliness while dark blue is interpreted as trustworthy and mature. It’s no surprise businesses in the finance industry often opt for a blue color palette. Be sure to go with a core color that captures what your business stands for.
Your visual identity is how you showcase your brand to customers and can help you stand out against competitors. Designing your visual identity will elevate your brand strategy and help bring your brand to life.
About Millennium Agency
Millennium Agency is a nationally recognized, top woman led B2B branding, positioning, and digital marketing firm who knows how to create value that emotionally influences your customer’s buying decision, giving you the competitive advantage. As your trusted partner in B2B software technology and manufacturing, we provide the branding and positioning framework that make an impact – so you can focus on what you do best – run your business successfully. With offices in Boston and New Hampshire, and a worldwide presence, the professionals at Millennium Agency would like to learn more about your business. Visit www.mill.agency or book time here.
Before fully diving in with designing your visual identity in order to build your brand strategy, you need to figure out how to express who you are as a brand and speak to your audience accordingly (brand essence). This is because, ultimately, your logo, images, and slogan are a visual translation of your brand messaging. To ensure that your roadmap, brand messaging, and visual identity aligns, you must take the following steps.
Examine Your Brand
View your brand from the outside with a customer-centric approach. Get inside the minds of your customers through surveys or other forms of market research. Next, examine your brand from the inside out. What’s the vision of your brand? Where do you see the future of your brand going in the next year? In the next five years? Finally, consider the outside marketplace. Becoming in tune to what your competitors are doing will help you stand out. Remember to be unique and authentic.
Create a Brand Essence (Personality, Voice, Tone)
Your brand essence is your brand’s personality, attributes, and a reflection of your roadmap and how you infuse it into every aspect of your brand. This could be in the form of customer service, sales, marketing, etc. Your brand voice and tone reflect the way you sound to your audience.
A brand’s essence includes the words, phrases, slang, and jokes you use to interact with your audience, as well as the tone you use to deliver your message (formal, informal, joyful, sad, optimistic, or sincere). Ask questions like: what type of relationship do you want to have with your customers? Is your brand playful, kind, exciting, or sophisticated? What is your workplace culture like? These questions will help you determine your brand’s essence and will be helpful in formulating your brand messaging.
Value Proposition
The value proposition is the promise of value your brand delivers, acknowledges, or communicates to your audience. It explains how your brand solves problems and improves situations, what specific benefits your customers can expect, and why customers should buy from you over your competitors.
Creating a value proposition can happen in 3 easy steps.
- Identify customers benefits. What benefits does your product offer to customers?
- Link the benefits to your value offering. Identify what value your product brings to customers.
- Differentiate and position yourself. Make it clear who your target audience is, what you offer to them, and how you’re different.
Tagline
A tagline is the sentence, phrase, or word that businesses use to summarize their market position. Consider your product positioning, key benefits, brand pillars, value proposition, audience, and tone when crafting your tagline.
Examining your brand from different angles, creating your brand essence, developing a value proposition, and introducing a catchy tagline are all ways that you can build your brand messaging and, eventually, capitalize on your brand strategy.
About Millennium Agency
Millennium Agency is a national, award-winning, digital, creative, content/PR, and video marketing firm. With offices in Boston and New Hampshire, our team unites creative branding and data analytics to accelerate our clients’ growth, while combining our clients’ vision with our marketing expertise to increase sales opportunities and drive brand success. From video advertising and web design to social media and PR, Millennium can guide your marketing efforts every step of the way. Contact the professionals at Millennium Agency to learn more!