Getting To The Bottom Of What’s Behind Creating A Powerful Visual Brand Identity
“Your brand is what people say about you when you’re not in the room”
– Jeff Bezos, Founder & CEO, Amazon –
Creating a powerful visual brand identity is an essential part of growing your business, however, is commonly only associated with logo design when in fact represents anything visual that your brand produces.
Getting this confused can result in missing out on opportunities to connect with your customers in valuable ways and an incomplete visual brand identity.
So what is the definition of Visual Brand Identity?
A visual brand identity is the visual aspect of branding that businesses create in order to evoke certain emotions and experiences with the brand. It’s your visual language i.e. how you talk to your consumers and communicate the overall message, values, and promise of your brand through anything that is visual.
This incorporates everything from logo design, fonts, photographs, typography and any other visuals that you use to communicate your brand.
A common mistake as mentioned above that brands make, is thinking that branding stops at the logo. There is no question that a logo represents a major part of a brands visual identity, but it goes far beyond a logo.
Whether you are starting a new business or rebranding an existing one, creating a complete visual brand identity is an essential step in the process. This also includes tone of voice, your brand promise, and the overall essence of your brand. The goal is to induce emotions that you want your brand to be associated with.
Nike’s visual identity is a great example here. When you think of Nike, you don’t just think of the ‘swoosh’, you think of the inspiration and innovation for athletes. The same applies with Apple, whose identity symbolises creativity and “thinking different”, not just a piece of fruit.
Brands live in the minds of the consumer and it is your job to communicate who you are and what you are all about through all aspects of your brand.
At Traffic, our Brand Metabolism process helps create bold and compelling company visions, missions and values. They inspire and drive organisational culture to deliver competitive differentiation, customer experiences and increased shareholder value based on authenticity and trust.
We rank Identity as the most important metabolic cell in the process because of the growing importance of digital and social media as a disrupter and game changer. Digital is fully integrated into the Brand Metabolism strategy development process via Identity. This is the catalyst for generating breakthrough creative and unique DNA that gives brand visibility, credibility and vitality.
For examples of some of our recent visual brand identity work, please view the case studies below.