Is there any difference between Visual Identity & Brand Identity?
A brand’s visual identity, pictorial identity, is a distinctive kind of conveying its objective and purpose. A wonderful brand design enables you to communicate messages that mere words cannot explain. After all, a picture is worth 1000 words. Besides, it’s an incredible means to target a brand’s audience to relate with the brand.
A company requires to establish itself “different” from its competitors through powerful branding in today’s competitive world. Substantial research indicates that viewers won’t connect with a brand’s mass message if the design isn’t pleasant or impressive.
After all this, most companies think drawing up a visual identity is a waste of resources. He we point out the significance of a strong visual identity and how you can craft yours:
Visual identity defined
Visual identity helps in initiating brand-building through perception. This visual input can help create a powerful impression on customers through visible elements. Images, designs, artworks, illustrations and colours convey feelings and emotions at a personal level. Which cannot be achieved through words; thus, Visuals are more personal and influential.
Normally, a buyer correlates a mixture of visual identity elements such as colour, layout, positioning, typography, mnemonic, logo, etc. Each and every element which goes in creating a visual identity helps in establishing the brand image and raises expectations.
Visual identity vs. Brand identity
Both, visual identity and brand identity have a deep connection. Brand identity is a holistic peek with all the non-visual elements of your brand’s outlook. Visual identity together with all non-visual elements has been deemed a component of it.
Visual identity is a straightforward blueprint comprising of a meticulously studied and planned approach, unlike brand identity.
Moreover, brand identity is liked by marketing experts as it is their own domain with a complete understanding of non-visual elements. Whereas, visual identity is considered to be a domain of graphic designers and creative directors.
But lately, many marketers have understood the importance of visual identity in establishing a brand identity.
Putting in plain words, conveying the brand essentials is brand identity and visuals are used to express it is visual identity.
Importance of visual branding for businesses
Extensive research revealed that more than half of surfers spend less than 15 seconds on any website.
Now, marketers get the time of 15 seconds only, similar to that of “an elevator pitch” – but not in person. So what you say, basically content, will be decided as per your brand identity and how will you say, mostly visuals, will be decided as per visual identity.
Your brand’s visual identity should be distinct, creative, and attractive to guarantee that your brand gets a definitive space in the viewers’ minds.
In return, you’ll see increased customer-brand interactions. Further, a brand that secures a uniform visual identity is likely to resonate with the targeted customers more effectively.
The best way to learn about visual identity and present trends in customers consumption, you need to surf and study all the prominent brands available in the market. Get inspired, just don’t copy paste as it is, and draft an outstanding and impressive visual identity.
Defining your brand visual identity exercise
All visual identities have few things in common. Each of which is to be defined and developed in way that gives a wholesome picture of the brand. Starting with the company’s vision and mission and an objective for the brands. These are the heart of your company/ brands. Every design element that goes into the visuals should build and image of your statement. These key design elements that help build a visual identity are:
Logo
It is the primary image that will help in brand registration and association in customers’ minds. Reading a statement requires time, but logo recognition is done in a glimpse. It expedites the process of recognition. And recognition leads customer’s attention. So the toughest step of marketing – to caputre the customer’s attention, could be achieved with logo.
The logo should convey the brand’s message. Simple! The simple the better. Being a minimalist has its perks. Customers don’t need to put in efforts to remember and recall every element of your logo. The minimalist design also helps to avoid cluttering.
Let your graphic designer understand a wee bit of marketing. Share with him the purpose of your brand and how you expect it to be perceived. Once you finalize a logo, roll it out to potential customers in your group (without revealing any details, just the logo) and try to get their feedback. You can say a kinda pilot study.
Colours
It’s a colourful world after all. Preferences of colour depends on many factors, like geographical, demographic, gender etc. Before finalising the colour, define your target audience. And then try to bring in a colour that your audience can relate with easily. It will not only bring brand association but will also help in differentiating.
Here is also the rule of the minimalist rule. Each colour communicates emotion to the customer. A blend of few colours are good but a hotchpotch of many is confusing. Preferably, 3-4 colours with a reducing ratio for each colour like 50:30:20 for 3 colours.
Such a blend of colours gives out a soothing layout, which customers would like to lay eyes on for a longer time.
Typography
The rest of the visual content plays with the customer’s mind. Each customer will perceive your design, colour, and other visual elements differently and register them differently. Typography brings all of your customers’ perceptions to the same platform.
Typography gives a name to your visual blend.
Words, fonts types, spacing in between, using capital/ small type etc conveys your objective to the point. Customers’ consumption of words has increased drastically. And it has imbibed basic font specific memories like ANYTHING IN CAPS IS CONSIDERED LOUD, ๐๐พ๐ป๐ผ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ ๐ฒ๐ผ ๐ฌ๐ธ๐ท๐ผ๐ฒ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ถ๐ธ๐ป๐ฎ ๐ธ๐ฏ ๐ช ๐ฏ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฒ๐ท๐ฒ๐ท๐ฎ etc.
Finalize a font that is easy to read. Some of the go-to fonts are Georgia, San Serif Helvetica etc.
Finally
A proper mix of all the above will help initiate building brand identity through visual identity. One of the best ways to get the right mix is to ensure that your marketing team and graphic designers are on the same page and scribbling the same logo.๐
