A successful visual brand identity has the power to convey a message without writing a single word. This is why brands nowadays focus a lot of their resources into creating a visual identity.
In today’s world of social media, nothing is more important than how people perceive your brand. Your online presence and online activity can attract potential customers, or chase them off completely.
An emotional connection between your company and your customers is what will separate you from the rest. And nothing does this better than a successful visual brand identity.
But how would you do that and what exactly is this? We will answer these two questions in this article so don’t go anywhere.
What is a Visual Brand Identity?
First off, what exactly is a brand? A brand is anything that can describe your business such as a name, a term, a design, or anything else. A brand is, according to billionaire Jeff Bezos, something that people say about you when you’re not in the room.
So naturally, it’s very important to have a successful brand image.
And nothing does this better than visual identity.
The brand-building process is complex, to say the least. But the part that is responsible for the visual aspect of the process is visual identity. And if you didn’t know, this part is solely responsible for triggering an emotional response whenever people perceive your brand.
It includes anything that can be visually used to grow your company’s name including imagery, your logo, font, color, etc.
Visual brand identity in 2020 is mostly used in the digital space and it goes far beyond having a cool logo. Now, let’s discuss how to do it.
1. Every Small Detail Matters
Look at some of the most professional companies out there. What does every single one of them have in common? All of them pay attention to the slightest detail when it comes to their name.
They pay attention whenever someone calls for customer support, whenever replying to social media, and whenever someone enters one of their physical stores.
The slightest decision has the potential to ruin your name, and the best way to avoid that is to look at the finer details in every decision made.
2. Create an Emotional Connection
We mentioned that visual identity is mostly used in the digital space. But that isn’t entirely true. You see, whenever you’re building your online presence you must remember to connect on an emotional level with your customers.
But not only that, you need to do the same whenever you’re creating printing materials, creating your logo, your website, etc. Every decision you make impacts on your name one way or another.
Your brand needs to be far more than playful colors and cool designs; you need a strong message to convey to your audience.
This message has to trigger an emotional response, a good one, that will resonate with them and bring them one step closer to humanizing your company.
3. Must-Haves
There are certainly a few visual things that are considered a must-have whenever building a successful brand identity. Let’s talk about them for a bit.
Logo
The first thing that people see whenever they come into contact with your company is the logo. The logo has the potential to bring in customers, or completely drive them away.
The logo is the first thing you do whenever you create your company, and it needs to be good.
Promotional Material
Promotional material can be used in the digital space and in the real world. In the real world, your options are far greater than in the digital space.
That’s because there are a lot of things you can but your name on and use it as a visual representation of your company. You can have branded merchandise such as pens, tote bags, t-shirts, bags, backpacks, and anything of the kind.
But one important thing that seems to be red-hot is stickers. Nowadays you can make your own stickers and plaster them all over the place. What’s even better is that you can fully customize them and not simply pick out of a template. This will go along nicely when building your visual identity as stickers can be used for a lot of things.
For more information where you can make your own stickers, make sure to read more here.
Website
Nowadays everyone uses the internet for whatever reason and the internet is nothing but websites.
This is why your company needs a cool website if they are to have a successful visual identity in the digital space. If they don’t find you on social media, then they can do it through your website.
4. Make It Memorable
Whenever creating your logo, website, and promotional materials, keep in mind that they must be memorable.
Just look at Coca-Cola for example. You simply know that it’s winter whenever you see the Coca-Cola advert on TV. This is a brilliant visual building, but not just that it’s also memorable.
Everyone knows and recognizes Coca-Cola and you can even say that everyone remembers their adverts.
Another example is Pepsi. If you happened to be a soccer fan, then you certainly remember the soccer-related Pepsi ads on TV as well.
This is what it means to be memorable. Both companies make the same product, but they make two entirely unique and memorable stories that we all remember.
While there’s a long way before you reach the following of either company, you should keep in mind that this is the way to do it. The way people perceive you can spark emotional responses; remember that.
And these responses are driven by feel-good factors that have stuck with us through excellent storytelling. McDonald’s is yet another memorable company that everyone knows and recognizes.
They do it, unlike Coca-Cola and Pepsi, through their logo. Their logo is extremely memorable and everyone knows it; even five-year-olds.
Creating a memorable brand is about showing your customers how special they are. Nothing says special more than creating something unique that sparks a feel-good emotion.
