Think about one of your favorite brands. Chances are, a logo, color, icon, storefront, or memorable ad campaign will instantly come to mind. That’s because a brand’s visual identity plays a key role in building customer affinity, telling a company’s story, and increasing revenue.
Done effectively, visual identity can convey a specific message or feeling without a word. But to take advantage of its full potential, you first need to understand what makes up an identity and how to create one.
Visual identity is a combination of visible elements that uniquely represent a brand. These components include logo, color palette, web design, illustration style, animation style, typography, icons, and photography.
A good visual identity:
While visual identity is the visible component of your company, brand identity encompasses the entire essence of an organization, including its values, personality, messaging, and even visual elements.
Your visual identity plays a critical role in creating an impression and shaping the perception of your brand. It’s beneficial for several reasons.
Visual elements account for 55% of a brand’s first impressions. Picture it this way: When you think of your favorite brand, what comes to mind first? Often, it’s their logo or unique product design. Current and potential customers should be able to recognize your logo and brand colors when they see them.
Eighty-seven percent of buyers will pay more for products if they trust your brand. A consistent visual representation of your brand across platforms signals stability, making your brand appear dependable. Using the same logo, colors, typography, and imagery at every customer interaction point sends a unified message that helps establish credibility.
A strong visual identity separates your brand from competitors. It makes you instantly recognizable and reinforces your unique positioning. Look at Apple, for example. In an industry where many rivals use busier visual identity design, Apple focuses on minimalism. Its clean, simple aesthetics — white space, sleek typography, and uncluttered layout — set it apart in the tech sector.
Your brand makes a visual impression in a matter of seconds. To communicate your brand identity and image, four key visual elements need to work together.
Any startup founder understands the importance of a good logo, especially for visual branding. But a good logo is equally important for connecting your company to customers. Typically, a logo is the first piece of branding your potential customers interact with. It’s also the visual they closely identify with. So, whether considering professional brand design services or designing it yourself, your logo must echo your brand identity. It should:
Don’t underestimate color. The right choice can create the desired impression on potential customers, evoke emotions, and communicate your company’s values. Consider Coca-Cola, for example. That company has been using its signature red and white colors for over 130 years.
Red represents passion, excitement, and energy, while white represents simplicity and purity. The two colors have become synonymous with Coca-Cola, and people can recognize the brand worldwide.
Your logotype fonts and website typography are the voice of your visual designs. According to Forbes, two identical texts written in different fonts can be interpreted differently. As such, you want to match your choice with your brand’s personality, tone, and values.
Imagery includes all the aesthetic elements of marketing materials, including icons, videos, shapes, graphics, photographs, and illustrations. You can use it to tell a brand story that reflects your mission and vision. The goal of imagery is to:
You can use imagery in content development, ads, and your website to convey a distinct visual appeal and feel.
Integrating all these four elements helps you create a strong, recognizable, trustworthy visual identity that resonates with your audience.
A strong visual identity doesn’t just make your brand memorable — it influences buying decisions and builds lasting customer loyalty. Now that you know the building blocks of a brand’s visual identity, how do you combine these elements to create a unique visual identity?
Before the actual design task, you need to understand your target audience. What are their preferences, demographics, and behaviors? The resulting insights will inform your design choices. Different colors, fonts, and imagery evoke different emotions. You want to know what works with your audience.
Next, decide what you want to communicate with your brand identity. It should reflect your mission, values, and personalities to match with your brand’s essence:
Create a logo, icons, graphics, and other visuals that match your target audience’s preferences and brand identity. For consistency, apply a uniform approach to all graphics.
As with graphics, select typography that appeals to your potential customers and aligns with your brand personality. Use one to two primary fonts for your logo— too many will make it look messy.
Color psychology can shape brand perception. Pick colors that evoke the appropriate emotion and influence the desired decision. Select a primary color that reflects your brand identity. Your complementary secondary color should enhance the primary shade. Additionally, consider contrast and readability to ensure accessibility.
It’s a competitive world. A compelling visual identity can set you apart, attract the right audience, and make your brand memorable.
Whether you’re just getting your startup idea off the ground or you’ve started laying the groundwork, PixelPocket can help you create a strong brand that will get and keep your target audience’s attention. We can help you shape perceptions of your brand, build trust in competitive markets, and enhance recognition. Book a call today to discuss your goal with our branding specialist.
