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A visual brand identity includes all of the visual design elements that make up your brand. Defining that identity is a core part of building a brand. When it’s done right, a brand image grabs your audience’s attention, creates an emotional connection, and helps them remember your business.
A strong brand identity also uses visual language to say something about other aspects of your brand, like your mission statement and vision or tone of voice. Before you get started, do some research into your target audience, if you haven’t already. That research will help you create a visual identity that shows your brand personality and supports your goals. Then start by focusing on visual elements like:
Logo design
Color scheme
Typefaces
Brand images
1. Design a logo
When we think of the world’s most successful brands, often the first thing we think of is their logo. Partly because it appears on all your brand touchpoints, a logo should capture your brand’s quality and core values. Good logo design is memorable and reminds the person seeing it what your brand means to them.
Even though what your logo does is nuanced, your logo design doesn’t need to be complex. Some logos use stylized typography to spell out their name. Others use iconography to visually translate their brand. Other brands rely on symbolism. Even still, some brands apply all three of the above approaches across different brand assets.
If you have graphic design skills or have a designer on your team, get them to try out some of these ideas. If not, you can experiment with a free logo maker or hire a professional designer to help you explore your ideas.
Learn more about designing a logo
2. Choose a color palette
When picking a brand color palette, your instincts are a good place to start. But don’t stop there. Go back to your research on your potential customers and consider what colors might appeal to them. You can A/B test them in different visual assets to see which palette yields stronger engagement.
Or think about the feeling you want people to have when they come into contact with your brand. Explore colors that convey that meaning and express character. For example, if you want customers to feel calm and relaxed, a minimalist look and dark or muted colors might be the most on-brand option. Start by experimenting with a few color options on your website.
3. Choose your brand typography
Brand fonts make a major difference to the visual style of your overall brand design. For example, a bold, sans-serif font can come across as high-energy, whereas a lighter serif font can create an elevated look.
No matter what brand voice you want to communicate with your typography, make sure that it’s:
Easy to read: Readable type draws people in, instead of causing them to scan over it.
Usable on every platform: Choose fonts that will look as great etched into a window as they would laid out on a website.
In line with your brand strategy: Consider the personality of your business and how text can help bring it to life.
4. Create brand imagery
Brand imagery is all about the shapes and textures of your graphic design and the illustration and photography styles you feature. You don’t have to use all three, but it can be helpful to know how to choose the right look for each type of visual.
Knowing what styles of imagery best reflect your brand personality will help you maintain a consistent visual identity.
Illustration
Illustration is one way to tell a brand story without bringing in a professional photographer or models. For example, you can create custom images to add visual interest to your social media posts or create infographics for your blog.
To choose an illustration style, look for illustrations that you like from other brands. Are they loose, or more rigid in style? How do they use color to draw the eye? These can all help you recreate a similar look or describe what you want to a designer.
Photography
You don’t need to be a professional photographer to have great brand or product photos. The way you use photography for your brand will depend on your business and where you’re using the photos.
For example, if you’ve launched an online business consultancy you can start by licensing stock photos that have an energy and color palette that feel right for your brand. But you may eventually want photos of your team to share on your website.
If you’re selling a physical product, you may want to take photos of them in different environments to showcase where a customer might put them in their own home or office. Or you might want photos for your product packaging to inspire specific feelings in your customers when they unbox your product.
Shapes, textures, patterns, and lines
The fine detail of a great visual identity system is in how you use certain graphical elements that the audience doesn’t necessarily notice, but that still elicit a feeling in them.
For example, some brands will zoom in on a fragment of their logo and build it into their layouts as a visual enhancement. Others will frame their text in bubbles or boxes. And others use textures and patterns drawn from nature or their own imagination.
To choose some flourishes that might make sense for your design, think about objects, features, or images that feel relevant to your brand. Then consider if a version of that object could be used across your brand’s touchpoints.
Graphical elements like these are another way to reinforce your brand personality and can help put a bow on an already strong visual identity.
Work with a Squarespace Expert for design help
5. Create brand design guidelines
Once you’ve made decisions about your visual identity system, capture the details in a brand guidelines document. A brand style guide covers every decision you made above and also includes details like when and how to use different brand elements.
Your guidelines should include:
Your overall brand message
Target audience information
Brand mission and vision statements
Brand values
Typography and logo usage rules
Approved photography and illustration styles
Graphic design elements and how to use them
Guidance on how to use your color palette
Style and tone of voice rules for copywriting
For example, you might mention that you want your full logo used on your website and emails, but just the lettermark on business cards. Or you might say you only want certain colors in your palette used for titles and headings, but others for graphic designs.
Add examples to your brand guidelines for reference. This way, anyone working on your brand can use your guideline to help you keep a consistent brand look. If you’re not sure how to start your document, use a free brand design template to ensure you cover your bases.
As your business grows, you can even publish your style guide online so external partners can truly understand your brand.
This post was updated on June 30, 2023.