A logo isn’t a brand: what a complete visual identity includes

“I need a logo” is how many conversations begin. But the logo is just the tip: what makes a brand recognizable is that it looks and sounds the same everywhere, from the website to the product label, the delivery van and the email signature.

Consistency sells

A Lucidpress study with Demand Metric of more than 200 marketing leaders estimated in 2016 that presenting a brand consistently can add around 23% in revenue; in its 2019 update the estimate rose to 33%. Beyond the exact number, the idea is clear: people trust what they recognize, and they recognize what repeats.

The pieces of a visual identity

The logo and its versions

A logo isn’t enough: you need a system. The main version, a horizontal and a vertical one, the symbol on its own (for social avatars or the favicon), positive and negative versions, and the clear space that separates it from other elements.

The color palette

Primary and secondary colors, with their codes for screen (HEX and RGB) and print (CMYK and Pantone). That way the teal on your website is the same teal on your brochure.

Typography

One or two families, with their uses: which one goes in headings, which in body text, in which weights. If the brand typeface can’t be used somewhere (Office documents, say), an alternative is defined.

Graphic resources

Icons, textures, patterns, photo and illustration style. They’re what makes a piece “look like yours” even without the logo.

Tone of voice

How the brand speaks: formal or close? Playful or restrained? It’s as much a part of the identity as color.

The brand guidelines

All of the above is organized in brand guidelines: a document that explains how to use each element and, above all, how not to use it (don’t stretch the logo, don’t change its colors, don’t place it on backgrounds that drown it). It’s what lets a printer, a new designer or your own team apply the brand without asking you every time.

The applications

An identity is tested when it goes out into the world. Depending on the business, that includes stationery, email signatures, social templates, packaging, signage, point of sale, workwear and vehicle wraps. When we did the branding for a distributor, for example, the guidelines had to work just as well on a box, on a shelf, on a T-shirt and on the side of a truck.

When do you need a rebrand?

• Your business changed and the brand fell short (new services, new markets).
• Every piece looks different because there were never rules.
• The brand doesn’t work in digital: the logo can’t be read small or has no dark-background version.
• People confuse you with competitors.

A rebrand isn’t always starting from scratch: often it’s organizing, simplifying and updating what already has value for your customers.

At PuntoArg we design identities made to be used, not just shown. If you want your brand to look equally good everywhere, let’s talk.

Sources

• Lucidpress and Demand Metric, The Impact of Brand Consistency (2016) and The State of Brand Consistency (2019).