What Are the Main Components of Visual Brand Identity?

Brand identity is one of the most important aspects of any successful business. It's what sets a business apart from its competitors and determines how it communicates with consumers, investors and staff. If you don't know what is included in visual brand identity or how it can be formed, read on for our guide to the main components of visual brand identity.

A brand’s voice and visual identity are inseparable

It's likely that you already know this, but generally speaking, the main visual identity components are

• Logo – Your primary logo and its variations to fit all media

• Imagery – Illustrations, photos, and graphics that represent your brand

• Typography – Various fonts that are being used consistently across all materials

• Colour palette – Including your main colours and secondary colours

What might surprise you, however, is that none of the above is actually the starting point for any brand’s visual identity. In fact, a brand’s visual language is often the result of work that has nothing to do with logo design or the colour palette. Let’s explore this further!

Core values show what you care about

Sometimes, the experts in branding and marketing might refer to brand guidelines, which is a term that expands on the visual identity; in addition to logos, colours, typography, and imagery, brand guidelines include brand voice and communication style. However, neither the visuals nor the brand voice can be efficiently defined before the very core of branding has been addressed. What is the core we’re speaking of? Here’s the answer: At the heart of each successful brand there’s something called an MVV statement.

If you’re not familiar with the MVV statement yet, worry not – this short explanation helps you get the hang of it: In summary, MVV stands for Mission, Vision and Values. Thanks to the statement, customers will be able to understand why your company exists, what it values, and how it operates. 

For example, if your core values were honesty and trustworthiness, your actions should speak for these values in particular. Bringing your core values into everything you do builds trust with partners and employees, who will learn that the company stands by its beliefs. Remaining faithful to the core values will also give customers a stronger sense of identification with the brand.

If the mission, vision and values are undefined or unclear, it's impossible to design a strong visual brand identity that communicates clearly with your target audience. Did you know that the MVV statement can also help you determine your target audience?

What is your target audience?

The visual identity should be designed to appeal to the brand's target audience and align with their preferences and values.

A target audience is defined by the types of people a business wishes to reach. Research into target audiences should be thorough, and ideally conducted with members of the respective audience. When crafting a marketing strategy, it's important to consider the specific needs of the different segments within your market. 

When companies are planning their marketing strategies, they often make the mistake of using broad categories like "dog owners" or "teens", which can result in a brand or a campaign that misses its mark because it doesn't speak to anyone in particular. This can make the brand feel unpersonalised and unrelatable. On the other hand, too narrowly defined target audience or niche can limit your company's growth, as it's impossible to take into account every possible variable when you're only analysing a fraction of your potential audience. 

Let's explore this through an example. Imagine you're making a new type of shoe for runners (your target market). You would probably want your shoes to be sold in stores that specifically cater to runners (your target audience). Narrowing down your target audience further can help you target a specific niche and address the needs of that audience more effectively.

When you're conducting target audience research or deciding on niches, it can be helpful to have at least some knowledge of consumer psychology, data analysis, business development and digital marketing.

In case you're struggling to reach your target audience, we can help. We're happy to answer any questions you might have about reaching them.

A brand without strategy is like a ship adrift at sea

Once you have a clearer understanding of your target audience and other things including your mission, vision, values and tone of voice, the next step is to develop a brand strategy.  

In a nutshell, a brand strategy illustrates how you want your brand to be positioned and seen in the marketplace. It answers questions like “How do I make sure our customers feel heard?” and ensures you're designing with their needs in mind.

A brand strategy isn’t always easy to develop or understand, as it includes many different elements. A professional brand designer can help you understand these components and how to put them together. 

The main components of the visual identity

Now, with a better understanding of some of the steps involved in developing a visual identity, let’s talk more about some of the main components of the visual brand identity.

Logo

Upon hearing the word "brand”, the first thing that comes to mind for many is the logo. Logos are arguably one of the most important elements of the visual brand identity.

Technically speaking, a logo actually refers to the "text part" (called logotype or wordmark) of the logo, which is combined with an icon or mark, and in some cases followed by a tagline. People often use the word "logo" to refer to the entire logo, which includes all three of these elements.

A brand package should include a logo design in multiple different forms. This is because each logo will look different when it's printed or displayed on a computer screen, depending on what medium you're using. Your logo should look good on both large and small spaces, from billboards to the tiny icons on your website. The logo should be easy for customers to recognise, remember and associate with the brand's personality. The goal is, after all, for customers to connect with a brand's personality and values.

Imagery

Imagery or a brand’s media bank refers to the various images, illustrations, and symbols that you can use in your brand communication. 

Because logos are merely visual representations of an organisation, people need to see more than just the symbol to understand what a company or business is about. In order to maintain brand consistency, your imagery needs to align with your visual identity as a whole, taking your brand strategy, brand voice, and other factors into consideration.

Every business has different needs for imagery. If you're running a bakery, your imagery should consist of photos taken by a professional food photographer. If you're running a fitness studio, stock photography may be sufficient. The frequency at which you update your imagery depends on how fast your business changes.

Typography

Your brand guidelines should clearly state which typefaces are used specifically and where. A brand designer will choose a different font for each use, depending on what message you want to convey and how it fits the look and feel of your brand.

Your designer will often choose two or three font families that have different font weights (such as regular, italic or bold) to use in your marketing materials that should support your business's branding.

Depending on your designer's typography choices, some fonts may be restricted by copyright law and you will need to buy a commercial licence. In some cases, the commercial licence will be included in your brand package, but you should check this with your designer.

Colour palette

A carefully selected colour palette is one of the key elements of the visual brand identity. 

When you’re choosing your brand colours, it’s crucial that they reflect your company as a whole and are never based on your personal preferences. A great designer understands the importance of being unbiased in selecting brand colours.

There are a variety of factors that will influence the colour palette, including the target audience, values, and tone of voice. Culture plays a large role in determining colour as well; this is something that’s often overlooked by many designers and companies. Colour psychology is an important part of branding, and the ability to understand how colour affects a consumer is crucial to the work of any professional brand designer.

Conclusion

A successful visual brand is a long-term commitment that requires time and patience. Hiring a professional brand designer will save you not only money, but also time. A professional can help you avoid the need to redesign and revise your brand over time, and your brand will stand the test of time.

If you're ready to take the next steps, read our article on how much branding costs to gain insight into how much you should prepare to pay for your shiny new visual identity.

We're here to answer any questions you might have about building a new brand or revamping your current one. For a free consultation, click here to fill out our pre-screening form.