This episode is all about visual branding, a very exciting of the branding process—and one of my personal favourites. Of course, branding is so much more than the pretty visual bits. But it is still an important part. It’s the way we create that first impression!
What is Visual Branding
Visual branding, or visual brand identity, is the visual component of how we communicate who we are as a brand. There are five key elements that make up visual branding:
👉 Your Logo
👉 Your Colour Palette
👉 Your Typography (Fonts)
👉 Graphic Elements (Illustrations, Icons, Textures, Patterns)
👉 Photography
Do You Need All 5 Elements?
Yes, each element plays a vital role in building your brand’s identity. Here’s why:
- Logo: Your logo is the head of your visual identity. It helps people identify who you are and differentiate you from other businesses.
- Colour Palette: Colour is one of the biggest drivers of EMOTION and MEMORABILITY for our audience.
- Typography: This is the font suite your brand uses and how they’re used. Because a lot of branded matter involves text, it is an important consideration.
- Photography: You may do photoshoots as part of your branding, or use stock images, or perhaps a combination. Everything must have a cohesive style and colouring.
- Graphic Elements: Graphic elements can include icons, illustrations, textures, and patterns. They can give your brand more uniqueness and personality.
Think of these elements as the building blocks of your brand. It’s important to define them and stick to consistent usage across all marketing materials. Small business owners often fall into the trap of adding random elements just because they look appealing. This can hurt your brand’s identity and confuse your audience.
Consistent use of visual branding elements builds brand recognition, trust, and professionalism. It makes designing marketing pieces easier for you and your team. Without consistency, you risk wasting time and effort on designs that don’t align with your brand.
How To Define Your Brand
Before jumping to Pinterest for ideas, decide on the message you want to communicate. Every visual choice says something about your brand and should be deliberate.
Your visual identity should reflect:
- Who You Are
- Who You Want to Attract
- The Energy You Want Your Brand to Exude
Refer back to Episode 3 titled “Should my Brand Be in My Style or My Ideal Client’s Style” for more information on finding the balance between your personal style and what appeals to your target audience.
Common Struggles in Visual Branding
👉 Lack of Direction: Not being able to settle on a style. You go around and around in circles, never able to get your branding out in the world for people to see. Or maybe you keep chopping and changing, creating an inconsistent image.
👉 External Validation: Worrying too much about what others think so your branding ends up not feeling aligned and authentic to YOU. Remember not to let your brand be driven by what is the trend in your industry, what your mentors or the people you admire are doing, or what you think you need to do to look “successful” or “please” everyone. You’ll never please everyone with your branding and you’ll end up with a very watered down, “vanilla” brand if you try!
👉 Business Clarity: Lacking a clear understanding of your business. If you don’t know who you are as a business, what you value, who your ideal client is, what your point of difference is and so on, you won’t know what direction to take your visual branding in so that it feels alignment. You won’t know how to get it to express what you need it to express to tell your brand’s story. Every design choice should ultimately be rooted back in meaning and intention. Not random decision making just because something looks nice to you.
👉 DIY Limitations: Struggling to bring your vision to life without professional help. There are so many wonderful tools out there now, from Canva to all sorts of AI tools to make design easier for non-designers. However, if you don’t know the fundamentals of good design, you won’t be able to use the tools the way you want to. DIY design will only take your brand so far and there will likely come a time when you want to level up and elevate how you’re expressing your brand to the world.
Why It’s Important to Get It Right
Randomly tweaking your visual brand design in a piecemeal way often ends up with a “pieaced together” hodgepodge look. Soooo many of my clients have expressed that this was their impression of their brands before they started our process. Be strategic and deliberate in your choices. Properly defining your brand identity can prevent second-guessing and constant changes, and help you confidently market your business.
Your Visual Branding Checklist
✔️ Define Your Brand’s Energy and Vibe: This should be authentic to you AND appealing to your ideal client.
✔️ Avoid Common Mistakes: Don’t change branding on a whim, and don’t let external opinions dictate your direction.
✔️ Invest in Learning: If DIY-ing isn’t giving you the results you want, either hire a professional or invest in learning how to do it properly.
Every visual choice you make says something about who you are as a brand. There are five key elements that need to be clearly defined: logo, colour palette, typography, graphic elements, and photography style. Start by defining the energy you want to express to set a solid foundation for your visual branding.
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Stay tuned for future episodes!
