Are you wondering what project you will receive from a creative agency or a freelance graphic designer if you outsource the design of a visual identity for your brand? What is visual identification?
Our clients often ask us what is the difference between a logo and visual identification and why a logo alone is not enough. Precisely because the topic is often discussed, we decided to write a few more words about visual identification.
On the subject of Identification, we present our latest project for the newly established funeral home in Munich.
There is a belief that visual identification is a logo design and basic company materials. Modern business and communication requirements require a much broader approach to the brand image. Modern visual identification does not consist in creating a few projects, but requires designing a visual brand system. Visual identification is an introduction to building a reliable business and a key element positioning the brand in the industry.
Visual identification
Visual identification allows you to present the company and its products in a unique way, while allowing you to organize the constituent elements of the image. Arranges into a logical and coherent whole the set of symbols and behaviors created by the company in order to unambiguously recognize and distinguish it on the market.
Visual identification system
Then a system of VI is created. Depending on the size of the company and the scope of its market activity, the visual identification system may count from a few elements to several thousand, creating a stylistically uniform alphabet.
Corporate Identity
In turn, the process of creating this system is called the Corporate Identity program (Visual Identification System), consisting of seven stages:
audit – analysis of the current brand image
strategy – building the brand idea
design – graphic creation to the proposed strategy
organization – project and process management
communication – idea marketing
implementation – brand publication process
production – physical creation of identification elements
By implementing each of these stages, enterprises receive tangible and unique shapes. A well-prepared visual identification system is an integral part of the company’s activities, starting from marking various types of company gadgets, ending with employer branding, ending with annual company reports. This system is not treated as an autonomous process taking place in the company.
Who needs a visual identity system?
Many entrepreneurs are convinced that the appearance and image of the brand does not matter. They believe that the only condition for success is the quality of services / products and price, and they do not see the point in changing. It is an unnecessary cost for them and they do not know how they can “pay back” this investment. On the other hand, many small companies are convinced that work on the visual identification system is an area reserved exclusively for large corporations. Nothing could be more wrong.
Visual identification allows you to effectively appear on the market and in the minds of recipients. It is a long-term investment, the effects of which can only be seen over a period of several years. CI is an expression of the maturity of the brand and the next stage of its development. Properly developed, consistent and consistently used graphic elements create the image of a professional, reliable and trustworthy company.
Effective visual identification should:
- be original, unique and legible,
- distinguish the company from the competition,
- arouse positive emotions so that the brand is well associated,
- reflect the nature of the business,
- be distinctive and easy to remember,
- look professional and aesthetic,
- be consistent with all elements so that the company is perceived as reliable and stable.
Branding is not only a logo design and color selection. First of all, it is about creating a strong brand that will be present in the minds of customers. Thanks to the refined visual identification, the brand can create the desired image and be perceived in the way it wants. This is a task for a professional graphic designer who must meet the client’s vision and combine it with knowledge about design.
How is the company to be perceived? What does he want to communicate? What is it supposed to be associated with? These are just some of the questions that form the starting point in the design process. The logo is not only a badge accompanying the brand. It carries a lot of information and associations. It communicates “who” the company is.