Branding and visual identity: the design manual

Why can you recognise a large brand a hundred metres away — even without being able to read the name? Because the company uses the same colours, the same typeface and the same style every single time it appears. That is the visual identity: the sum of the fixed design choices that make the sender recognisable. For the media graphic designer, identity work is a core task in two directions — building identities and working loyally within those others have built.

§The building blocks of identity

A visual identity typically consists of a logo in primary and secondary versions a set color palette chosen typefaces for headings and body text an image and illustration style and possibly graphic elements such as patterns and icons. What is crucial is not the individual parts but consistency: that they are used the same everywhere from business cards to website to car ads.

§The design manual: the identity's rulebook

The design manual (also called brand guidelines or styleguide) is the document that describes how the identity should be used — and not used. It makes the identity independent of individuals: a new designer an external agency or a print job can follow the manual and hit the brand correctly.

• 01Logo: versions, minimum size, clearance around the logo and prohibited uses.
• 02Colors: precise color values for both print (CMYK/spot) and screen (RGB/hex) as well as colors' roles.
• 03Typography: primary and secondary typefaces, cuts, sizes and hierarchy.
• 04Image style: subject choice, cropping, colour tone and examples of right and wrong.
• 05Examples: setting up the main surfaces — letterhead, social media posts, ads, signs.

§Designing a logo that lasts

A professional logo must work large and small in colour and in one colour positive and negative (light on dark) and on both print and screen. Therefore logos are drawn as vector graphics and therefore they are tested early in small sizes and in black/white. A logo that only looks good as a large colourful version on white background is not finished.

§Consistency creates recognition

Recognition is built through repetition over time. Every time someone deviates from the identity — a slightly different blue, a different font 'because it was prettier here' — the effect is diluted. The graphic designer's discipline is therefore to work creatively within the framework: variation should lie in ideas and content, not in the basic elements. It is harder than starting over each time, and that is precisely what professionals are paid for.

§Identity is more than the visual

The visual identity works together with the brand's tone of voice — the way things are written and spoken. A playful visual expression with stiff formal language point in different directions and vice versa. As a media designer you must therefore know the brand's overall personality when you set up text: the style of headlines the choice of images and graphics must tell the same story as the words. The strongest identities are those where you can remove the logo and still recognize the sender.

§When identity needs renewing

Identities are adjusted over the years — a redesign can range from a gentle update of logo and palette to an entirely new identity. When renewing, a decision must be made about the transition: what happens to existing materials, vehicles, signs and packaging? A good plan phases out the old in a controlled manner instead of letting two identities live side by side for years.

Remember also ownership: clearly agree on who has the rights to logo and design elements, and make sure the customer receives the original vector files and manual. A brand whose logo only exists as a small pixel file in an old email is built on sand.

“A brand is not a logo — it is the sum of every time someone met the same expression and recognised the sender.”

— Basic principle in identity design