By Mélissa Breton, Web Designer and Project Manager
Revised by Audrey Beaudoin-Paradis, Digital Marketing Coordinator
Creating a visual identity is a crucial step in creating a business and communication strategy. Your company's identity requires to be interpreted visually, the image it projects must reflect your goals. A powerful visual identity differentiates itself from the competition, attracts the attention of potential customers and increases awareness and credibility. This step requires expertise to be carried out effectively. Not only is it creative, but methodical as well.
The Process of Creating a Visual Identity
Following are the steps you must take when creating an outstanding visual identity.
- Gather and analyze information. It is essential to know the product or company from A to Z. It is advisable to do a market study, identify competitors and determine personas and goals.
- Visual exploration and research. The ideal way to explore and research visuals would be to create a "mood board" with inspiring colours, images and words.
- Develop and elaborate on your identity. After a few sketches, it will be possible to produce logo variations to decide the best version that meets the needs of your company. A design can then be devised to guide those who use your logo, preventing them from losing sight of your goals.
- Producing communication tools will finally help you see your visual identity take shape. Powerful communication tools include a website, images for posts and social networks and business cards.
What Not to Do
Knowing what to do helps, but make sure you know what not to do as well.
- Skipping the first two steps mentioned above and starting directly with the graphic design. Although tempting, it's essential to broaden your horizon first. There is no point in creating a beautiful design without doing your research beforehand. You need to realize what you want, the objectives you must reach and the elements to integrate. You can make it visually interesting afterwards. You need a foundation before forming a design. Researching the personas is the first step to reaching the target audience you want.
- Being inconsistent when presenting your brand in different formats. A visual identity must facilitate the recognition of your company as quickly as possible. Ensure your visual identity isn't chaotic and keeps an organized style.
- Copying what others have already done. Retaining an extraordinary uniqueness is essential. Being associated with another brand in the same field or another is the last thing you want. Look for unique touches that make you look original while remaining credible.
- Having complicated visuals. It cannot be said enough that when it comes to graphic designs, simplicity is fundamental. Keep in mind that this does not equal speed and ease. A simple and effective design must be thought out in detail. It is better to concentrate on integrating a strong element than several unorganized elements, keeping each relevant. Try to limit your colours, focusing on 2 or 3 corporate colours is ideal to avoid confusion.
One of the most important steps is to respect your visual identity in every project. Brand images created without respect becomes entirely useless. As you can see, developing a visual identity takes time and knowledge. Adeo can help you through the process from the thought process to the production of your website.
